An ultra-aggressive Visma-Lease a Bike in stage 17 of the Tour de France noticed the staff place a number of riders in breakaways because the race headed again into the mountains, with Wout van Aert as soon as once more displaying indicators of rising type.
However, whereas the stage win finally led to a lone victory for Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), Visma chief Jonas Vingegaard struggled a bit to remain in contact with the opposite podium contenders, a worrying omen given the hardest days within the Alps are but to come back.
Race chief Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) each managed to distance the Dane on the toughest ascent of the day, the cat1 Col de Noyer. Although Vingegaard subsequently regained contact, Evenepoel then went clear once more on the Superdévoluy ascent.
While lastly, Evenepoel gained 12 seconds on Vingegaard to shut the hole barely general, Pogačar additionally snatched a few seconds on his arch-rival within the ultimate sprint for the road. Visma-Lease A Bike’s colossal effort within the first a part of the day then finally backfired a bit, though their all-out try and disrupt the stage did make for some spectacular racing – and in addition confirmed an admirably cussed refusal to maintain preventing within the Tour to the bitter finish.
“Of course, we needed to attempt to go for the stage with me, Tiesj [Benoot] and another riders,” Van Aert informed reporters after he, Benoot and Christophe Laporte all tried, with various levels of success and length, to make it into the early and mid-race strikes.
“But it was actually tough to create a break immediately. There have been so many individuals , clearly. We tried to guard Tiesj when he obtained away, however there weren’t so many groups in his transfer, and it by no means actually calmed down behind, both.
“Then at a sure level in a while, there was one other massive group with me and Christophe, however I already knew it will be tough with so many good climbers there.”
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Benoot’s four-man transfer was the one which stayed away the longest earlier than disintegrating on the decrease slopes of the Col de Noyer when Simon Yates (Jayco-AIUIa) and Richard Carapaz scorched by means of the main break to combat it out for the stage win. Meanwhile, Pogačar himself went on the rampage within the GC group, timed at some eight minutes behind.
“At first, I didn’t see the assaults in any respect as a result of I used to be in entrance of them,” Van Aert recounted. “We at all times anticipate Pogačar to race aggressively, so we at all times anticipate them. I’ll have to speak to Jonas to listen to what occurred, however it was good that me, Tiesj and Christophe have been on the entrance of the race so we might nonetheless give him a hand within the ultimate.
“I might have had an opportunity with that group,” Benoot mentioned on the end, “however when that massive group got here again, I knew it will be more durable with guys like Richard Carapaz and Simon Yates. They flew straight previous me.”
Arguably extra necessary, in any case, was that each he and Van Aert have been up there forward of the GC group. That meant they have been subsequently completely positioned to try to defend Vingegaard on a stage the place the Dane was not, by his personal admission, on an ideal day.
“That was additionally our prime precedence,” Benoot confirmed, “to be there to guard Jonas in case one thing like that occurred within the ultimate, and I’m glad we might assist him.”
Van Aert added, “It’s good that we have been there as a result of Jonas had just a few tough moments, I feel.
Van Aert’s teammate Bart Lemmen additionally informed reporters, “I heard Jonas misplaced a bit little bit of time. in order that’s not good, after all, though it wasn’t an excessive amount of.
“We needed to see what was attainable within the breaks with our riders quite than journey offensively [with Vingegaard], however it was robust with the wind and all of the riders leaping round for 2 and a half hours. In the top, it’s a pity we misplaced a little bit of time, however the final two massive mountain phases [19 and 20] will go well with Jonas higher.
“Whenever somebody is making it onerous, you must anticipate that they’ll assault,” VIngegaard himself commented to reporters in a short interview.
“I believed that Tadej would shut the hole [on Evenepoel], however I’ve to thank my teammates rather a lot, really, additionally on the highest there [of the Noyer] when Christophe helped me in addition to in a while.”
As for whether or not he might nonetheless get higher in what stays of the third week – as was broadly predicted as attainable given his uncommon method path to the Tour de France following his horrible crash and accidents in Itzulia-Basque Country in April – Vingegaard remained upbeat.
“I nonetheless really feel like I’m bettering. Today was possibly not my greatest day, however nonetheless, every now and then you’ve got a nasty day. And if this was my unhealthy day, then I’m joyful.”
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