Graceful of pedal stroke and relaxed of demeanour, Jonas Vingegaard does not give the impression of a man feeling the strain on this Tour de France. On the Col du Val Louron-Azet on stage 17, he faced his most arduous test of the race to date without even a flicker of anxiety or sag of the shoulder.
Although UAE Team Emirates were down to just four riders after losing Marc Soler to illness and Rafal Majka to injury, Tadej Pogačar‘s squad put in their best display of the race on Wednesday, trimming the yellow jersey group to a minimum on the penultimate climb of the day.
For the final hour of the stage, Vingegaard had only Pogačar and the Slovenian’s teammate Brandon McNulty for company. Vingegaard’s own supporting cast, including the reliable Sepp Kuss, were distanced 4km from the top of the Col du Val Louron-Azet. The yellow jersey was isolated but seemingly unperturbed.
Then again, Vingegaard’s strategy since divesting Pogačar of yellow on the Col du Granon has been straightforward, and it didn’t change here, even when he was outnumbered two to one. Whether they came early or late, trailing Pogačar’s every attack has been the central plank of his approach. The Dane rides this Tour as though heeding Claudius’ warning about Hamlet: “Madness in great ones must not unwatched go.”
“It’s clear that in the finale, I was without a teammate and that wasn’t ideal, but all I had to do was follow Tadej. I wasn’t worried at any point,” Vingegaard said.
“Of course, it takes energy, but you have to be ready because you never know when Tadej will attack. He often attacks when you don’t expect it. That was the case today and it will be again tomorrow.”
Vingegaard responded immediately to Pogačar’s brief volley over the top of the Col du Val Louron-Azet before McNulty took up the reins again on the descent, past the artificial lake at Loudonville and all the way up the final climb to Peyragudes. Pogačar claimed the sprint for stage victory, peeling four seconds off Vingegaard’s overall lead, but the Dane had every reason to feel he had won the day. With just one mountain stage to Hautacam remaining, he is still 2:18 clear of Pogačar atop the standings.
“If you have a problem, it’s not nice, but other than that, I only had to follow Tadej,” Vingegaard said of his afternoon behind the McNulty-Pogačar tandem. “I didn’t need to follow Brandon McNulty if he attacked. Sepp Kuss was also super strong, he was one of the five best today. It was just that Brandon McNulty was…
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