16th stage of the Tour de France
Vingegaard picks apart Pogacar in mountain time trial
7/18/2023 5:33 p.m
Jonas Vingegaard starts the individual time trial of this Tour de France with a ten-second lead over his pursuer Tadej Pogacar. Then the defending champion drove the competition to the ground on the 16th stage. In the end, Vingegaard has a lead of more than a minute and a half.
At least Jonas Vingegaard spared his rival Tadej Pogacar the humiliating overtaking manoeuvre: The defending champion of the Tour de France forced a preliminary decision in the fight for the yellow jersey and outclassed his closest pursuer Pogacar in a memorable long-distance duel. Vingegaard dominated the demanding mountain time trial of the 16th stage to Combloux in 32:36 minutes and significantly extended his lead in the overall standings. Pogacar finished second, a significant 1m38s behind.
“I couldn’t do more. It might not have been my best day,” said Pogacar, who nevertheless remained combative: “It’s about recovering and moving on.” Vingegaard also warned: “That’s not it yet. We have to fight to the end.” The Dane continued: “That was the best time trial I’ve ever driven” and he “didn’t expect that I’d be that good.”
Before the king’s stage in the Alps on Wednesday, the Dane from Team Jumbo-Visma is 1:48 minutes ahead of Pogacar in the overall standings. The Slovenian is forced to attack again. In view of the recent performances in the mountains, there is little to suggest a successful turnaround. The best German was Nikias Arndt (Bahrain Victorious/37:19) in 25th place. As expected, the German time trial champion Nils Politt (Bora-hansgrohe/38:49) in 68th place had nothing to do with the decision. “It’s an extremely difficult time trial, it’s not for pure time trial specialists,” said Politt at the finish.
On the other hand, the track was to the liking of the superstars. Pogacar had said in advance that he liked the time trial, “it suits me very well.” Vingegaard also assured: “I like such short time trials with many rhythm changes.” On the rest day on Monday, both rivals drove the route again.
Changing wheels doesn’t pay off for Pogacar
At 4:58 p.m. Pogacar was second overall and the penultimate driver on the 22.4-kilometer course, exactly two minutes later Vingegaard rolled off the starting ramp: on his eleventh day in yellow, the Dane went from being the hunted to the hunter – and he filled this role with life .
More than 600 vertical meters lay between start and finish. Only two kilometers after the start, the climbing skills were required for the first time on the poisonous Cote de la Cascade de Couer. Both of them survived the subsequent technical descent unscathed. Vingegaard, who took risks in the corners, was on course for victory early on. At the second time measurement around six kilometers from the finish, the lead was already 31 seconds.
The key point was the Cote de Domancy, a short but steep climb of the 2nd category just before the finish. Pogacar and his UAE team decided to switch from the time trial machine to the lighter mountain road bike at the bottom of the climb. UAE team boss Mauro Gianetti measured the advantage of the measure to around five seconds.
Vingegaard, on the other hand, stayed on the special bike for the time trial. The choice did not prove disadvantageous. “Get the tour,” German sports director Grischa Niermann radioed Vingegaard. The man in yellow took action on the street.
On Wednesday at the Tour de France it is again “all cards on the table”. On the last stage in the Alps, a total of four climbs have to be overcome on the 165.7 kilometers to Courchevel. The highlight is the Col de la Loze, the top of the tour (2304 meters) and a real beast with a gradient of up to 24 percent. The mountain is one of the “toughest climbs in the world,” said Pogacar. In the fight for overall victory, he is forced to act there.