“I’m”. “I’m out. I’m dead.” So raw, so raw. The words that no one ever expected to hear came out of Tadej Pogacar’s mouth. With these two short sentences, the Slovenian announced to his directors and teammates that he had entered a crisis, that he could do no more, that he was abdicating, that he was signing the capitulation in the battle for the Tour, a battle that has kept the fans in suspense, even until Vingegaard broke the morale of his adversary in the Combloux time trial on Tuesday.
Pogacar can’t, says goodbye, gives up. He makes it public. His pedaling has nothing to do with the explosive dances of his accelerations. He has melted and his soul hurts. He can’t take it anymore and lets the yellow jacket go free, who leaves in a float towards Paris. The Slovenian, always smiling, is suffering. With his physique affected, after his mistake at the start of the stage, his head is also heavy, after the beating the day before.
He who starts badly often ends badly. Tadej Pogacar saw it in his own flesh, crushed and defeated. In the morning, it falls and goes to the ground. When he falls, he hurts his left hip and knee. bad omen He will pay for it later. Not three kilometers before the finish, like last year in the Granon, when he forgot to eat; but 8 from the summit of the Col de la Loze, 15 from the finish, past the town of Meribel, before the hardest part of the ascent arrives.
“When I brought him water he already told me that he wasn’t doing well”, reveals Marc Soler. The image of Pogacar with his sweater open, with the earphone out of his ear, abandoned, fighting not to lose the wheel of his gregarious, is definitive. It goes so well that the Catalan has to wait for it several times.
The Jumbos smell blood. Vingegaard will not forgive.
Delighted to be this villain, the one who forbids the show, the one who puts logic into it – after destroying the chrono -, the Dane and Jumbo leave Saint Gervais with a clear idea: to defend themselves. They are prepared in case of a suicide attack from the UAE. Therefore, when Majka and Soler join the escape, Benoot and Kelderman join them. A draw, just in case. They don’t want any surprises.
However, the final offensive is a chimera. What is presented is the total crisis, the death in the eternal port, of 28 kilometers. And Soler pushes his leader, yes, but to help him and accompany him in penance. “Marc, you’re always with Tadej”, they tell him through the headset. And yes, Majka has to intervene, but to direct Adam Yates. “Adam, you fight for the podium”, they order the Briton, third, engaged in his confrontation with Carlos Rodríguez, to whom Yates escapes again, he escapes by a minute and maybe the podium escapes him.
But they all end up being hanged by a grown Vingegaard, who has no mercy. The Dane goes alone to win by beating. Only a great climber like Felix Gall deprives him of the stage victory.
While the Austrian is about to cross the finish line, Pogacar is crowning the Col de la Loze. Tired, dejected, empty, he loses almost six minutes to the leader, his rival, from whom he never separated and is now unattainable for him. See to believe. “He’s not used to us, but he’s human, he can make mistakes,” apologizes Marc Soler. When they finally arrive at the Courchevel plateau, the Catalan consoles his head, disoriented. As if that wasn’t enough, Benoot, Vingegaard’s colleague, enters in front of them, celebrating. The two sides of the Tour.
