The one question mark for Vingegaard surrounds his team, having lost Roglič and Steven Kruijswijk on Sunday, leaving just Sepp Kuss for the high Pyrenees. So while Pogačar's bad day was evidently a blip, he faces a Jonas Vingegaard who can seemingly follow him wherever he goes, and with apparent ease. Vingegaard took a huge chunk out of him on the Granon and has proceeded to respond almost effortlessly to his attempts at a riposte on Alpe d'Huez and at Mende. Pogačar carved out a 39-second lead in the first week but largely thanks to bonus seconds and small gains in the time trial and cobbled stage. What's more, he has shown absolutely no sign of weakness. Vingegaard therefore heads into the final week of the 2022 Tour de France in yellow with a lead of 2:22 over Pogačar. It was a day that turned the Tour on its head and it's no exaggeration to say it could be one that turns this cycling era on its head. It was an extraordinary sequence, and Vingegaard delivered a lethal blow on the Granon, winning his first Tour stage and putting nearly three minutes into Pogačar. The seeds were sewn some 50km earlier on stage 11, as Jumbo-Visma opened the race on the Télégraphe and then he and co-leader Primož Roglič proceeded to take turns attacking the yellow jersey on the lower slopes of the Galibier. Vingegaard can't take full credit, however. He didn't just put time into him on the Col du Granon, and he didn't just take the yellow jersey he triggered a full-on meltdown - shoulders swinging, mouth agape, getting caught and passed by riders he'd usually leave behind at will. The Dane has done what no one has managed since Tadej Pogačar burst onto the scene three years ago he cracked the Slovenian. The Dane was given co-leader status this season ahead of the Tour and rose to the occasion, memorably dominating June's Critérium du Dauphiné alongside Roglič to record a team 1-2.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |