On stage 15 of the Tour de France, they threw everything they could at him. Visma-Lease a Bike controlled from the beginning, setting men to work on the front of a peloton which saw riders drop out of the back like deadweight as the kilometres ticked down. They tried to outnumber him, then on the final climb they tried to catch him off guard by Jonas Vingegaard attacking early. But nothing worked. Their efforts were fruitless. No matter what, Tadej Pogačar is unstoppable.
It only took one, powerful move with just over five kilometres of the climb remaining for the yellow jersey wearer to open up a gap between him and Vingegaard. He rode with a calm purpose; as his Visma-Lease a Bike rival rocked and rolled over the handlebars behind him, Pogačar’s pedalling was smooth and controlled. He moved like a man who knows he holds all of the cards in this bike race. No matter how the others play, Pogačar has the ace.
The Slovenian rider’s trump card is a simple one: his legs. Tactics, mind games and careful planning don’t mean much to Pogačar because he can win off pure brute force alone. He showed that today on the steepest part of the final climb when the stage was as tough as it was ever going to get. When others eventually crossed the finish line exhausted and broken, Pogačar had finished minutes in front of them, looking as cool and collected as ever. He’d completed the Plateau de Beille more than three minutes faster than the previous best time by Marco Pantani in 1998. Records were broken by Pogačar today and so were the hearts of his rivals – he is running away with the Tour de France.
Photo: James Startt
“I could not imagine a better weekend. Today I was counting down the final kilometres and I was counting down the final minutes of today’s race but it was worth it. It was hard so I’m super happy,” the Slovenian rider commented after the stage. “I couldn't ask for more. I’m having a great time and have an amazing team behind me so chapeau to all my teammates.”
Pogačar now has a lead of three minutes ahead of Vingegaard who sits in second place on the general classification of the Tour de France. There are still six stages to go, but it’s looking increasingly difficult to imagine anyone will be able to beat the UAE Team Emirates rider in the fight for yellow.
“I also suffered today but it’s just the way it is. Some people suffer more, some people suffer less. That’s how it is. It’s a bike race and you always race,” Pogačar stated when asked if he finds it easy to out-climb his competitors.
“The Tour isn’t finished. The Tour finishes when you arrive in Nice. When we arrive off the promenade, turn left and go on the main street of Nice and cross the finish line, then it’s over. Then we can talk about the end of the Tour. We will stay focused until that moment,” he continued.
Photo: James Startt
UAE Team Emirates sports director, Matxin Joxean Fernandez, sang the same tune as his team’s protégé after the finish of stage 15, arguing that attacks would still come Pogačar's way in this Tour de France.
“Champions never give up, I am convinced of that. We expect attacks, we expect movements. But we have confidence in Tadej and the team,” Fernandez said. “Right now, I think the advantage we have is comfortable. Visma would have to move like they did today, and we will try to defend ourselves and we’ll see if we can finish with the character we have.”
For the sake of exciting bike racing, we have to hope that there’s still more of a general classification battle to come in this year’s Tour. The prospect isn’t unimaginable: in last year’s race, Vingegaard gained seven and a half minutes on Pogačar in just two stages when the Slovenian had his spectacular blow up on the Col de la Loze. He may have been the very best today, but the Tour de France is an unpredictable beast, and everything can change in a moment. There’s still road to be raced on to Nice. It’s not over yet.
Cover photo: Zac Williams/SWpix
