Vingegaard crashes out of Tour de France
Who will fill the GC void, who will fight for 2nd and 3rd behind Pogǎcar?
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Jonas Vingegaard is not battling Tadej Pogǎcar on the Plateau de Salaison.
He is in an ambulance heading to a hospital.
On a fairly innocuous right hand bend, the Dane lost his front wheel, crashed and probably broke his collarbone. Blink of an eye, Tour over.
This is devastating for the Danish star, his Visma-Lease-a-Bike squad, the Tour de France and cycling fans around the world.
Yes, Vingegaard was already 4:30 behind on the general classification standings. He was never going to stop Tadej Pogǎcar from winning a fifth Tour victory.
That said, he was going to keep fighting the Slovenian all the way to Paris. That is one reason why he has so many supporters along the roadside. He never, ever gives up. The race has lost his spirit and, if there is such a thing, his understated panache.
Nobody will miss Vingegaard more than the UAE team Emirates superstar Tadej Pogǎcar. In his post-stage comments, he spoke openly about how they had become respected rivals and then yes, even friends.
These two competitors know more than anyone the insane demands of this sport. The constant training, the high altitude camps, the grinding race schedule, the endless travel and the sky high pressures to win. We’re sure the classy Tadej will be calling the hospital this evening to learn how Jonas is doing.
The loss of Vingegaard blows a massive, unexpected hole in the race for the second and third places in the Tour standings. One man’s misfortune is another man’s golden opportunity.
The first rider to carpe this diem was Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe). By reputation and pervious results, Evenepoel was not expected to win a long, grinding, HC mountain climb on the Plateau de Solaison.
That was the second shock of the day.
The surprising sight of Evenepoel as the last man left on the wheels of Pogǎcar and his teammate Isaac Del Toro. The expression on the Belgian’s face was almost serene — not the look of a man in the red zone, ready to blow.
Pogǎcar again tried to gift the stage win to Del Toro, but Remco out-sprinted both men, taking what is arguably the greatest victory in his career. This changes the perception of his capabilities in the high mountains of a grand tour.
He is now what we might call the heir apparent to Vingegaard — immensely talented and hoping for second place. (That’s assuming he can continue to best Del Toro, who is only a minute behind him on GC.)
Next in line and looking to astound everyone, is the 19 year old Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM). Always steady and highly placed on every mountain stage, he’s also an obvious beneficiary in the absence of Vingegaard.
His position appeared strong on the Plateau de Solaison — that is until the seven kilometer mark. In that critical moment, the legs faltered. He and Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek), both battling for the white jersey of best young rider, went out the back and the damage control began.
The Frenchman would eventual drop Ayuso but the brutal climb took its toll, which came to nearly a minute lost. He’s still in the podium hunt and that in itself is an astonishing feat considering he’s never ridden a three-week grand tour.
The Wonderkid keeps justifying all the hype. He now slots into 4th place, 25 seconds behind Del Toro. The Mexican was a bit off his explosive game as he was also involved in the Vingegaard crash.
As for the rest, Evenepoel’s teammate Florian Lipowitz is another 25 seconds behind Seixas in 5th. Ayuso now finds himself with plenty of work to do in 6th overall.
Monday’s rest-day will give everyone time to process the abandonment of Jonas Vingegaard. The shock waves will recede. Priorities and strategies will shift and a fresh debate will begin
Which of these riders will someday brag that they shared a Tour de France podium when Tadej Pogǎcar won this record-trying fifth victory?