Jonas Vingegaard easily followed the wild attacks of Tadej Pogacar, in the end the main actors rolled shoulder to shoulder over the finish line in the shadow of the mighty Mont Blanc.
“It was a draw. No one could outrun the other. But it was a good day,” said defending champion Vingegaard after the 15th stage of the Tour de France. Chaser Pogacar tried three explosive runs on the hilltop finish at Saint-Gervais, but the Dane in the yellow jersey showed strength. After two thirds of the tour, the duo are only ten seconds apart.
Pogacar sees the gap, which should definitely change in Tuesday’s time trial, as an advantage. “I’m very happy with the ten seconds. That way I can be more aggressive and attack and don’t have to be passive,” said the Slovenian. The stage victory at the last mountain finish of this year’s tour was secured by escapee Wout Poels as a soloist, behind the Dutchman the Belgian Wout van Aert crossed the finish line in second place.
Pogacar attack unsuccessful
However, the focus was on the one-second thriller between Vingegaard and Pogacar. On the final seven-kilometre climb, Vingegaard was waiting for his rival to attack, but he wasn’t tempted for a long time. The first attempt came only one kilometer from the finish, but unlike the previous attacks, Pogacar could not break free. Vingegaard even followed a second acceleration while sitting. Spaniard Carlos Rodriguez remains third, Bora captain Jai Hindley dropped back to fifth.
His helper Emanuel Buchmann fell in a descent on Sunday, but continued the race. “I have a few abrasions. The fall wasn’t too bad, but that’s always annoying. The plan was to stay with Jai on the mountain longer. That wasn’t possible anymore,” said Buchmann. Hindley himself fell on Saturday and apparently suffered from the consequences a day later. Instead of looking all the way to the front, the podium is moving further and further away for the Australian.
Possibly Pogacar could have taken the lead on Saturday. Heading into Morzine, the two-time champion looked like the stronger rider on the final climb, the dreaded Col de Joux Plane. When he launched an attack a good 500 meters before the pass, a TV and a photographer’s motorcycle blocked the narrow road and Pogacar had to brake. Although he downplayed the incident at the finish, he admitted that he had wasted energy unnecessarily. He lost the sprint for the bonus seconds at the top of the pass against Vingegaard.
The Tour imposed both motorcycle crews with a suspension for the stage on Sunday and a fine of 500 Swiss francs (around 515 euros) each. The photographer apologized. “I will not defend the untenable. We shouldn’t be in this situation. I should have asked my biker to distance me faster and earlier,” said Bernard Papon, a contributor to French sports daily L’Équipe. He explained the incident with the many spectators on the mountain.
Spectators provide a negative highlight
A fan took center stage on the way to Saint-Gervais. With about 128 kilometers to go, he stood too far on the road and stuck out his arm, apparently holding a smartphone. The American Sepp Kuss, who was at the front of the field, touched his arm, fell and took more than 20 drivers to the ground. In the mountains, Kiss is Vingegaard’s main helper.
“This is the driver’s office. Don’t go to their office,” said Eurosport expert Jens Voigt, who accompanied the stage on the motorcycle. “Don’t try to be part of the spectacle. The drivers are the spectacle, they are the show. Leave the road to the drivers,” appealed the ex-professional. John Degenkolb was also involved in the crash, which immediately forced no driver to retire.
On Monday, the second rest day offers the pros the opportunity to recover from the hardships in the Alps. As a rule, the riders get on their bikes for a maximum of two hours for a relaxed ride, are treated by physiotherapists, attend media appointments and receive family visits.
