Gall wins the queen stage - Pogacar collapses
DPA
· 19.07.2023
Felix Gall secures Austrian stage win at Tour de France
Felix Gall celebrated the biggest success of his career to date on the 17th stage of the Tour de France 2023. The Austrian was part of a breakaway group, broke away on the Col de la Loze and won solo on the airfield in Courchevel.
"It's unbelievable. I don't know what to say. The whole year is already incredible and now to win the queen stage of the Tour de France is unbelievable," said the man from Nussdorf-Debant.
Tour de France 2023: Bitter defeat for Tadej Pogacar
A few minutes after Felix Gall had crossed the finish line, Tadej Pogacar agonised up the steep final ramp at Courchevel airport, his eyes blank and his jersey wide open.
His dream of winning the 2023 Tour de France had long since been shattered, with the two-time champion suffering the bitterest defeat of his career on the queen stage. The Slovenian is now a full 7:35 minutes behind race leader Jonas Vingegaard, who can only be stopped by a crash in the final four stages.
"I can't go on. I'm dead," Pogacar radioed to the team management on the brutal 28-kilometre Col de la Loze. The most difficult section of the Alpine monster, which is up to 24 per cent steep, was still a long way off. With around 15 kilometres to go to the finish, his rival Vingegaard accelerated immediately. Even a motorbike blocking the way could not stop the Dane on his way to the 2304 metre high roof of the Tour.
Stage 17 begins with a mishap for Pogacar
After the time trial the day before, the 24-year-old decided the next test of strength in his favour. In the space of just two days, the most exciting Tour in decades has become a one-man show for the lanky man from Jutland. His sports boss was still piling deep at the 2000 metre high airport. "Anything can happen. It could be that Jonas falls flat on his face tomorrow and then everything is ruined," Grischa Niermann told ARD. "But under normal circumstances it should work."
The brutal stage with 5,400 metres of climbing and four mountains began with a mishap for Pogacar. After 17 kilometres, the 24-year-old crashed and suffered bleeding wounds to his left knee and elbow. At first it didn't seem as if Pogacar was affected. Vingegaard's Jumbo team set the pace in the peloton and Pogacar did not leave his side.
Tour de France 2023: Prudhomme understands doubts
Vingegaard's almost unbelievable time trial, when he distanced Pogacar by 1:38 minutes and his team-mate Wout van Aert by almost three minutes, also caused discussion the day after. Such dominance arouses scepticism in cycling because of the past.
The Tour organisation "L'Equipe" ran the headline "From another planet" for a photo of Vingegaard. Even Tour director Christian Prudhomme felt compelled to make a comment. "The questions about the various suspicions are absolutely not unjustified," the 62-year-old told the newspaper. A few days ago, Vingegaard himself had said that he could understand the sceptics. He emphasised that he would not take anything and that his victories would never be disallowed.
Phil Bauhaus has to give up
In the end, the exertions were clearly too much for Phil Bauhaus. The sprinter was already left behind by the rest of the field after the first climb and rode alone in front of the broom wagon. Around 105 kilometres before the finish, the rider from Bocholt finally gave up. Bauhaus had made a name for himself in the Tour's bunch sprints with one second and two third places.
"If I fall out, it will be difficult," Bauhaus had already said before the stage with a view to the Gruppetto. In this group, the sprinters come together in the mountains and support each other. After the individual time trial on Tuesday, Bauhaus was already complaining about being very tired and said: "The Tour is by far the hardest thing I've done so far."
The 28-year-old would have had another chance of a good result on Thursday. The 184.9 kilometres from Moutiers to Bourg-en-Bresse feature only two small climbs in the fourth category, with a total of just 1200 metres of elevation gain. Belgian rider Jasper Philipsen will be hoping for his fifth stage win in this year's Tour.
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