Defending champion Tadej Pogacar wins the first Pyrenees stage and has a team on fire for him. But the leader Jonas Vingegaard holds back bravely.
Tour leader Jonas Vingegaard puts on the final sprint, but it’s defending champion Tadej Pogacar who wins the first Pyrenees stage.
Jonas Vingegaard turns the previous tendencies of this Tour de France: His team is weak, but he attacks at the end. The result remains the same – the Dane remains in front on Wednesday. Even Tadej Pogacar’s day win at Peyragudes’ Pyrenean airport, located at a higher altitude, cannot change that.
It was an image of extreme exertion. Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar heaved up the 16 percent steep ramp to Peyragudes with their upper bodies swaying back and forth. Vingegaard finally opened the sprint. “I know Pogacar is more explosive. That’s why I wanted to forestall him with a long sprint,” said the 25-year-old. It was the first time since his storming of the yellow jersey in the Alps that he didn’t simply follow Pogacar but took the initiative himself.
The day the leader’s team fell apart
Paradoxically, he did so on a stage profile that didn’t suit him – and on the day his team fell apart. Sepp Kuss, the Dane’s most constant companion so far, had to hoist the white flag on the penultimate mountain.
Pogacar’s team was even weaker in numbers on Wednesday. A total of three companions instead of Vingegaard’s six were available to the Slovenian. Or more precisely: two and a half companions. Because after surviving the Covid infection shortly before the Tour de France, the Swiss is fighting Marc Hirschi more with the time limit than anything else. Pogacar had lost Rafal Majka to a muscle injury before the start of stage 17. The Pole is just as important to him as the American kiss is to Vingegaard.
Brandon McNulty jumped into this gap. He was voted the helper of the day and quite rightly the most combative rider of the stage. McNulty navigated his Captain Pogacar over the last two mountains. His pace reduced the motley swarm behind him until only Pogacar and Vingegaard remained. The ensuing clash of bosses ended with Pogacar having a small advantage. Thanks to the stage win, he gained four bonus seconds. Vingegaard was safely yellowed and now leads by two minutes and 18 seconds.
Tadej Pogacar is the more active driver
The two-time tour winner Pogacar has at least regained the creative power. He is the more active driver. And his team burns more for him. In Vingegaard’s side, on the other hand, Wout van Aert seemed more interested in extending his points lead on Wednesday than in pushing the pace for his captain. It was the first time the leader team’s focus on two goals, the green jersey and the yellow jersey, was so detrimental to Vingegaard. That can change again on Thursday; the second Pyrenees stage with the 14 km long final climb to Hautacam is considered more important by Vingegaard’s team.
After crossing the finish line, the two rivals Vingegaard and Pogacar shook hands. They fought each other down to the last drop of energy on the track. But right after the white line, they became two friendly young men who value and respect each other. It was an unusually harmonious picture, especially at the airport, which in 1997 was the filming location for the apocalyptic 007 thriller «Tomorrow Never Dies». This tour has two rivals, neither of whom are villains.