Cycling star Tadej Pogacar had a thrilling duel with world champion Remco Evenepoel between the vineyards of Burgundy and dealt his opponent Jonas Vingegaard another blow. Pogacar missed the victory on the seventh stage of the Tour de France, finishing twelve seconds behind the young Belgian star on the 25.3-kilometer time trial course from Nuits-Saint-Georges to Gevrey-Chambertin, but he was able to extend his lead over defending champion Vingegaard.
The Dane finished fourth, 37 seconds behind Evenepoel, and is now falling further behind in the battle for his third Tour triumph in a row. Pogacar is now 33 seconds ahead of Evenepoel in the overall rankings, although he appears to have no chance against the exceptional Slovenian rider in the high mountains. Vingegaard is third, 1:15 minutes behind.
Primoz Roglic from the German Red Bull team also lost time, although less than feared. The 2023 Giro winner was 34 seconds slower than Evenepoel in third place and is already 1:36 minutes behind his compatriot Pogacar in the overall standings.
Pogacar takes revenge for Tour humiliation 2023
Meanwhile, Pogacar has managed to get his revenge for 2023, and the first Giro d’Italia and Tour double since Marco Pantani 26 years ago is getting closer. The Slovenian had already shown his extra class at his climbing gala on Tuesday to the Alpine giant Col du Galibier and outwitted Vingegaard and co.
Last year, Pogacar suffered a painful defeat against Vingegaard in the Tour time trial. A deficit of 1:38 minutes over just 22.4 kilometers was a humiliation that left its mark on the superstar. “The time trial in Combloux was a moment when I broke down mentally,” admitted Pogacar.
Pogacar already ahead of Vingegaard at half-time
This time things went differently. After the only climb of the day on the Côte de Curtil-Vergy at kilometer 14.4, Pogacar was already 13 seconds ahead of Vingegaard, who only completed three smaller time trials this year due to his serious fall in the Tour of the Basque Country. Pogacar, on the other hand, was completely different, putting everything to the test after 2023 and optimizing his helmet, material and seating position – apparently with great success.
Only Evenepoel flew faster over the course, despite a short-term mechanical problem. The world champion in the fight against the clock had prepared specifically for this test and inspected the course several times. In the end, the 24-year-old was rewarded with the first stage win of the Tour. He had one small disadvantage: his white jersey as the best young professional was less aerodynamic than his specially designed World Cup kit.
German cyclists have no chance
And the Germans? Of the eight professional cyclists, time trial champion Nils Politt was the best in 29th place. “As German champion, you want to show off. The legs were pretty good,” said Politt. Nevertheless, Germany has no specialist in this discipline since the retirement of four-time time trial world champion Tony Martin three years ago.
On Saturday, the breakaway riders can hope for their chances. On the eighth stage (1:20 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Tour de France, on ARD and on Eurosport) over 183.4 kilometers between Semur-en-Auxois and Colombey-les-Deux-Églises, two climbs of the third category and three mountains of the fourth category have to be mastered. If the sprinter teams get serious in the last third of the stage, however, there could be another mass finish.
