If a single picture may sum up the radically completely different instructions of journey for the 2024 Tour de France’s two high GC contenders proper now, you might do worse than the second when Jonas Vingegaard lastly emerged from the anti-doping truck on the stage 15 end line and started fielding questions on his second straight Pyrenean defeat by Tadej Pogačar.
As Vingegaard pedalled gently to a halt in the midst of a sea of microphones and TV cameras for his on-bike interview, Pogačar himself appeared on the end line following his post-stage media duties. The Tour de France chief then rode easily and largely un-noticed previous the backs of the cloud of reporters surrounding Vingegaard – resplendent in his yellow jersey, accompanied solely by his press officer and with six days racing nonetheless left, en route for an appropriately low-key celebration of his newest victory.
For Pogačar, after dropping Vingegaard 5 kilometres from the end line at Plateau de Beille to take a 68-second benefit, issues may hardly be extra easy at this level within the race, given he now has a lead of over three minutes on GC on the Dane. But if a 3rd Tour de France victory for Pogačar appears to be like significantly extra sure than it did 24 hours in the past, Vingegaard and the Visma-Lease A Bike group will certainly spend a lot of the Tour’s relaxation day again on the drafting board, making an attempt to determine the implications of this newest defeat.
Probably the important thing level the Dane made to reporters on the end line put up stage 15 was that he’s definitely not dropping out in his GC battle. On the opposite, Vingegaard felt that he may nonetheless but handle to win the 2024 Tour, for all that he was positively on the again foot, time-wise, at this level within the race.
“Actually I’m pleased with how I rode and the way the group rode, the fellows rode actually strongly and we rode tremendous laborious,” Vingegaard stated.
“On the final climb I used to be feeling tremendous sturdy, I believe I did among the best performances of my life. But Tadej was tremendous sturdy – so I can’t actually be dissatisfied.”
“I believe there’s nonetheless an opportunity [to win the Tour]. The Tour de France remains to be not completed and generally prior to now two years, Tadej has had a nasty day. We need to hope that may nonetheless occur.”
“If he retains up this stage it’ll be laborious, however there are nonetheless probabilities. I’m not dissatisfied, I believe this was among the best performances of my life.”
Visma-Lease A Bike administration have been equally adamant that this was removed from being the tip of the street for Vingegaard to struggle for a 3rd straight Tour de France victory, though they recognised, too, that they’d suffered a severe setback. The one plus facet was that Vingegaard additional buttressed his place on the rostrum by taking practically two minutes on Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep). But on the similar time, his probability of a yellow jersey has now slipped considerably additional out of his attain.
“This shouldn’t be the knock-out blow,” Visma sports activities director Grischa Niermann advised reporters as he waited on the group automotive on the far facet of the end. “Jonas remains to be in second place. We can maintain preventing, with our heads held excessive.”
“Lots can nonetheless occur,” he insisted, “We’ll by no means give up earlier than the tip. But at this time limit all we will do is settle for that Pogačar is simply too sturdy.”
If the result of a Pogačar victory was similar to stage 14, the build-up couldn’t have been extra completely different. Vingegaard had emphasised earlier than the stage that the a lot, longer, harder stage, with practically 5,000 metres of climbing was extra in his favour. So quite than UAE laying down a searing tempo on the ultimate ascent like at Pla d’Adet, this time round it was Visma-Lease A Bike making the working, all the best way to the purpose when Vingegaard attacked.
“The guys gave it their all. They adopted the plan from begin to end. We need to be pleased with that,” Niermann stated, echoing Vingegaard’s phrases. “We needed to make the race very laborious and shortly deliver it all the way down to a one-to-one struggle on the ultimate climb. That’s what we did. But it didn’t work.”
Niermann additionally confirmed what Vingegaard had stated about his ascent of Plateau de Beille being among the best climbing performances of his profession. But the important thing distinction was that if Vingegaard was at his greatest, or near it, significantly after getting back from such a troublesome accident and lengthy spell of restoration, within the meantime in his view, Pogačar had stepped up a stage.
“We did our greatest and Jonas returns from damage, he’s in nice form and simply does a superb job. [Vingegaard’s] numbers are good, shut and even higher than final 12 months, I don’t know precisely. But Pogačar is best [than last year], it appears.”
As for the million-dollar query, about whether or not one other plan can now emerge for making an attempt to beat Pogačar, identical to Vingegaard, Niermann remained defiant, however reasonable in regards to the Dane’s choices. “We should see,” he stated. “But if he [Pogačar] retains driving like this, will probably be very laborious.”
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