Tadej Pogacar

Friday, July 19, 2024 at 4:34 PM

Tadej Pogacar leaves no crumbs for the competitors within the 2024 Tour de France. Visma | Lease a Bike appeared to be on its strategy to the stage victory in Isola 2000 with Matteo Jorgenson for a very long time, however the American was overtaken within the remaining kilometers by the unleashed Slovenian. The latter additionally delivered a hammer blow to Jonas Vingegaard.

En avant! After two entertaining transition levels for the escapees, in the present day was one other essential day for the lads of the overall classification. Within the penultimate mountain stage of this Tour de France, the riders raced from Embrun over two Alpine giants to complete on the climb in direction of Isola 2000. In ‘solely’ 145 kilometers, the drained riders needed to cope with some 4,500 meters of altitude. At present there may definitely nonetheless be a revolution within the battle for the yellow jersey.

From the start line Embrun, the riders rode over rolling roads in direction of the foot of the Col de Vars (18.8 km at 5.7%). A descent introduced the riders to the foot of the Cime de la Bonette (22.9 km at 6.9%). This Alpine move took the riders to a dizzying top of two,802 metres and was thus the roof of the 111th Tour de France. Virtually nowhere else in Europe are you able to attain greater altitudes than right here on paved roads. However there was no query of resting after the Bonette, with the ultimate climb to Isola 2000 (16.1 km at 7.1%) as a really robust dessert.

Visma | Lease a Bike places strain on chief Pogacar
That issues had been critical for Visma | Lease a Bike in the present day was clear from the beginning. The Dutch formation hoped to place chief Tadej Pogacar underneath strain and so Christophe Laporte, Wilco Kelderman and Matteo Jorgenson had been ordered to assault. They turned out to be the instigators of a big main group, with attention-grabbing names corresponding to Michal Kwiatkowski (INEOS Grenadiers), Jack Haig (Bahrain Victorious), Ilan van Wilder (Soudal Fast-Step), Jai Hindley (Crimson Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) and Neilson Powless (EF Schooling-EasyPost).

Wilco Kelderman forces the breakaway – picture: Cor Vos

EF Schooling-EasyPost was – regardless of the presence of Powless – not pleased with the composition of the 22-man main group and tried to proper the wrongs within the service of Richard Carapaz. On the foot of the primary climb of the day, the Col de Vars, the lead of the Visma | Lease a Bike group was nearly gone. This was the sign for Carapaz, Egan Bernal, Romain Bardet and Simon Yates to counterattack, hoping to bridge the hole.

Critical screening, UAE Emirates controls the course
The variations had been nonetheless playable at that time, as a result of the peloton – the place most sprinters went overboard – was not far but. On the flanks of the virtually twenty-kilometre lengthy Col de Vars, the race was fierce and the main group fell aside fully. On the head of the race, 9 riders managed to outlive the choice: Jorgenson, Kelderman, Van Wilder, Hindley, Carapaz, Simon Yates, Oscar Onley (dsm-firmenich PostNL), Nicolas Prodhomme (Decathlon AG2R) and Cristian Rodríguez (Arkéa-B&B Accommodations).

And the peloton? It was led by the lads of UAE Emirates and had been lowered to about forty riders. Led by Marc Soler and Pavel Sivakov, a stable tempo was set, however the hole to the main group grew to greater than three minutes. With simply over 100 kilometers to go, the 9 leaders reached the highest of the Col de Vars. Carapaz was the primary to succeed in the highest and was in a position so as to add twenty mountain factors to his account. The Ecuadorian was clearly out to overcome the polka dot jersey.

A very sturdy Nils Politt as soon as once more impressed as a grasp servant – picture: Cor Vos

Climbing to dizzying heights
The escapees began – after an incident-free descent of the Col de Vars – with a lead of about 4 minutes on the primary climbing sections of the exceptionally lengthy and above all excessive Cime de la Bonette. This was the second for Jorgenson to open the throttle and this proved disastrous for Onley, Prodhomme and Van Wilder. This trio needed to shift down a gear, leaving six riders on the head of the race. Within the group of favourites too, one rider after one other went overboard, underneath the impetus of an excellent sturdy Nils Politt.

The German, who is just not generally known as a winged climber, managed to surpass himself on the Cime de la Bonette and skinny out the group of favorites significantly. It went too quick for sturdy climbers corresponding to Louis Meintjes, Tiesj Benoot, Geraint Thomas and even Felix Gall, who was quantity eleven within the rankings earlier than the beginning. Earlier than the stage, the Austrian nonetheless had an opportunity of a prime 10 rating in Good, however clearly had a day with out and would subsequently additionally take a dive within the basic classification.

No spectacle at Cime de la Bonette
UAE Emirates was clearly hatching a plan and made the race exhausting within the service of the person within the yellow jersey, who was nonetheless very properly surrounded by Pavel Sivakov, Marc Soler, Adam Yates and João Almeida. Vingegaard, alternatively, was already on his personal, however with Kelderman and Jorgenson he nonetheless had two teammates who may drop again if essential. Nevertheless, this turned out to not be essential, as a result of the hoped-for fireworks did not materialize. Vingegaard stayed within the saddle and the opposite classification riders made no try and do something both.

The tireless Carapaz did wonderful enterprise for the mountain jersey – picture: Cor Vos

Within the entrance group, the six remaining riders additionally rode fraternally to the highest, the place we noticed the identical image as on the Col de Vars: Carapaz was not hindered within the slightest and thus took the total quantity (forty) of mountain factors. With this, he handed Vingegaard and Pogacar within the battle for the polka dot jersey and will name himself chief on this facet classification. And Carapaz was capable of improve his complete factors even additional, as a result of on the prime of the climb to Isola 2000 – for the stage winner – one other ten factors had been up for grabs.

Kelderman paves the best way for Jorgenson
On the foot of the sixteen kilometre lengthy remaining climb, the distinction between the attackers and the Pogacar group was nonetheless 4 minutes and so the leaders may dream of a really prestigious stage victory in Isola 2000. Visma | Lease a Bike clearly went for the day’s victory and so Kelderman rode his lungs out within the first climbing kilometres for his American teammate Jorgenson. Cristian Rodríguez was the primary rider to provide in to Kelderman’s racing drive and never a lot later Hindley additionally went darkish.

At 13.5 kilometers from the highest, Jorgenson felt his second had come. With a strong acceleration, the Visma | Lease a Bike rider jumped out of Kelderman’s wheel and instantly made a pleasant breach. Carapaz and Yates had been unable to reply, though the tireless Ecuadorian didn’t intend to bury his hatchet identical to that. Nevertheless, Carapaz was shadowed by an especially sturdy Kelderman, who, as a mannequin teammate, managed to hold out his work to perfection.

As soon as once more, there was no remedy for Pogacar – picture: Cor Vos

Pogacar delivers uppercut to Vingegaard
However Carapaz nonetheless had some juice in his legs and rode away from the exhausted Kelderman and Yates on the steeper sections of the ultimate climb, on his strategy to Jorgenson? And the favorites? Regardless of the reassuring lead of chief Pogacar, UAE Emirates determined to place the tendon to it once more uphill. Adam Yates pulled out the wrecking ball and his tempo was quickly too excessive for 3 males within the provisional prime 10: Giulio Ciccone, Santiago Buitrago and Carlos Rodríguez, quantity six within the standings.

Yates’ flip on the entrance proved to be the beginning of a breakaway by Pogacar, who managed to trip away from Evenepoel and Vingegaard with putting ease – from the saddle. The place the Dane had tried to observe his Slovenian opponent within the earlier mountain levels, he was now solely fixated on the rear wheel of Remco Evenepoel. A now unleashed Pogacar picked up early escapees Kelderman, Hindley, Carapaz and Simon Yates within the meantime and even appeared to be on his strategy to chief Jorgenson, who noticed his lead shrinking.

Every part is for Pogacar!
With three kilometres to go, Jorgenson’s lead had shrunk to fifteen seconds and he appeared to be falling prey to the glutton from Komenda. The Slovenian smelled blood, closed the final hole on Jorgenson and had no mercy on the Visma | Lease a Bike rider. The ruler of this Tour handed his final ‘competitor’ in a flash and soloed to a different spectacular and memorable stage victory. And much more importantly: he now managed to place the Tour in a decisive fold.

A bow from the grandmaster – picture: Cor Vos

The unlucky Jorgenson needed to admit defeat to the Slovenian biking prodigy in extremis, however after a day on the assault he nonetheless got here in second, forward of his breakaway companions Simon Yates and Carapaz. Then it was some time earlier than Vingegaard and Evenepoel got here in. Numbers two and three within the classification had to surrender nearly two (!) minutes to Pogacar on the end.

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