One day it will be remembered that at 16:45 a.m. on July 21 The 2022 Tour was left without the most intense duel that cycling books remember. It’s all over when Tadej Pogacar he skidded his rear wheel in a port called Spandelles, which was debuting in the race and will go down in history more for its descent than for its ascent.
The favourite, the great star of contemporary cycling, surrendered to the art and tremendous power of the cyclist who withstood more blows than a punching bag. Jonas Vingegaard did something more than win at the Hautacam temple this Thursday, because with that victory he achieved something superior, something that only a miracle can prevent, that on Sunday he arrives on the Champs-Elysées dressed in yellow.
???????? Jonas Vingegaard proved himself the strongest of the #TDF2022!
???? Relive the last KM of an incredible race on Hautacam!
???????? Jonas Vingegaard is the strongest of the #TDF2022 !
???? Relive the last KM!@continental_fr pic.twitter.com/Frp8mdzvBQ
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 21, 2022
Up to five times attacked Pogacar a Vingegaard on the climb to Spandelles and up to five times the yellow jersey, not without difficulty, neutralized it to give quality to an incredible duel, where there were no pistols or sabers, only bicycle wheels, both knowing that there could only be one left. And that one was Vingegard, always reinforced and protected by a huge Jumbo like the Pyrenees, a brilliantly managed team, as I would like others to do, and with parts strategically placed and distributed at each mountain point so that the Danish cyclist never felt alone. and I knew that if Pogacarmore lonely than one, made his life more difficult than it should be, he would always find a friendly bike to encourage him, mark the terrain for him and lead him to Hautacam.
What if it doesn’t fall?
You will never know what would have happened if Pogacar the snap is not given going down Spandelles. The fall of the Slovenian rider undoubtedly changed the reading of this Tour, as did his unforgivable mistake of believing himself to be stronger than he is and forgetting to eat and drink at the Granon when Vingegaard he snatched the yellow sweater from her.
It was a fall that came meters after the caper of Vingegaard, who controlled the accident thanks to the bike’s disc brakes. With the old mechanics it will almost certainly also be stamped on the asphalt. They had watched each other, endured; Vingegaard had observed a Pogacar desperate that after some devilish accelerations he saw how the yellow jersey clung to his wheel, he snorted hard, but at the same time he breathed relieved because it was one more step, one meter less, one kilometer cut towards Paris. Pogacar he had to give in and he only did so when he went to the ground to hurt his left thigh, surely more pain from rage than physical pain, because those kinds of blows hurt more when cold than when hot.
???? @TamauPogi crashed! But Jonas Vingegaard waits for him.
???? @TamauPogi fell ! But Jonas Vingegaard is waiting for him.#TDF2022 pic.twitter.com/bmGV0358cx
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 21, 2022
Related news
And it was then the moment chosen by Vingegaard to wait for it, to show that ‘fair play’ also exists in cycling. He reached her height somewhat battered and they shook hands, buried the hatchet, the duel was over. There, in that fall, in the contact of those sweaty hands, the Danish cyclist knew that the offensive of Pogacar it was over.
a happy runner
In this place, surely, the happiest cyclist in the world felt because he knew that in a few moments he would have Sepp Kuss by his side, the boy from Colorado who lives in Andorra, a fine climber who gave him security. And, above all, because ahead was a runner who is not of this world, Wout van Aert, all day at the front, all day pushing and all day knowing that if they asked for help from behind, he would be there to push. a Vingegaard and help him decisively knock out Pogacar 4.4 kilometers from the summit of Hautacam. What a beautiful image, the three great jerseys of this Tour, the yellow (Vingegaard), the target (Pogacar) and green (Van Aert) rose as the top three riders in this Tour. until it stayed Pogacar. There was no need to attack him. The fall had taken him out of the Tour ring. Van Aert y Vingegaard they left until the Dane was left alone to seek the glory of Hautacam, to win dressed in yellow, as only the great heroes of this race do, to enter the history of the Pyrenees, in the immensity of the Tour. Neither he nor he raised his arms to please the photographers. Was not necessary to. His victory was even greater because he did it against the number one in this sport.
Stage 18 + CG #TDF2022 (18/21) pic.twitter.com/FnfLV0gp5Y
— Javier Gilabert C. (@tourdegila) July 21, 2022