photo credits @ ASO
Jonas Vingegaard all but secured a second Tour de France triumph as rival Tadej Pogacar ended his race on a high with victory in Stage 20 in the Vosges. Pogacar outkicked Felix Gall, Vingegaard and the Yates brothers in a five-up sprint after local legend Thibaut Pinot came close to the perfect Tour swansong. Italy’s Giulio Ciccone secured the polka dot jersey.
Yellow jersey Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo Visma) and his rival in white Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) put on another thrilling display as they went head-to-head for bragging rights in the Vosges on the penultimate day of the Tour.
Pogacar came out on top from a five-man move that contested the spoils with Vingegaard settling for third place behind his rival and Austria’s Felix Gall (AG2R-Citroen), with brothers Simon Yates (Jayco-AlUla) and Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) bringing up the rear.
Vingegaard may have missed out on a second stage win of the race but the 26-year-old Dane will now be crowned Tour de France champion for a second year running after Sunday’s processional stage into Paris. Separated by just 10-seconds going into the final week, Vingegaard’s sensational performance in Tuesday’s time trial – coupled with Pogacar cracking on the Col de la Loze one day later – means the defending champion will carry a whopping 7’35” lead heading onto the Champs-Elysees.
An action-packed penultimate stage also saw Italy’s Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) secure the polka dot jersey, Adam Yates confirm his place on the final podium, and brother Simon rising to fourth place in the overall standings after Spain’s Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) dropped back after suffering an early crash.
But the performance of the day came from local rider Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) who dared to dream in his own backyard in what will probably be his last competitive appearance in the race after a long and illustrious career. Pinot, who is due to retire at the end of the season, bridged over to the day’s breakaway before soloing through a sea of his own supporters and over the summit of the penultimate climb, the Petit Ballon, in pole position in scenes that sent shivers down the spine.
Pinot was ultimately caught on the final climb, the Col du Platzerwasel, once an attack from Pogacar behind spurred a reaction from his yellow shadow, Vingegaard, and the in-form Austrian Gall. The trio was caught by the Yates brothers after the summit before the quintet rode the last 5km together ahead of a champagne finale.
Working for his UAE team leader, Adam Yates led out the final sprint before Vingegaard took the initiative with an initial jump on the ramped finale at Le Markstein Fellering. But Pogacar used his superior kick to return to winning ways with a second-stage win to draw a line under what has been a tough third week for the double champion.
“Today I finally felt like myself again,” Pogacar said. “It was just really good from start to finish to feel good again after many days of suffering and to pull it off at the finish. I’m super, super happy.”
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