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If there was any doubt that Tadej Pogačar (UAE Group Emirates) was the strongest climber on the 2024 Tour de France, he extinguished them on stage 15 as he landed a repeat blow to GC rival Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), taking back-to-back beautiful solo victories to shut out the second week on the slopes up the Plateau de Beille.
Vingegaard led for a lot of the 15.8km climb after placing his Visma teammates to work all through the breathless 197.7km stage and attacking 10.5km from the crest. However Pogačar confirmed no indicators of weak point underneath the Dane’s stress, touchdown what appeared like a knockout punch within the struggle for the maillot jaune with a 5.4km counterattack and cost to the summit.
Because the race chief exploded away once more, he stamped his authority over Vingegaard, the person who has beat him up to now two Excursions, pushing each ounce of power out within the run for the road to win with a spot of 1:08. With the second week coming to an in depth immediately, they’re separated by a big however not insurmountable 3:09.
Third place Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) tried his finest to tempo again to the 2 leaders on the climb however with practically 5000 metres of elevation acquire and over 5 hours of all-out racing within the legs, the gaps have been large. The Belgian completed third however 2:51 down on Pogačar on the line.
The Plateau de Beille was often called a climb that predicts the winner of the Tour, having first been utilized in 1998 when it was received by a sure Marco Pantani. The controversial Italian nice is who Pogačar is making an attempt to emulate in 2024 because the final rider to finish the elusive Giro-Tour double in 98’, with immediately’s win bringing the Slovenian ever nearer to that historic feat.
“I might by no means think about this end result after the second week to start with so I’m tremendous proud of my form. Additionally, it was tremendous scorching and it was a very exhausting day. Often, I at all times battle with the warmth and immediately, the workforce did a brilliant good job cooling me down and it was an unbelievable day,” mentioned Pogačar, earlier than describing how the ultimate battle with Vingegaard performed out.
“[Visma] did determine to regulate immediately and make a tough tempo on the climbs. However I used to be by no means fearful and I simply saved myself cool and hydrating and consuming sufficient.
“So once we got here to the underside of the final climb, I used to be on the restrict a bit when Jonas tried to drop me however I may see he was additionally beginning to endure. When he tried to drop me the final time, I noticed he didn’t have the legs to go to the highest so I attempted with my very own however it was tremendous robust within the remaining.”
Pogačar hasn’t received the Tour since 2021 when he beat Vingegaard to second, with the Dane besting him by 7:29 total final 12 months and a couple of:43 in 2022. In 2024, nevertheless, it seems to be like it is going to be Pogačar’s 12 months once more.
“Now it’s actually wanting good. I used to be already saying this when it was 1:14 and now it’s a very good, snug lead,” he mentioned. “We simply must maintain targeted these final six days and maintain this mentality.”
The way it unfolded
Because the second week was drawing to an in depth, one other brutal day within the Pyrenees awaited the Tour de France peloton and never solely was there nearly 5000m of elevation and 197.7km within the mountains to return, however it was additionally Bastille Day.
Le 14-Juillet brings an obligation for French riders to assault on the Tour as they attempt to win the well-known Tour stage on the nation’s nationwide day for the primary time since Warren Barguil in 2017. And assault they did, with David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) and Romain Bardet (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) among the many most lively from kilometre zero because the Col du Peyresourde opened up racing on stage 15.
Heading uphill proper from the flag on a cat.1 climb noticed many riders struggling to carry on and dropping underneath the stress, as UAE Group Emirates labored to maintain a bunch of the 2 Frenchman and Oier Lazkano (Movistar) shut at simply 20 seconds excessive.
Issues got here again collectively within the valley however it wasn’t lengthy till the following transfer was getting up the street and this time it was an enormous one, comprised of 21 riders: Michael Matthews (Jayco AlUla), Michał Kwiatkowski (Ineos Grenadiers), Julien Bernard (Lidl-Trek), Nico Denz, Bob Jungels, Jai Hindley (Pink Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Lenny Martinez (Groupama-FDJ), Rui Costa (EF Schooling-EasyPost), Nans Peters (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Jakob Fuglsang (Israel-Premier Tech), Guillaume Martin (Cofidis), Enric Mas, Alex Aranburu, Davide Formolo, Gregor Mühlberger (Movistar), Louis Meintjes, Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty), Magnus Cort, Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno X-Mobility), Mathieu Burgaudeau and Jordat Jegat (TotalEnergies).
This massive group would work effectively till the intermediate dash in Marignac, the place Girmay was led out to take the utmost 20 factors and all however wrap up the inexperienced jersey. He was later relegated for deviating into the trail of Matthews in his dash however that competitors nonetheless seems to be sewn up.
DSM-Firmenich PostNL and EF Schooling-EasyPost had saved the hole tight round one minute from the massive breakaway, permitting the likes of Bardet and Carapaz to attempt to bridge to the leaders on the 9.3-kilometre Col de Menté climb.
Initially, the break began splintering and thinning down underneath the stress of Pink Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and Movistar who have been working most within the large group. However as riders fell away, these behind who missed it had an opportunity to bridge throughout and make it 15 riders in entrance once they reached the highest of the following climb – the Col de Portet-d’Aspet.
Javier Romo (Movistar), Carapaz, Aranburu, Simon Yates (Jayco AlUla), Laurens De Plus (Ineos Grenadiers), Matteo Sobrero (Pink Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Hindley, ben Healy (EF Schooling-EasyPost), Fuglsang, Martin, Mas, Meintjes, Oscar Onley (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) and Johannessen made it over with simply over a minute lead on the Visma-Lease a Bike-led peloton.
It grew to become a battle between Pink Bull and Visma on the valley roads that adopted the descent, with Jungels doing a lot of the work for Hindley. As soon as the notorious Portet-d’Aspet descent was navigated safely and the beautiful memorial to Fabio Casartelli was handed, the hole lastly started to exit to these within the breakaway.
Visma nonetheless led the best way however let off from making use of the stress, permitting the break’s benefit to balloon out on the 60km method to the Col d’Agnes to over 3:30.
The make-up of the break then modified considerably once they hit the penultimate categorised climb of the day, as Pink Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe continued their robust tactical show with 73.6km to go, accelerating with their three escapees and making a break up.
Together with Movistar, they shaped a brand new six-man group earlier than Healy bridged throughout on his personal with a strong surge, making it seven in entrance – Jungels, De Plus, Hindley, Healy, Sobrero, Mas and Romo, because the final French hopes dropped out of competition.
However quickly the higher climbers confirmed themselves as Hindley hit the entrance off the again of his teammates’ nice work.
Solely Mas and De Plus may observe the rider from Perth, with Carapaz launching a transfer to make the junction behind and being helped by Healy to efficiently make contact 62km from the end.
An uncategorised climb off the descent of the Col d’Agnes then allowed Johannessen to make it 5 riders in entrance on the method in direction of the ultimate, brutal climb.
Visma continued to tempo in direction of the foot of the climb by means of Kelderman, with solely him and Jorgenson left for Vingegaard, suggesting that the massive assault from the defending champion wouldn’t take lengthy to return as soon as they hit the 15.8km beast of a climb.
The break’s benefit had stabilised across the 2:20 mark, nevertheless, the peloton was flying behind them underneath the stress now of Vingegaard’s remaining teammate Jorgenson. Rapidly, the American had the deficit at 1:45 barely a kilometre into the summit end and the boys in entrance’s probabilities have been wanting slim.
Such was Visma’s destruction that even Almeida dropped, lessening Pogačar’s assist behind, with Yates nonetheless there alongside solely one of the best GC riders. Quickly Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) and Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) have been achieved too with over 13km left to climb
Hindley and Carapaz tried to launch strikes out of the break however their benefit saved ticking within the incorrect course underneath Jorgenson’s infernal tempo, with Vingegaard wanting glorious within the polka-dot jersey. This theme continued within the break with a number of random assaults approaching the decrease slopes because the GC group closed in till Mas, Johannessen and Carapaz discovered some respiration room.
As Carapaz lastly acquired solo as he wished with 10.6km to go, Jorgenson continued his assault on the peloton as he dropped Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos) and Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) however the Ecuadorian’s hopes of the win have been quickly gone as Vingegaard made his transfer.
The Dane exploded out of the group 10km from the highest of the climb, with Pogačar capable of observe and so they had reeled again the remnants of the break simply 700 metres later. Carapaz managed to observe as Mas fell away however Vingegaard saved up his effort onto the steepest sections and the Olympic champion quickly fell away.
Outcomes
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