There were no big attacks, but at the end of the steep final ramp in Peyragudes, Tadej Pogacar at least celebrated a respectable win.
The defending champion won the 17th stage of the Tour de France at the ski station in the Pyrenees and made up four seconds on leader Jonas Vingegaard with a time bonus. Before the last act in the mountains, the Dane is 2:18 minutes ahead of Pogacar. The 109th tour, that much should be clear, will be decided between the two giants of this edition. Simon Geschke provided the next German ray of hope and defended his mountain jersey again.
Pogacar has already let his team drive at high speed in the first three of four climbs. Already at the Col de Val Louron-Azet, the penultimate pass at 1580 meters, the first results of the work were to be seen. Only the two-time Tour winner and Vingegaard could match the pace of Pogacar’s helper Brandon McNulty. Geraint Thomas, third overall, and Nairo Quintana, fourth, were already behind before the final. Shortly before the mountains classification, Pogacar made his first attack, which Vingegaard followed easily. So the duo went up the final climb together.
Geschke defends the mountain jersey again
Meanwhile, Geschke’s dreams of driving through Paris in a mountain jersey on Sunday are becoming more and more realistic. On Wednesday, the 36-year-old scored points again on the first climb and defended his lead in the standings. On the second climb, Geschke was unlucky when he fell back shortly before the summit due to a problem with his bike. After that, the Berliner was caught up by the group of favorites. On Thursday, Geschke could have enough on the way to Hautacam if he wins the first mountain classification on the legendary Col d’Aubisque.