Moral blow from Vingegaard to Pogacar in the eleventh stage of the Tour de France

The 211 kilometers in between Évaux-les-Bains and Le Lioranwith constant ups and downs and four climbs in the last forty-three kilometers of eleventh stage of the Tour de France, in the middle of the Central Massif, offered the option of attacking the general men. If there is an unusual hiding on any occasion, it is a Tadej Pogacar who attacked from afar to claim victory. However, what the Slovenian did not expect, perhaps, was the complete twist of the script: A brutal recovery by Jonas Vingegaard allowed the Dane to beat the Slovenian in a sprint to deliver a morale blow. in the fight for the race.

There is no difference in times between the two favorites, but yes a strong message from the leader of Visma-Lease to Bike: he is ready after the severe fall suffered months ago and many more Tours are ahead.. Vingegaard took a prestigious and high-quality victory to show that his recovery is going from strength to strength in the race and to claim that he is a good candidate for victory in the general classification.

It was a day where the excitement was concentrated at the end, with four of the six climbs of a ‘leg-breaking’ day marked for the men in the general classification to be seen. He did not miss the opportunity a Tadej Pogacar who made a long-distance attack 31 kilometers away, in the middle of the ascent of Puy Mary, first after which the second and third are missing. However, slowly but surely, Vingegaard has found his rhythm, came from behind and grabbed the sprint victory after a few last kilometers of doubt for the Slovenian runner. So, Pogacar remains the leader of the general standings, with 1:06 over Remco Evenepoel and 1:14 over a prepared Vingegaard for battle.

There was a lot of fighting to get into the break in the early stages of the day. Attacks and counterattacks followed. Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ), Kévin Vauqelin (Arkéa) and Tobias Johannesen (UnoX Team) took a small lead. Behind them jumped a large group of chasers with men like Richard Carapaz, Wout van Aert, Tom Pidcock, Wout van Aert and Michal Kwiatkoswki, among others, dangerous names who they caused the platoon to react to hunt them down.

Carapaz and Cristian Rodríguez tried again, while Ion Izagirre had his foot behind him. Ten other cyclists tried again to join the breakaway, but this new large group made the peloton react. Between attack and attack, It took over a hundred kilometers to form the breakout of ten runners. with Oier Lazkano, Ben Haely, Richard Carapaz, Oscar Onley, Paul Lapeira, Matteo Vercher, Julien Bernard, Bruno Armirail, Romain Gregoire and Guillaume Martin.

The peloton controlled the distance, stabilized it in about ten seconds, knowing that it was almost forty-seven kilometers from the end when the consolidation of the four climbs aimed at defining the stage began: Neronne (a second of 3.8 km at 9.1% crowned 42.3 kilometers from the finish line), Puy Mary Pas de Peyrol (first at 5.4 km at 8.1% with summit at 31 km), Pertussis (a second of 4.4 km at 7.9%, with a summit at 14.6 km) and Cere font (third of 3.3 km at 5.8% leading to 2.8 km).

It was in Néronne when the pace in the peloton started to pick up. So, approaching the climb, Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) suffered a fall on the left turn which left him unlucky from the group of favourites. Because the rhythm never stops. UAE Emirates accelerates to throw himself over the escapees on the climb to Puy Mary, where he took complete control of the race.

From Pogacar’s attack to Vingegaard’s deadly counterattack

Too much Pogacar’s attack soon came. 31.4 kilometers from the end, throughout the climb, the Slovenian launched his attack to gain a few meters of distance on Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic. At the start, the Dane from Visma-Lease a Bike lost by around eight or nine seconds, but it was after crowning that pass that the UAE leader started to open up the gap. He gradually reached sixteen seconds with the Dane and thirty with Evenepoel.

There is a fear for Pogacar in a bad curve, however, The Dane found his rhythm, maintaining distance at first and regaining it later. In a maximum of thirty-three seconds against, Vingegaardfirst with the Roglic (who after a few minutes fell from which he recovered and was cut off in that chase) and then alone, he was growing every second with Pogacar, uncomfortable on his bike, and will chase him 14.8 kilometers from the finishon the last part of the ascent to Pertus.

Font de Cère was still nowhere, with the two great stars of the race eyeing each other, with Evenepoel half a minute away. It is a matter of Vingegaard and Pogacar, who both know that it is not possible to open the differences and everything will be decided in the sprint. Within, The Dane controlled the Slovenian perfectly to overtake him in the final part of the stage and take success with great value.

The thirty-fifth of his record, the eighth of the season and the fourth of his career in a stage of the Tour de France. Jonas Vingegaard, after days of doubt, appeared this Wednesday to be gone: ready to fight for the overall race. Pogacar, who barely gave up bonus time, maintained that 1:14 on the Dane, with Evenepoel 1:06 between them.

However, on a day when he was looking for a killer blow, it was the Slovenian who ended up with the most doubts. This Thursday (from Aurillac to Villeneuve-sur-Lot, 203.6 km) and Friday, two flat stages await. But Soulan Pla d’Adet and Pleateau de Beille come this weekend in a match more exciting than ever.

Tour de France classification

11th stage, from Évaux-les-Bains to Le Lioran, 211 km
1. Jonas Vingegaard (Denmark/Visma-Lease a Bike) 4h 58’00” (15″ bonus)
2. Tadej Pogacar (Slovenia/UAE Emirates) id. (14″ bonus)
3. Remco Evenepoel (Belgium/Soudal Quick-Step) at 25″ (6″ bonus)
4. Primoz Roglic (Slovenia/Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) at 55″
5. Giulio Ciccone (Italy/Lidl-Trek) at 1’47”
6. Joao Almeida (Portugal/UAE Emirates) at 1’49”
7. Adam Yates (Great Britain/UAE Emirates) id.
8. Mikel Landa (Spain/Soudal Quick-Step) id.
9. Carlos Rodríguez (Spain/Ineos Grenadiers) at 1’55”
10. Felix Gall (Austria/Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) at 2’38”
General
1. Tadej Pogacar (Slovenia/UAE Emirates) 45h 00’34”
2. Remco Evenepoel (Belgium/Soudal Quick-Step) at 1’06”
3. Jonas Vingegaard (Denmark/Visma-Lease a Bike) at 1’14”
4. Primoz Roglic (Slovenia/Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) at 2’45”
5. Joao Almeida (Portugal/UAE Emirates) at 4’20”
6. Carlos Rodríguez (Spain/Ineos Grenadiers) at 4’40”
7. Mikel Landa (Spain/Soudal Quick-Step) at 5’38”
8. Adam Yates (Great Britain/UAE Emirates) at 6’59”
9. Juan Ayuso (Spain/UAE Emirates) at 7’09”
10. Giulio Ciccone (Italy/Lidl-Trek) at 7’36”