Vingegaard Advances Closer to Tour de France Victory as Pogacar Falters

 

Jonas Vingegaard took a significant step towards securing a second consecutive Tour de France title as his rival, Tadej Pogacar, suffered an unexpected and dramatic setback during the 17th stage, which was also the toughest of the race.

Just a day after dominating the individual time trial and widening the gap between them, Vingegaard made a bold move, going solo around five kilometers from the top of the challenging Col de la Loze (28.1km at 6%). Despite facing obstacles like being slowed down by an organizers' car and a race motorbike, he pressed on relentlessly.

Although he couldn't catch Felix Gall of Austria, who won the stage after attacking from the breakaway 6.4km from the top, Vingegaard's fourth-place finish in the 165.7-km trek from Saint Gervais was more than enough to put him in a strong position to celebrate victory in Paris on Sunday.

The 10-second gap between Vingegaard and Pogacar just two days ago has now grown into an insurmountable 7 minutes and 35 seconds after Pogacar's crash early in the stage, which resulted in a knee injury. He crossed the finish line more than five minutes behind the leader, Jonas Vingegaard, leaving him with doubts and uncertainty after being defeated by him for the second year in a row, dealing a devastating blow to his aspirations.

"I'm relieved to have more than seven minutes, but we're not in Paris yet. There are still some tricky stages left," said Vingegaard cautiously, acknowledging the unpredictable nature of the sport.

During the post-race news conference, Vingegaard addressed the recurring issue of trust in cycling, which has been tainted by doping scandals in the past. He asserted that while it's challenging for people to trust the sport, he is different from athletes 20 years ago, and he would never take anything he wouldn't give to his own daughter, vowing not to resort to any performance-enhancing drugs.

As Pogacar struggled to reach the finish line atop the brutal hill of Col de la Loze, he might have caught a glimpse of Vingegaard's teammate, Tiesj Benoot, celebrating in victory. It was a day that Jumbo-Visma had anticipated, planning to shake up the Tour and create a tough challenge, and their strategy paid off, propelling Jonas Vingegaard to a seemingly inevitable triumph.

An incident on the Col de la Loze involving a stalled race motorbike amid large crowds and the subsequent halt of an organizers' car and another race motorbike could have caused bad luck, but Vingegaard managed to navigate through and continue his commanding performance until the finish line, where he crossed with a cheerful smile.

Despite the interruptions caused by the motorbike issue, Vingegaard remained composed and undeterred. He explained, "There were a lot of vehicles, so we had to stand still for a moment. And then we went on."