If this is the best Tour de France of the last 20 years, it is in stages like this Thursday. A day full of courage, attacks everywhere in ascents and descents on the slopes of the Pyrenees where this race became eternal, fallscrashes and an exhibition to remember between two beardless boys who mark the dogma of a new cycling as brave as the very past times.
Jonas Vingegaard He endures the thousand attacks of Tadej Pogacar in the Col de Spandelles, takes advantage of the umpteenth exhibition of his escaped teammate Wout van Aert in the decisive Hautacam, strikes down the two-time Slovenian champion four kilometers from the finish line and sentences a vintage Tour. The Dane climbs alone and, as in the Granon, where he wore yellow for the first time, he wins the French race in one of the flagship ports. The Jumbo completes its work: Topple the two-time champion with a complex team strategy to caress his first Tour.
Pogacar dies with greatness. He torments leader Vingegaard on the ascent to the hard Col de Spandelles. He viciously attacks her five times; one after another, each stab is harder and more intense than the previous one. The young Balkan tries everything with enviable tenacity, but despite his efforts, Jonas does not give up. He endures the stab wounds, follows in his wake and shows he has plenty of legs for the final Col de Hautacam, where he gives up the queen stage that decides the race.
Persevering to the extreme of definition, in the descent of the unexpected protagonist Spandelles, the insatiable Pogacar starts up again. It surprises the leader, who on the verge of collapse loses control of his rear wheel and almost falls to the ground, causing moments of terror in the Jumbo cars. Although the one that files the asphalt is the one from the UAE: Tadej enters a curve late and fast, crosses the unstable gravel and loses his balance. The Nordic senses it and the headset confirms it, but he decides not to take advantage. Vingegaard looks back and waits for his neighbor in a gesture of exalted bonhomie. Pogacar arrives at his side, offers his hand in gratitude and both sign an image that dignifies this sport.
The battle in the eighteenth stage continues on its way to sunset in the You won’t tell methat beautiful port in the French Pyrenees where Induráin lost his sixth Tour or where Nibali confirmed his superiority in 2014. Vingegaard takes the example of the Sicilian, destroys the prodigy and sentences, except for catastrophe in the time trial on Saturday, his first Grand Tour in a stage that will hardly be forgotten.
Wout’s umpteenth exhibition
He’s not going to win this Tour and he may never get a big lap, but because of exhibitions like yesterday’s, Wout van Aert He is considered by many to be the best active broker.
The stage begins in the idyllic meadows of the valley where the beautiful Lourdes is located and, despite having secured the green jersey, the versatile Belgian cyclist goes on the attack in the first kilometer of the day. Van Aert, another day, is on the run ready to give a show. With two stage wins and four second places under his belt, Wout wants to leave his mark on the high Pyrenean mountains. He completes the Aubisque and the Spandelles in the lead; he attacks on the Hautacam, leaving Pinot behind and, just before fainting, helps his leader Vingegaard leave a badly wounded Pogacar in the lurch. He finishes third being, despite his perenne protagonismovital for the collective.
On the other side of the coin is Enrique Mas. As on Wednesday in Peyragudes, the leader of Movistar collapses in the high mountains and loses his place among the top ten in the general standings. While a wave of portents recover the place of the classics and grand tours in the world of sport, Spanish cycling deepens its crisis.
