Jonas Vingegaard deals Tadej Pogacar massive blow in Tour de France time trial
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Jumbo-Visma's Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey as he wins the 16th stage of the 110th edition of the Tour de France cycling race, a 22km individual time trial between Passy and Combloux, in the French Alps, on Tuesday.
PHOTO: AFP
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COMBLOUX – Jonas Vingegaard soared to a crushing triumph on stage 16 of the Tour de France on Tuesday, winning the 22.4km time trial by 1min 38sec from Tadej Pogacar, who was second.
Jumbo-Visma rider Vingegaard attacked from start to finish with a win that extended his overall lead in the Tour de France to 1min 48sec over the Team UAE rider Pogacar.
Said the defending champion: “I was feeling great today. I think it’s the best time trial I have ever done. I’m really proud of what I did today and I’m really happy about the victory. Today I even surprised myself with the time trial I did. I didn’t expect to do so well.”
The margin of the win was a surprise. Ahead of the start of the stage most riders tipped Pogacar to win.
“It’s today you win the Tour! Come on! Come on! Come on,” Vingegaard’s team shouted to him over their radio, as times showed the Dane was crushing Pogacar along the way.
Pogacar at times appeared as white as the white jersey he was wearing. He also fumbled his bike change from the aerodynamic time-trial model to a lighter climbing bike at the foot of the steep Cote de Dormancy towards the end of the ride.
“There was nothing I could have done more. This isn’t finished but he took a lot of time,” Pogacar said at the finish line.
His rival agreed, when asked if the Tour was effectively over.
Said Vingegaard: “No. There’s still a lot of hard stages to come, so we have to keep fighting the next days and we’re looking forward to it.
“I’m really, really happy with the victory today and I’m really proud of it. It’s my first time-trial victory in the Tour de France.”
The Slovenian was blown away by Vingegaard yet was far stronger than anyone else, finishing 1min 13sec ahead of the third-place rider, Wout van Aert.
After the two were separated by just 10 seconds at the start of the day, the margin appears decisive, but Wednesday’s Queen stage tackles four huge mountains.
So far on this 110th edition the pair have traded tit-for-tat hits, with the struggle finely balanced as the peloton climbed through the Alps.
Vingegaard fired first, taking a 53-second lead over the Team UAE rider in the Pyrenees but Pogacar hit back three times to reduce the deficit.
Over the weekend’s two stages in the Alps, Vingegaard stopped the rot, even scraping a second back himself.
On Tuesday, Vingegaard made a strong start, reaching the first check point at 7.1km with a 16-second advantage over his rival.
The Dane took all the risks in the descending portions and reached the foot of the Cote de Domancy (2.5km at 9.4 per cent) with a 31-second lead before wrapping up a commanding stage win.
Pogacar’s teammate Adam Yates is third in the general classification, 8min 52sec adrift. Ineos Grenadiers’ Carlos Rodriguez (+8min 57sec) and Jai Hindley of Bora-Hansgrohe (+11min 15sec) round up the top five. AFP, REUTERS
