Sport Tour de France
Without resistance, Pogacar comes closer to overall victory in the Alps
Status: 17:24 | Reading time: 3 minutes
Pogacar races away from his pursuers
Source: AFP/THOMAS SAMSON
If things continue like this, it will be the first time in more than a quarter of a century that the same rider has won the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France. Slovenian Tadej Pogacar also won the 19th stage of the 111th edition of the classic.
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The relaxed-looking Tadej Pogacar arrived at the Isola 2000 ski resort after a demanding mountain ride almost unfazed, bowed to the fans and ensured a preliminary decision in the battle for victory in the 111th Tour de France. Without counterattacks from his exhausted-looking rival Jonas Vingegaard, the Slovenian is very close to his sensational double victory.
In the Alps, the 25-year-old inflicted another heavy defeat on his opponent and provided enough arguments on the tough 19th stage for a rider to win the Tour and the Giro d’Italia in one year for the first time in 26 years. The last person to do this was Italian Marco Pantani.
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With just under nine kilometers to go, Pogacar attacked the seemingly defenseless Vingegaard, overtook the few riders in front of him from the breakaway group and rode away irresistibly. Two days before the final individual time trial in Nice, Pogacar crossed the finish line first after the 144.6 kilometers between Embrun and Isola 2000, ahead of Vingegaard’s American colleague Matteo Jorgenson and Briton Simon Yates. Pogacar thus celebrated his fourth stage win in this year’s Tour de France and his 15th stage win in total in the Tour. The Dane Vingegaard seemed primarily concerned with defending second place in the overall rankings ahead of the Belgian Remco Evenepoel.
Tadej Pogacar celebrates on the podium
Source: AFP/MARCO BERTORELLO
The exceptional rider Pogacar also set standards in other respects. After the Tour day, he put on the leader’s jersey in a Grand Tour for the 37th time this year. He now holds the record together with cycling legend Eddy Merckx. The Belgian set the best record in 1970. Pogacar wore the pink jersey at the Giro 2024 20 times and the yellow jersey at the Tour 17 times.
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In the overall standings, the man in the yellow jersey significantly increased his comfortable lead. He is now 5:03 ahead of defending champion Vingegaard and 7:01 ahead of third-placed Evenepoel. Provided there is no drop in performance, illness or a fall, Pogacar should be able to celebrate his third Tour victory on Sunday in Nice on the Côte d’Azur.
Highest point of the tour
The key stage in the Alps saw the cyclists once again climb dizzying heights. The Cime de la Bonette, at 2802 metres, was the highest point ever climbed in the Tour. Before that, the Col de Vars had to be conquered. Both climbs were in the highest category.
The sprinters in particular were pushed to their limits and had to hope that they wouldn’t fall outside the time limit. The organizers had adjusted the grace period slightly to benefit the faster men. Vingegaard’s team knew that they had to deliver if they were to pose a threat to Pogacar again. They set the pace right from the start, pushing the breakaway group forward. However, the expected attack from Vingegaard on the Bonette failed to materialize – especially since Pogacar had four teammates with him. The Dane had none.
Although there are still two stages to go – the Alpine stage from Nice to the Col de la Couillole on Saturday and the final time trial from Monaco to Nice – the performances shown cast doubt on whether Pogacar can still be pushed out of the top of the overall rankings.
