2023-07-09 21:33:00
There are no small profits on the Tour de France. Even less when the yellow jersey is played by a hair. In the absence of major maneuvers or a warning shot, Tadej Pogacar grabbed eight seconds from Jonas Vingegaard on Sunday at the top of the Puy de Dôme. Not enough to permanently erase Laruns’ disbursement and regain power, but enough to put even more pressure on the Dane. “It’s not a real victory… but a small one anyway”, summed up “Pogi” with a smile.
If his offensive 1,500 meters from the finish did not allow him to put the title holder on the mat, as was the case in Cauterets-Cambasque on Thursday, Pogacar still sent a new signal. “I said to myself ‘why not attack?’ He attacked relatively late, 1,300 meters from the line, so as not to expose himself to a possible counter attack: “Until the final ascent, it was quite quiet. I immediately felt that my legs were good. I still waited for the last 1500 meters to attack, just in case.”
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The gap between the two remained small until the end, and the last few hundred meters were made as much in the mind as with the legs. “When I accelerated, I saw the shadow of Jonas on the road, he was right behind me trying to keep my pace, says the white jersey. I continued to force the pedals and I made a very small gap, then I continued.” Not the nest egg of the century in the end, therefore, but the issue was probably elsewhere. “Jonas was strong, but I was able to send today”, summarizes Pogacar.
“I was OK, tempers Vingegaard. I felt pretty good but Tadej was still a little better than me.” The Jumbo-Visma team leader would eventually go one step further, saying: “He was unbelievably strong today (Sunday). He deserved to get those 8 seconds back.” If the Scandinavian is affected, he hasn’t shown it. “I would have preferred to save time rather than lose it on Pogacar, but in the end, I’m happy to have kept the yellow jersey”, judges the Dane.
Vingegaard is satisfied: “It was not my best day”
Despite the unfavorable balance of power of the last two mountain stages, it is he who takes the lead, even if the margin is small. But for him, it is rather a good surprise. “I came to the Tour knowing that the first week suited me less than the following two, he recalled. Today, the profile of the stage suited him more. So finding myself with the yellow jersey for the first day of rest is very satisfying for me.” However, he is well placed to know that this does not guarantee anything. Last year, Pogacar was in his place at the time of the first break.
Vingegaard “can’t wait to be in the Alps”
The Slovenian is also happy with his situation, but for other reasons. Wednesday evening, in Laruns, after showing real weakness in the Marie-Blanque pass, one could wonder if the final victory was not seriously compromised for him. No doubt he must have asked himself a lot of questions too. If Vingegaard would have signed to be 17 seconds ahead at Puy de Dôme a week ago, Pogacar would have given money to be only 17 seconds only four days ago. In short, everyone is happy.
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Friend Tadej doesn’t even regret not having been able to play for the stage victory and the bonuses that go with it in Auvergne: “All cyclists always want to win, so we are always disappointed when we see the breakaway and we say to ourselves that the stage victory flies away. But the breakaway was really very strong with riders who deserved the victory. And we also learned from last year that we cannot go compete for all the stage victories, the objective is the general classification.”
A goal still alive for “Pogi”, and just as much for Jonas Vingegaard. The indecision is total between these two. Their next major meeting is set for Friday, with the finish at the Grand Colombier. “It will be a fierce fight, I will do everything possible to arrive as a winner in Paris. I can’t wait to be in the Alps”, swears the yellow jersey, which probably includes the Jura monument in this context. He is impatient. We are no less impatient than him.
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