2023-07-18 18:03:01
Dane Jonas Vingegaard took a serious option on the final victory in the Tour de France by crushing the time trial on Tuesday July 18 in Combloux where he beat his rival Tadej Pogacar by 1 minute 38 seconds.
In the general classification, the Dane now has a 1 minute 48 second lead over the Slovenian on the eve of the queen stage of this 110th edition, between Saint-Gervais and Courchevel.
While much tighter gaps were expected in this demanding but short 16th stage (22.4 km), Vingegaard won with a margin that allows him to calmly envisage a second victory in a row in the Grande Boucle on Sunday. in Paris.
Until then, the two men had tied the game in this 110th edition, going one after the other in an exciting mano a mano. Only ten seconds shared the two men before this time trial in the Alps which could be the turning point of the Tour.
Unlike Pogacar, the Dane, who left last, did not change his bike to choose a lighter machine at the foot of the formidable Domancy coast. This did not prevent the leader of Jumbo-Visma from continuing to widen the gap continuously, until he almost caught up with his rival, who started two minutes before him, which would have been ultimate domination.
It is Vingegaard’s third stage victory in a Tour de France, the first in a time trial, knowing that he had offered victory on a plateau to his Belgian teammate Wout Van Aert last year in Rocamadour by slowing down at the end of the clock on the eve of his first coronation in Paris.
Wout Van Aert finished third this time, behind Pogacar who did not even set a bad time since the Belgian finished 2 minutes and 51 seconds behind his leader, an incredible gap over such a short distance.
► The classification of the 16th stage, Passy-Combloux, Tuesday July 18
1. Jonas Vingegaard (DEN/TJV) completed 22.4 km in 32:36.
(average: 42.0 km/h)
2. Tadej Pogacar (SLO / UAD) at 1 min 38 s.
3. Wout van Aert (BEL/TJV) 2:51.
4. Pello Bilbao (ESP/TBV) 2:55.
5. Simon Yates (GBR/JAY) 2:58.
6. Rémi Cavagna (FRA/SOQ) 3:06.
7. Adam Yates (GBR/UAD) 3:12.
8. Mattias Skjelmose (DEN/LTK) 3:21.
9. Mads Pedersen (DEN/LTK) 3:31.
10. David Gaudu (FRA/GFC) 3:31.
► The top 10 of the general classification after the 16th stage
1. Jonas Vingegaard (DEN/TJV) 63 h 06 : 53.
2. Tadej Pogacar (SLO / UAD) at 1 min 48 s.
3. Adam Yates (GBR/UAD) 8:52.
4. Carlos Rodríguez (ESP/IGD) 8:57.
5. Jai Hindley (AUS/BOH) 11:15.
6. Sepp Kuss (USA/TJV) 12:56.
7. Pello Bilbao (ESP/TBV) 13:06.
8. Simon Yates (GBR/JAY) 13:46.
9. David Gaudu (FRA/GFC) 17:38.
10. Felix Gall (AUT/ACT) 18:19.
► The profile of the 17th stage
For Christian Prudhomme, the director of the Tour de France, “The stage presents itself as a great challenge, with more than 5,000 meters of elevation to take in or exploit throughout the day. In the final, it will consist in particular of revisiting the impressive Col de la Loze before plunging into Courchevel where he will have to battle on the altiport runway with an 18% drop in altitude”.
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