As always, it was a Tour de France of a thousand stories, from Fabio Jakobsen’s emotional win in Nybørg to Michael Mørkøv’s doomed but noble effort to finish inside the time limit at Carcassonne; from Michael Matthews’ craft at Mende to Tom Pidcock’s drifting descent of the Galibier.
Run off at an average speed in excess of 42km, the 2022 Tour de France was the fastest in history, and it exacted a brutal toll on its participants. COVID-19 contributed to the rate of attrition, but so too did the searing heat and relentless nature of the racing. Just 135 riders made it to Paris, the lowest number of finishers since 2000.
There were compelling performances from men like Geraint Thomas, who placed third after what was perhaps the most complete Tour he has even ridden, or Romain Bardet, who battled gamely either side of a dreaded jour sans in the Pyrenees. David Gaudu began to deliver on his considerable promise with a fine 4th place finish in Paris.
As the Tour drew on, however, it became increasingly clear that the race for yellow was again a straight fight between Tadej Pogačar and the Jumbo-Visma collective. In 2020 and 2021, Pogacar had the better of that contest. This time out, the team in yellow and black had his number, as Jonas Vingegaard emerged to claim Denmark’s second overall title after Bjarne Riis in 1996.
Cyclingnews looks back at some of the moments that defined his victory.
Roglič’s crash on the road to Arenberg
It’s not quite Tom Brady and Drew Bledsoe, but would Jonas Vingegaard have risen to become a Tour winner so soon without the misfortune that has befallen his Jumbo-Visma teammate Primož Roglič on this race?
A year ago, Roglič’s early crash left an opening for Vingegaard to step up unexpectedly as team leader. This time out, Roglič’s fall on stage 5 changed the dynamic at Jumbo in a way that allowed Vingegaard to go on and win the race.
Roglič and Vingegaard set out from Copenhagen as near co-leaders, though Jumbo-Visma’s configuration at the Critérium du Dauphiné suggested that the Slovenian remained half a step ahead in the hierarchy. If Roglič and Vingegaard had both reached the mountains locked on the same time, Jumbo-Visma may well have elected to ride cautiously in the Alps to keep both their contenders in the hunt.
Instead, the complexion of Jumbo-Visma’s Tour was shifted by a loose bale of…
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