Jonas Vingegaard Grabs Tour de France Lead From Tadej Pogacar

An even more unlikely sight was playing out behind him on the mountain: Pogacar was clearly suffering. He seemed to crack in the final miles, falling back to finish seventh on the day, 2 minutes 51 seconds behind the winner. That gave Vingegaard the overall lead by 2:16 over Romain Bardet of France, who had a strong day. Pogacar dropped to third, now 2:22 behind.

Vingegaard, 25, of Denmark, emerged on the scene at last year’s Tour, when he was an unlikely second at the event’s finish in Paris, five minutes behind the favored Pogacar. Nevertheless, in the run-up to this year’s race, he was overlooked as a potential champion behind the Slovenes Pogacar and Primoz Roglic. But as Roglic faded over the opening 10 days, Vingegaard’s strong efforts made him the clear challenger to Pogacar.

Pogacar, the two-time defending Tour de France champion, still has time to claim a three-peat. Thursday’s Alpine stage ends with the signature switchbacks of Alpe d’Huez on Bastille Day. And there are tough stages to come in the Pyrenees next week as well as a time trial on July 23, a day before the race finishes in Paris. But Vingegaard has surely seized the advantage, along with the yellow jersey.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/13/sports/cycling/vingegaard-tour-de-france-pogacar.html