Third summit finish of the Tour and third attack by Tadej Pogacar. A man of habit, the Slovenian did not miss the opportunity to give his rival Jonas Vingegaard another blow. The leader always ends up giving in a little. He can’t contain the explosiveness of the challenger and double champion no matter how attentive he is. He leaves. Little but it is impossible to keep it at bay. The Dane resists, yes, he keeps the yellow but each time he has less advantage. Now it’s barely 9 seconds. It is an agony, a Malaysian drop that drills him, a jackhammer that tortures him. Pogacar already has him within range.
There are no two without three for Pogacar. He did it in Cauterets, on the Puy de Dôme volcano and repeated it in the Grand Colombier. The head of the UAE attacks –every time closer to the goal, everything must be said- and he always gets profit from his accelerations, he accumulates, like a little ant. Of course, he has never been able to subtract more than 30 seconds from Vingegaard, who goes with the hook but never has a bad day.
What until this winter, at the Loge des Gardes in Paris-Nice, was an unprecedented event has become commonplace. Day yes, day too. Pogacar, unable in 2022, is finding the vulnerability of Jumbo, who last year was untouchable. Despite the predicament he puts Vingegaard into, equality remains the dominant note between the top two.
They were 450 meters at the top. That’s where everything sped up. Full gas, which they say in English, the almost dominant language in today’s cycling. Before there are no attacks. The costumes of Marge Simpson, of the Minions, of Mario Bros, of dinosaurs and the flamenco floats scattered all over the climb, crowded with people, leave you wanting to see Pogacar dance. The only one who leaks is Adam Yates. His boss waits for the fenced area. Vingegaard wants to follow him but he gets unstuck again.
They are small victories for one. They are great resistances for each other. He approaches but does not take the Bastille, does not storm the lead. He looks at himself but doesn’t touch himself, he says Keep lurking when the Alps have only just begun.
However, Pogacar could not enjoy as he wanted either. He wanted the stage and it escaped him. He had to doff his hat to Kwiatkowski. Hats off to the former world champion, who survived the escape. The Pole, Carlos Rodríguez’s teammate, began the ascent of the Grand Colombier with almost four minutes left and had almost one left to win at the top, where the man from Granada accused Pogacar’s final attack and saw third place move away from the podium.
