Van Aert ends a sensational Tour with his victory in the time trial, the virtual victory of Vingegaard

gold brooch on 109th edition of the Tour de Francein one of the most spectacular editions of the gala round in recent memory. ‘La Grande Boucle’ This Saturday faced the penultimate really competitive stage, courtesy of Sunday’s triumphal walk of the winner on the way to Celysian fields and the fight for the sprint in the ‘city of light’, with the longest individual time trial in eight years at the Tour. A long and hard CRI, played on quite rough and slow tarmac, as I specified Tadej Pogacarthe double winner of the Tour in the last two editions and this year had to succumb to the great performance of the virtual winner, the Danish jonas vingegaardand his team, the Jumbo-Visma.

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When the Tour’s route designers drew the Tour’s final time trial on paper, it was certain in their calculations that the ITT would act as the decider of which rider would win the Parisconsidering that the difference between the first classified is stricter, but the Danish benefits Vingegaard and those with him, Jumbo-Vismais so good that the TAdej Pogacar (2nd) had no chance to attack the lead of Vingegaard, who was 3’26” behind the Dane, except for a misfortune that no one wished for. And not only the first two places were decided, but as well as the lower step of the podium in favor of Geraint Thomas. A situation that seemed to ruin the spectacle of the time trial and none of it happened.

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Instead of holding back, making sure, not taking risks and pedaling with your head, the riders who gave the most pages of glory in this Tour came out with the idea to show why they were talked about so much throughout the 20 stages debated this Saturday. As expected, FIlippo Ganna He was the first rider to set the time to be considered, but the world champion, who was not completely well in the preliminary time trial of the Tour in denmark, had to succumb to the supremacy of four other cyclists: the three fantastic podium riders and the fourth fantastic, the Belgian Wout Van Aertthat in the end he will take the victory.

War without quarter from the first to the last kilometer

The first quarter indicates where the shots will go, when Vingegaard set the fastest time, with a margin of seven seconds on Pogacar and eight in Van Aertwith the Thomas until nine. The Dane wanted to honor the yellow jersey and go out in the time trial to give everything, even risking more than necessary, so in the last section he almost crashed into a wall. That was the moment where Van Aert knew the time trial was his, after Vingegaard also passed him the next two times.

After the threat, the Dane lowered the intensity, but entered the finish line celebrating to himself the great victory in 2022 Tour de Francebecame the second Danish rider to climb to the top of the podium in Paris afterwards Bjarne Riis in 1996. Vingegaard couldn’t imagine, no matter how much he thought about it, the day the teams pitched in Copenhagen that he will leave the Tour’s front door this year. Denmark is full this year in the mother of all cycling races, with a big start and the yellow jersey.

Van Aert smilingly waiting in the arrival area to celebrate the victory with his teammate and congratulate him on his performance in the Tour, before Jonah joined in a tender embrace with his wife and daughter. It was a moment of release of the accumulated tension, where tears were not lacking, they also slid down the cheek of a Van Aert who has not only been the great hero of this Tour and a key figure in the success of Vingegaardbut now he added his third victory in the gala round 2022. Do not rule out the fourth tomorrow in Paris.