Two days after the first exchange of volleys in the Tour de France GC war, the first major blow was landed as the race hit its second-highest point atop the Col du Galibier.
It was Tadej Pogačar who landed it – if not a knockout to his main rival Jonas Vingegaard at this early stage, then at least a body blow of a full 50 seconds. Pogačar gained 37 seconds on the road in Valloire, in addition to three bonus seconds at 2,600 metres high atop the Galibier and another 10 at the finish line.
The Slovenian, seeking a third Tour victory, just as Vingegaard is, called the full, hefty resources of his UAE Team Emirates squad – on paper the strongest in the race – into action on the Galibier, with Nils Politt, Tim Wellens and Pavel Sivakov driving hard on the early slopes of the mountain.
Racing into a headwind on the way up didn't stop the squad from blowing the race apart, with Adam Yates, Juan Ayuso , and João Almeida taking over the mantle 6km from the top as GC contender after GC contender fell away before Pogačar's winning move was made 800 metres before cresting the top and flying on the descent.
"You need really big balls to ride on the front like we did today," Pogačar concluded in the post-stage press conference. "If you look from Briançon to the top of Galibier and to the finish, there was a really strong headwind. So really hats off to the whole team.
"For sure, we showed today that we have one of the strongest teams here. It's super crazy to ride like we did today and we did a super amazing job. We need to continue like this and be happy."
His team, furnished with near enough half a dozen men who could feasibly lead many of the teams lined up at this year's Tour, had done the hard work in whittling down the lead group to just eight riders – including three from UAE – before it came Pogačar's turn to finish things off.
Only Vingegaard could respond when he turned on the afterburners inside the final kilometre of the 23 towards the summit. The Visma-Lease a Bike leader held the wheel until he didn't, 400 metres from the peak. Pogačar was alone, a few seconds up the road for the first time since the Grand Colombier – days before the disasters at Combloux and Courchevel – last summer.
But with the descent to the finish remaining, there'd be a further 20km to gain time, and so he did, with Vingegaard falling further and further back and into the clutches of the chasing group and out of the bonus seconds at the finish.
"I didn’t want to go too early because of the wind," Pogačar explained. "I had to make all the difference I could in the last few hundred metres, and then I knew the downhill, but I was a little surprised to see the wet road on the first few corners, so it was a bit scary. This descent is super-fast, so if you know the road it’s a big help.
"I know this stage really well – I’ve been training a lot of weeks already and it felt like a home stage passing Sestriere and Montgenèvre. I had confidence at the start and I had good legs, so I had to try."
Despite 50 seconds gained on Vingegaard, his main rival, as well as 45 on Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep), and 53 on Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) – all sizeable amounts of time – Pogačar said that the stage, still dauntingly early in the race, hadn't meant the GC picture is set for the weeks ahead.
"I think it's not really decided who is where," he said. "For sure, you see the level a little bit. But for sure, in three weeks some days can be better for others, and some can be better for others.
"Maybe today someone wasn't feeling great or super good. In three weeks, this can change a lot. I see Jonas is super, super good and in top shape. We'll see in the next stages and also in the TT. We'll see day by day."
Pogačar's victory – his 15th win of the year and 12th stage triumph at the Tour – ranks among his best, he said. He intends for more to follow before reaching Nice, of course, but added that it may rank differently by the time July 21 rolls around.
"I remember all the victories," Pogačar said. "Let's say that this one was I don't know... for sure one of the top five, I would say.
"Maybe after the Tour, I'll place it differently. But it's one of the best victories in the Tour de France, that's for sure."
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