It’s like a little mouse scraping Tadej Pogacar Jonas Vingegaard on every mountain step, collecting pieces of cheese that turn into golden seconds. He does not attack from afar, only resists in the fence, as the Dane is a tough guy. Maybe he thinks he won’t be able to win this Tour de France slowly, although he doesn’t say so because at this rate, it’s impossible for him to win first place, except by a miracle. yellow jersey that weighs on your shoulders. ‘Pogi’ had announced he was going to attack, and despite doing so, he was 500 meters from the Grand Colombier’s finish line.already only 9 seconds behind the first row.
It’s a very hot day, July 14, a national holiday that invites the French to go to the beach rather than the mountains. The tour, the route was full of sweat from cyclists and spectators, even the keys With the solo victory of cyclist Michal Kwiatwowski of Poland, world champion at the Ponferrada in 2014, they broke a sweat for athletes and the public at the computer.
Pogacar had announced that he wanted to leave his rendezvous with the Jura Mountains in yellow. And Aslı tried this with a great performance on the day of her team’s public display. Marc Soler, who took a good role at the head of the star cast in the first place Climb the bonfire at the Grand Colombier; At speeds over 20 kilometers per hour, encountering a Lap climb 30 degrees above your head is like going to hell.
The Grand Colombier was more of a mountain to be climbed with a box of fresh water in your mouth rather than a knife, because if you went too fast in the end the heat could topple those who found themselves cool, dancing and fun. Now teams are placing their helpers along a climb with coolers and fresh water. It’s not like it was a few years ago when runners drank vases that fans presented to them. Assistants, who are almost always masseurs, wear vests from their suit, and cyclists recognize them because they’re cool, cool, and the fluid gives strength to the legs to avoid passing out.
The least developed ones in their class are left behind, because it is impossible to endure the monstrous rhythm of the UAE, which turns into a locomotive like a wagon. He almost succeeded, leaving half a minute in relation to Carlos Rodríguez. Pogacar, however, still ranks fourth overall. Pello Bilbao suffers more because he put in more effort with a stage win in the pass between Puy de Dôme and Grand Colombier. It dropped from fifth to seventh overall.
Jumbo isn’t having the heyday of this sweltering Tour, though as always, American Sepp Kuss is the only one who has managed to keep up with Vingegaard.
500 meters left and Pogacar is rising. It’s not an attack, it’s a sprint. You have to force it for two reasons; to get the jackpot and take down Vingegaard. And every time the Slovenian phenomenon accelerates, the glue the Dane had to stick on his steering wheel comes out. It doesn’t sink, but you should lift your feet a little. In Grand Colombier it gives four more seconds for time and another four for bonus.. And if you didn’t feel the sweat of Pogacar during the climb and it was hard because of how addicted they are and the sweltering heat, now when the Joux Plain comes this Saturday, it’s hard to climb and you can already smell it in the overall standings. The descent is dangerous because when the descent is finished, the bends that lead to Morzine’s finish line come where someone fell.
This is the premiere of the Alps, the beginning of the final sentence of an intense Tour, a duel in the sun, couldn’t be said better: there will be only one in yellow and it seems that all numbers are carried by exactly: the one who is not wearing the suit now.
At the end, Vingegaard’s face is not expressing happiness, even looking like a loser in a borrowed garment. “I’m still wearing yellow, so I’m happy,” she warns, although her looks suggest otherwise. “The Pogacar is much more explosive,” he admits.
Pogacar seems talkative, calm and confident. “It was a small victory. I did a long sprint and it worked.” Two faces and two opposite worlds.