Tour de France: Vingegaard, the brilliant show of force

The suspense will not go any further.

He did not cross the Pyrenees.

Three days before the parade on the Champs-Élysées, Jonas Vingegaard extinguished the last hopes of the intrepid Tadej Pogacar.

The unprecedented Col de Spandelles, narrow, rough in its ascent, dizzying and perilous in its descent, delivered one of the outstanding episodes of this Tour.

In a left turn, a chain jump pitched Jonas Vingegaard's bike.

His rear wheel chased and threatened to unseat him.

To discover

• The route of the Tour de France 2022

• The general classification of the Tour de France

Staying in the saddle, the yellow jersey then saw Tadej Pogacar continue to take risks, to carve ever more precarious trajectories until a pilot error.

A too wide turn ended in the gravel which threw him to the ground.

The Slovenian, torn shorts, scratched left flank quickly got up.

Back in the saddle, trying to put his ideas together as quickly as possible, he saw, a few hundred meters further on, that his rival had cut off his effort.

The handshake between the duelists signified a short truce full of respect.

Before the explanation in the ultimate ascent.

The collective strength of the Jumbo-Visma

The last round was torture for Tadej Pogacar.

The winner of the 2020 and 2021 Tours was crushed by the collective strength of the Jumbo-Visma team.

The infernal Wout Van Aert, last relay, coming to tear the last hopes of the winner of the UAE Team Emirates team.

Tadej Pogacar who multiplied the attacks during the stage, four, as much as during the first two stages in the Pyrenees, never managed to unclamp the Dane, always quick to tie up his impetuous rival.

Vingegaard was a shadow growing behind Pogacar's back.

An obsession.

A persistent breath in the neck of the young Slovenian who, exhausted, deprived of spring, found himself glued to a hellish change of pace.

4.4 km from the finish, the meters quickly dug a chasm in which came

Read alsoTour de France: Vingegaard's demonstration, Pogacar's impotence, the tops and flops of the 18th stage

Tadej Pogacar, yellow jersey from the 6th stage, may regret the excess of energy on all terrains, on the cobblestones, in the sprints.

The Slovenian has, on several occasions, dispersed.

Driven by his insolent success, his ease, his taste for risk, he was at the helm of an exciting Tour, probably had the impression of having folded the case very early and surely underestimated the collective strength of the Jumbo-Visma team (which now collects the yellow and polka dot jerseys with Vingegaard and green with Van Aert) and the one who was to reveal himself during this Tour.

Jonas Vingegaard, stage winner at the top of the Col du Granon (11th stage) put on the first yellow jersey of his career.

He was going to get stronger.

Resist the weight of waiting,

to his inner impatience and the psychological pressure exerted by Tadej Pogacar.

To move forward with mastery.

Without ever getting carried away.

And the prospect of winning the best victory of his career does not turn his head.

There remains ice in a hot environment: “

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Step after step, David Gaudu, escorted by the marvelous Valentin Madouas, transforms the last hairpin bends into a crazy ascent.

The Breton lands at the foot of the podium.

In the shadow of a duo of acrobats who experienced cold sweats in the last mountain stage coming to seal the positions and knock out certain ambitions...