tour reporter
Team Jumbo-Visma takes full risk on stage 11 and is rewarded with the yellow jersey for Jonas Vingegaard. Tour favorite Tadej Pogacar wants to hit back.
It didn’t take long for Tadej Pogacar to find his rascally smile again. A few minutes only after the Slovenian on the 11th stage on the Col du Granon rolled to the finish line, beaten, it was there again. After a burglary like the one he experienced in the Tour de France had never experienced before, the Slovenian beamed at the man who had just defeated him and snatched the yellow jersey from him.
A monumental stage
A pat for Jonas Vingegaard also had Pogacar left before he did that Maillot Jaune had to hand over to the Danes. Vingegaard was already on the phone to receive the first congratulations from his girlfriend, who, like many other observers, probably could hardly believe what had happened on this first really difficult mountain test of this year’s tour.
It was a monumental stage in which Vingegaards Team Jumbo-Visma just exploded the race early on and turned everything upside down. “We wanted to attack from the start to challenge Tadej”explained Vingegaardwhen he took possession of the yellow jersey. “I was second last year, if I didn’t risk anything I could finish second again,” argued Vingegaard. “But I’d rather try something to get the win.”
A risky plan: attack follows attack
In fact, the tour de france, where many teams prefer to act conservatively in order not to lose, has not experienced such an offensive as that of the “killer wasps” for a long time, as the Dutch team is called because of their yellow and black jersey until recently. The new outfit has recently had an indefinable color, but the mentality has remained.
Tadej Pogacar (left) is surrounded by the Jumbo-Visma team
It was a risky plan that might as well have gone awry as Pogacar long seemed unfazed by all the magic his rivals were putting on. Already on the top of the Col du Telegraph With 67.8 kilometers to go, Jumbo-Visma went on the attack and quickly isolated Pogacar from his helpers.
On the way up from Valloire in the direction Galibier, the 2,642 meter high roof of the tour, they had achieved this goal and took the two-time tour winner in a pincer. Attack followed attack: Roglic attacked, Pogacar had to follow, Vingegaard attacked, Pogacar had to go behind.
Roglic sacrifices his chances
Roglic, who officially traveled to Copenhagen two weeks ago as captain of the Jumbo Visma team for the start of the tour and was then weakened by a fall, sacrificed his chances of a good place in the overall classification for the plan. “It shows what a great driver Primoz is. He gave everything for the plan and went very, very deep.”praised Vingegaard.
And yet Pogacar seemed to be in control of the situation, although his Corona-weakened team could hardly support him. At the foot of Col du Granon he even flirted with the TV cameras. It looked like he was having a lot of fun with it all. And after the first kilometers of the final climb it was Vingegaard suddenly left without help while Poland’s Rafael Majka appeared out of nowhere to support Pogacar.
Pogacar just sits there
But as the Colombian Nairo Quintana dropped out of the group of favorites, Pogacar simply stayed seated, contrary to his habit. Also an attack by the French Romain Bardet remained without a counterattack by the Slovenian.
And when Vingegaard then started the decisive attack, he finally had nothing more to add and finally had to Geraint Thomas, David Gaudi and Adam Yates to let go. All the playful ease that otherwise characterizes his driving style was gone. Pogacar was tormented.
“I don’t know what was going on. I still felt good on the Galibier, then there was one attack after the other. In the end my legs weren’t good anymore, it just wasn’t a good day.”Pogacar later mused after crossing the finish line, 2’51 behind, with his jersey open and his face contorted in pain.
Vingegaard vs Pogacar – a new duel
Vingegaard is now 2’22 ahead of Pogacar in the standings, who dropped to third in the standings. In between sits Bardet (+2’16). The constellation promises an exciting duel for the coming days and maybe even for the coming years. With Vingegaard (25), the high-flyer Pogacar (23) has a serious competitor who now has an advantage for the first time.
“Tadej remains the most important opponent”said Vingegaard on the Col du Granon. “I expect that he will attack every day.” The first opportunity to do so is already on Thursday on the 12th stage L’Alpe d’Huez. And Pogacar has already announced that he doesn’t want to give up. “Today I lost three minutes, tomorrow I might gain three minutes”, he explained. It is quite possible that the tour will be turned upside down again in the coming days.