And so right here we’re, the eve of a Tour de France queen stage, a once-a-year occasion that has confirmed to be Tadej Pogačar’s undoing in every of the previous two editions: first got here the Col du Granon in 2022, after which the Col de la Loze in 2023. Will Isola 2000 add to his nightmare assortment?
Going into stage 19, a 145km trip with greater than 4,500m of climbing, UAE Group Emirates’s Pogačar has a lead of three:11 to Visma-Lease a Bike’s Jonas Vingegaard, the person who has delivered these most brutal of defeats. For Vingegaard, the defending champion, to make it a hat-trick of queen stage triumphs, he’s going to must go deeper than ever earlier than and produce a efficiency that supersedes his different masterclasses.
When he and his workforce have a look at the route profile, they’ll see that it’s uncannily much like 2022’s pivotal day: a giant climb into excessive altitude on the midway level – the Cime de la Bonette, at 2,802m the best paved via highway in Europe – after which a quick descent previous a steep ending climb, the ski station of Isola 2000 taking part in host.
Again in 2022, Jumbo-Visma, via Vingegaard, Primož Roglič and Tiesj Benoot, softened Pogačar up on the Galibier, after which Christophe Laporte and Wout van Aert, used as satellite tv for pc riders within the break up the highway that didn’t comprise a UAE rider, dropped again to outnumber the Slovenian much more. By the point he received to the Granon, he was nearly hanging on, and he was quickly dropped, distanced, and out of yellow.
Visma sports activities director Grischa Niermann confirmed to Biking Weekly that they’ve been getting ready for tomorrow’s queen stage for months, and although he wouldn’t reveal any techniques, he indicated that the rarefied air of the Bonette is the place Vingegaard will goal to strike. “If we see that Pogačar has a weak second on the Bonette, then for certain Jonas goes there,” Niermann mentioned.
Bart Lemmen, the last-minute alternative for Sepp Kuss on this 12 months’s race, declared that “we’re all the time assured, particularly as a result of Jonas remains to be feeling fairly OK and the workforce is feeling good.” He added: “I feel the workforce has been going an amazing job the entire Tour when it comes to techniques, the way in which we trip collectively, the cooperation, and naturally we’re assured.”
Regardless of the upbeat statements, nevertheless, Visma are conscious that the chances are stacked towards them. Overturning a Pogačar in his best-ever form, and simply days away from finishing a historic Giro-Tour double, is a momentous process, and so they don’t count on the Slovenian to undergo at excessive altitude like he has previously.
“After all [the higher elevation should be better for Vingegaard], however I don’t suppose wherever within the final two-and-a-half weeks we have now seen Tadej having an issue,” Niermann mentioned. “For certain we go for it, for certain there’s an opportunity that the Tour finishes in Good, however we additionally must see the way it will work out tomorrow. I’m not defeated, however in the long run if Jonas finishes second and Tadej is simply higher, then it’s like this. We’ll combat to the top, however we’re additionally life like and never silly.”
What works towards Vingegaard this time is that UAE have the higher performing workforce, and in distinction to the previous couple of years, they’ve had the numerical benefit on the climbs. Techniques are one factor, studied for months, however in the end all of it comes right down to the legs. “The important thing to beating Tadej tomorrow is Jonas being stronger than Tadej. That’s it, full cease,” Niermann mentioned.
“After all we have now a plan, however the plan all the time comes right down to how good the very best riders are,” he continued. “We are able to have the very best plan – we have now had a whole lot of good plans already for this Tour – but when Tadej seems to be the strongest and unbeatable, then the very best plan would not work.”
In keeping with Pogačar, race technique will exit the window. “It’s going to be the legs to push, not an excessive amount of techniques taking part in in hand, and simply mano a mano tomorrow and the day after.” Remco Evenepoel, in third and solely two minutes shy of Vingegaard, was inspired by Pogačar to assault the Dane on stage 19, and the Soudal Fast-Step rider predicted “fireworks.” However will they arrive from Visma or elsewhere?
