Danish cyclist Jonas Vingegaard has successfully defended his yellow jersey in the last mountain stage of the Tour de France. He won the seventeenth stage and extended his lead, which was more than two minutes before the start on Thursday, over his Slovenian competitor Tadej Pogacar. At 4.4 kilometers from the finish, Pogacar had to finally release Vingegaard, who received help from his Jumbo-Visma teammate Wout van Aert during the climb of the Hautacam. The Belgian kept the pace high.
While it was expected that Pogacar would wait until the last climb to attack, the two-time Tour de France winner decided to attack already during the penultimate Col de Spandelles. Time and again Vingegaard was able to parry the attacks and he remained in the wheel of his competitor. In the descent Vingegaard almost crashed on the gravel-covered asphalt. Pogacar fell shortly afterwards. The Slovenian came back and had to release on the final climb.
With Vingegaard’s probable overall victory, it promises to be an exceptionally successful Tour for the Dutch Jumbo-Visma team. If Vingegaard does indeed end up as the ultimate winner, it will mean Jubmbo-Visma’s first overall victory in the Tour de France. In addition, the yellow jersey wearer also leads the mountains classification. Belgian Wout van Aert, also from Jumbo-Visma, tops the points classification.
A time trial of more than forty kilometers is scheduled in the penultimate stage on Saturday. The expectation is that the gap between Vingegaard and Pogacar is too big to bridge. The Tour de France will end on the Champs Elyseé in Paris on Sunday and the jerseys will be finally distributed.
Also read the preview on the stage: The Hautacam is Tadej Pogacar’s last hope in the battle for yellow