The Tour de France has shifted from a carefree spectacle to a high-stakes contest, a party that is scheduled to wrap up on Saturday at a tense moment. The scene is rich with drama, featuring standout performances from Jonas Vingegaard, Tadej Pogacar, and Carlos Rodríguez. After Monday’s rest day, Pogacar solidified his grip on third place while the time trial loomed as a potential equalizer against the rider who now posed the chief threat. Jai Hindley and Geraint Thomas remain in the mix in a race defined by precision, stamina, and strategic gambits.
On the second Alpine day, with 128 kilometers left to race, the plan changes, and the escape attempts were reevaluated as the peloton reorganized. An overlooked spectator added chaos by making contact with the group, forcing quick regrouping and a renewed push toward the finish where a Dutch rider emerged victorious. An elderly figure in the mountain passes seemed to pedal as if with light in his steps, a moment that mirrored the race’s enduring unpredictability.
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ @WoutPoels | @continental_fr | #TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/LiGiEVWLWr
—Tour de France™ (@LeTour) 16 July 2023
You had to let miles slip by, even grab a nap, because in April the team calculated the pace with the same coolness as a rose in bloom. The final kilometer brought a tight trap on the approach to Saint Gervais Mont Blanc, the Amerands climb looming long and steep for nearly three kilometers.
Fans might think the second-category climb would be modest, but it proved savage. The riders ground uphill with such gravity that balance could falter, and the ascent looked almost brutal to witness up close.
To do its part, the IEA
In this phase, the UAE Group, clearly outperforming Jumbo, began to take control by splitting the field and launching a decisive attack. The move hurt the leading team, and endurance tests followed as Pogacar and his allies experimented with tempo while others hung on. The expiration date of attacks appeared to draw near as the battle intensified, with Pogacar showing signs of freshness that challenged the status quo in the group ahead.
The Tour party rode with minimal glass and a flood of sound from the bikes, a raw soundtrack of the race in motion. The UAE tactic proved intriguing as they sent Marc Soler off the front, then let him drift away to catch his breath while the lead group absorbed the alpine air and cooled their tempo, waiting for the right moment to strike again.
Pogacar surged forward, but Vingegaard answered the challenge with steady, composed riding and the two riders moved in tandem, maintaining a balanced pace that kept the field within reach.
Rodriguez watched the dynamics closely, choosing a measured pace to stay within striking distance. Hindley and Yates pressed hard, trading accelerations on the steep ramps, with Carlos Rodríguez sometimes slipping a little back to reassess and then responding with renewed effort as the finish line approached.
The tension grew as the Alps pressed on and heat tightened its grip on the riders. The question of which rider could sustain the surge remained unsettled. The Dane looked wary of a sudden shove from the Slovenian, recognizing that the fastest tempo could unsettle his own plans. It felt as if the race had flipped, with the attacking riders taking control before being pulled back by the poised leaders who refused to concede the advantage without a fight.
Carlos Rodriguez’s reaction
Rodríguez seized the moment, halting just long enough to pace Vingegaard and Pogacar within sight. Hindley hovered nearby, watching closely as the surge built behind them. The UAE group pressed toward the finish, while the British rider readied for a final push. Vingegaard appeared tense, yet Pogacar kept a tight lid on his attacking instincts, choosing to ride with calculated restraint as the finish line drew nearer. The stage finished with a high level of drama, a testament to the endurance and craft of all competitors.
As the final kilometers unfolded, Pogacar executed a decisive move just past the eight hundred-meter mark, a change in pace that forced Vingegaard to respond. Rodríguez, sensing an opportunity, closed the distance but could not quite break away. The finish came in near synchrony, a dramatic tableau of two leaders finishing on the same workmanlike cadence, while the race decided the outcome of the stage in that crucial moment of coordination and timing.
“Now I have to gain time for the chrono,” Pogacar remarked after the finish. He continued, admitting that the day had offered a meaningful chance to build an advantage, even as he insisted the focus remained on personal performance. The sense of celebration was tempered by the recognition that the time trial would be decisive, yet he remained confident that his form could carry him forward. The result left the group appreciative of a demanding and richly entertaining stage, a moment that reinforced the Tour as a showcase of skill and strategic execution, not just brute speed.