There is him in front and the others behind.
He is unbeatable.
Jonas Vingegaard, the double winner of the Tour de France, stunned Tirreno-Adriatico, the Italian stage race, even more.
He dominated this March 9, the queen stage of the event with the highlight, the climb to the summit of Monte-Petrano.
Starting from very far away, more than six kilometers from the summit, the Dane from Visma was 26 seconds ahead of his runners-up in the general classification: Juan Ayuso (UAE) took second place in the sprint ahead of Jai Hindley (Bora) , the two men thus retaining their places in this order on the podium, respectively 1′ 24′' and 1′ 52′' from Vingegaard.
“Bora's very high pace was good for us,” Vingegaard said.
Jai (Hindley) attacked, I waited a bit and decided to attack.
Then it was a clock until the end..."
Jonas Vingegaard tames Monte Petrano and wins the 6th stage of #TirrenoAdriatico: 6th victory of the year for the Dane, decidedly unplayable 👊
Follow the Italian race exclusively on Eurosport, with #LesRP pic.twitter.com/DKIyiBPgjA
— Eurosport France (@Eurosport_FR) March 9, 2024
Setting off with the blue leader's jersey on his shoulders, the Dane initially passed the stage quietly in the warmth of the peloton, well protected by his men.
They let go without panic a breakaway of nine men who could have been royal, with Richard Carapaz, Julian Alaphilippe or even Ben Healy.
But they never conceded more than 2 min 20 sec to the fugitives, whose small group began to disintegrate 45 km from the finish, when Alaphilippe, the first, let go.
At the foot of the final ascent, almost ten kilometers at almost 8% average with an altitude difference of 817 meters, there were only two men left in the lead: Andreas Leknessund, who quickly gave in, and the little Ecuadorian climber Carapaz, reigning Olympic champion since his victory in Tokyo.
Under the leadership of Jail Hindley's teammates, the peloton attacked the climb at a breakneck pace, quickly reducing the "blue jersey group" to around fifteen units.
Bardet retires after concussion
6.6 km from the goal, Vingegaard, Ayuso and Hindley delivered the second blow.
Setting out in threes, they caught up and dropped off Carapaz in a few hectometers, before settling scores between them.
The scenario ended up being exactly the same as the day before.
Vingegaard took off, and the other two finished in the same second, far behind him.
“Two wins is a perfect week, you just have to keep the jersey until the end.
I think I'm in better shape than the previous two years, I'm very happy with the way we ran all week, as a team,” says the Dane to Eurosport.
At the start this Saturday morning, Frenchman Romain Bardet (DSM) did not show up.
Victim of a fall the day before, he was subjected to the concussion protocol in the evening, which revealed slight symptoms.
His team announced his withdrawal in the morning.
Also note that 38-year-old sprinter Marc Cavendish also stopped on Friday evening, eliminated for arriving late.