Tadej Pogačar has taken a commanding led in the tour de France, winning stage 12 with a dominant performance on the climb to Hautacam. The Slovenian rider,who had crashed on Wednesday,launched a decisive attack on the final climb,finishing more than two minutes ahead of his closest rival,Jonas Vingegaard.
This victory marks a notable shift in the general classification, with Pogačar now holding a three-and-a-half-minute advantage over Vingegaard. The stage, which featured the first hors catégorie climb of the Tour, saw Pogačar break away from his teammate Jhonatan Narváez early on the ascent, with Vingegaard unable to match his pace.
Reflecting on his win, Pogačar commented on the comparisons to the 2022 Tour de France, where Vingegaard had previously bested him on the same climb.”For sure you don’t know how the body reacts after a crash,but it was not to bad a crash,” Pogačar stated,downplaying any lingering effects from his earlier fall. “I feel my hip only if I do acrobatics, but here riding the bike it’s not big flexing.”
Meanwhile, Ben Healy, who had previously worn the yellow jersey for two stages, finished considerably behind the leaders on what was described as a challenging day for the Irish rider and the rest of the peloton.
