Tourist
Tadej Pogacar parried all attacks by his rival Jonas Vingegaard on the Mont Ventoux. The Slovenian acts surprisingly defensively. That is also an expression of his new maturity.
The man in the yellow jersey had to Mont Ventoux make something clear. “No, I’m definitely not Superman. I was born in Klanec and not on cryptone”said Tadej Pogacar in the barren landscape on the summit, where it looks a little like on a foreign planet.
So Pogacar may be an Erdling from Slovenia, but is something of a superhero of modern cycling. At the age of 26 he has three times Tour de France won and celebrated 21 stage wins. He is world champion and is in the winning lists in numerous other important bike races.
Sportschau Tourfunk, July 22nd, 2025 7:51 p.m.
“It was about defending the yellow jersey”
He has already pressed this Tour de France on his stamp, the overall ranking leads Pogacar after 16 stages with more than four minutes ahead of Jonas Vingegaard. This also had this day with the dreaded climb to the summit of the Ventoux Nothing changed.
And yet there was a slightly different pogacar on the 17.1 kilometer path. One who, contrary to his habit, had followed or had to pursue a conservative approach. “It was about defending the yellow jersey”said Pogacar: “The big goal was to parry Jona’s attacks, nothing else.”
On the way, however, that had initially worked differently. At the beginning of the 16th stage, Pogacar’s team had tried very vigorously to keep the outlier group as small as possible. Above all, Nils Politt from Cologne, who verbally prevailed one or the other attacker. Because even if Pogacar later claimed the opposite: he would have loved to complain to this prestigious victory on one of the most fearful climbs of the tour.
Vingegaard attacks in vain
But then the matter got out a little and Pogacar’s UAE team suddenly saw himself on the defensive. Jonas Vingegaard’s team took over the pace work at the foot of the Ventoux and had placed two colleagues further ahead.
The Dane placed his first two attacks on Pogacar in such a way that a short time later he reached the one, then the other helper, who then again performed speed for their captain and, in the case of Victor Campenaerts, even prepared the third attack on the Slovenes.
Tactically, this was a masterpiece of the Equipe Visma Lease A Bike, with which they separated Pogacar from his teammates. However, they missed the main goal. “I didn’t win time”had to admit Vingegaard afterwards: “But the performance gives me motivation.”
The Danes do not have many options to get the lost time back. Strictly speaking, it is only the two Alpine stages on Thursday and Friday that offer a realistic opportunity. And at the latest since the 16th stage on the Mont Ventoux, it is finally clear that his rival Pogacar will no longer take any risks, but will only rely on a defensive. The Slovenian attacked once, but when he realized that he would not get rid of the Danes this time, he left it.
No longer the boy with that Lausbuben face
At 26, Pogacar is no longer allowed to ride the competition for the white jersey of the best young driver. “I miss that a bit”said Pogacar on the day of rest before the Ventoux stage. For this he has achieved a certain degree of maturity.
He is no longer the boy with the Lausbuben face, for whom cycling and Tour de France are just a game: “I have more experience with the tour, know how the race works and I know my skills. I’m more mature and adult.” Should also be called a break -in, as he experienced it in 2023 at the Col de la Loze, will no longer happen to him anymore. Like so many other top athletes, Pogacar has learned primarily from his defeats, of which there were only a few.
Vingegaard will continue to try it
Vingegaard and his team know that. You notice that Pogacar will hardly be shaken up. “They both attacked and neither of them came away”said Vingegaard’s sports director Grischa Niermann: “But we will continue to try.”
They have no choice, but Pogacar is ready to avoid a stage win if necessary if necessary. The Frenchman Valentin Paret-Peintre benefited from it on the Ventoux. And Pogacar later claimed that it couldn’t even prevent Superman. The young Pogacar would probably have tried it.