Tom Pidcock has won the twelfth stage in the Tour de France. The Briton was part of an early flight and drove away from Louis Meintjes and the surprisingly strong Chris Froome on Alpe d’Huez. With the classification men, Tadej Pogacar tried to make it difficult for classification leader Jonas Vingegaard several times, but the Dane did not give in.
With Jonas Vingegaard in the yellow jersey, the twelfth stage started around half past one. With three outdoor category climbs on the menu, it was a day for the classification men and attacking climbers. Anthony Perez knew that. The Frenchman also attacked on the national holiday of the French last year and had set a red circle again exactly one year later on July 14. He was the first to reach the top of the Galibier, good for twenty mountain points and a nice margin on the pursuers.
In the descent, the original leading group of six was expanded to nine. Not only Giulio Ciccone and Meintjes had made the crossing on the Galibier, Pidcock – who gave a masterclass descending – and four-time Tour winner Froome also joined in the sink. Together they started the second climb of the day, the Col de la Croix de Fer, with a lead of seven minutes. In the meantime, little had happened in the peloton and Jumbo-Visma had things under control.
On the Col de la Croix de Fer, with a length of 29 kilometers a very tough climb, nothing happened in the peloton. Also at the front hardly anything happened, except for an acceleration from Pidcock. The Brit shook the tree briefly and saw only Ciccone, Froome, Powless and Meintjes remaining. In the meantime, the lead of the five was slightly reduced due to the work of Jumbo-Visma, but the margin of 4.20 minutes was enough to start the last descent towards the foot of the Alpe d’Huez with a promising feeling.
At the foot of the Alpe d’Huez, the lead had grown again and Pidcock did what had been in the air for a while: he accelerated and no one could follow. Only Meintjes could hold on for a while, but that didn’t last long. After a great solo, he was allowed to raise his arms in the air four years after his teammate Geraint Thomas. Meintjes eventually finished second ahead of Froome, who finished nicely in third, setting his best result since his heavy fall in the Dauphiné three years ago.
Pogacar did everything in his power to crack Vingegaard in the final kilometers of climb, but the Dane bit into his wheel and did not give in to an inch. Pogacar still won the sprint for fifth place, but it did not save him time. Vingegaard remains in the lead for Pogacar, who passes Romain Bardet in the standings. The Frenchman is now fourth behind Thomas.
Eurosport Netherlands
@Eurosport_NL
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