Wrist damage or no wrist damage, Tadej Pogacar is not likely to ever back off. After shedding time within the first Pyrenean level to Laruns, the Slovenian got here out preventing on level six of the Tour de France, a mountain end to Cauterets-Cambasque, throwing down the gauntlet to the protecting champion, Jonas Vingegaard.
In what used to be his tenth level win within the Tour and but some other virtuoso solo assault from the 2020 and 2021 victor, Pogacar justified the realization that, regardless of his lengthy lay-off, he’ll recover because the race is going on.
Afterwards, buoyed through attaining double figures in level wins, he joked: “I’m coming for you Mark Cavendish! It’s a bit cocky to say that, but I’m happy to have just one stage win. Today I was just as happy as when I first won three years ago.”
The pendulum that seemed to be swinging inexorably in favor of last year’s winner has now begun to move back towards Pogacar. But the 24-year-old dismissed talk of his win as revenge. “It’s good to win today and take back some time,” he said. “I feel a little bit of relief and feel much better now.”
Pogacar’s success was the result of a shock attack on Vingegaard, just under 4km from the finish at the Cambasque mountain resort.
Unable to respond to the UAE Emirates rider’s violent acceleration, the Dane was compensated by his first yellow jersey of this year’s race and a pat on the back from the French president, Emmanuel Macron.
“I’m super-happy to be back in the maillot jauneVingegaard said. “I hoped to stay with Tadej but he was really strong on the last climb, so he deserved to win.”
Jumbo-Visma’s team leader benefited from some stellar support on his way to his latest yellow jersey, with both of his teammates, Wout van Aert and Sepp Kuss, giving their all on the towering climb of the Col du Tourmalet.
“I was thinking when they started pulling on the Tourmalet: ‘Shit, if it’s going to happen like yesterday we can pack our bags and go home,’” Pogacar stated. “Luckily I had good legs today and could follow on the Tourmalet quite comfortably. I just put myself in the right position, ready to go, but like I said, I was hanging on for dear life.”
While Vingegaard and his teammates stuck to their plan, Pogacar, bereft of help in the closing kilometres, was having to improvise. “You can have plan A, plan B, plan C – the whole alphabet – and a hundred different things can happen,” stated the level winner. “In cycling it’s so difficult to follow the tactics because there are so many circumstances you can’t predict.”
As the peloton exits the Pyrenees, the pair glance carefully matched, with simply 25 seconds isolating them. “I guess it will be an exciting Tour this year,” Vingegaard famous, deadpan.
While Pogacar and Vingegaard moved forward at the penultimate climb, the in a single day race chief, Bora-Hansgrohe’s Jai Hindley wilted. After not up to 24 hours within the yellow jersey, Hindley’s hopes went south because the main teams rode previous the ski station at La Mongie, 4km from the highest of the enormous climb of Tourmalet. The Australian controlled to struggle again at the lengthy descent that adopted, restricting his deficit to Vingegaard to simply 1min 34sec on the end, with Simon Yates fourth total an extra 1min 40sec again.
“That was just an epic day riding round in the yellow jersey and doing some mythical climbs,” Hindley stated. “To be honest, I got my ass handed to me, but really enjoyed it.”
Vingegaard gave the impression as enthused about President Macron as many within the crowd. Asked what the top of state had stated to him he struggled to recall, prior to responding: “He said it was nice to see me again – I think he remembered me from last year.”
Pogacar devoted his level win to his spouse, Urska Zigart, who used to be pressured to desert the ladies’s Giro d’Italia, the Giro Donne, after crashing and struggling a concussion. “Of route, as of late she used to be already at house now not racing. She gave me the entire energy,” he said. “This one used to be for her.”