Tadej Pogacar got a comforting hug from girlfriend Urska Zigart, Jonas Vingegaard hugged his daughter Frida after the next fended-off attack on his yellow jersey.
Thriller by the second at the Tour de France 2023
After the first Alpine stage of the 110th Tour de France, which was overshadowed by a mass crash with numerous tasks, the two rivals are separated by just ten seconds in the overall standings. Whether it could have been more on the 4,100 metre climb to Morzine remains a mystery. Because two accompanying motorbikes rudely thwarted an attack by Pogacar on the Col de Joux Plane shortly before the finish.
Pogacar: "Cartridge wasted"
"I wanted to attack one last time before the pass. I put everything in, then the bikes didn't move. I wasted a cartridge there. But it is what it is. We'll try again," said Pogacar, who ultimately finished second in Morzine, just ahead of Vingegaard. Spaniard Carlos Rodriguez took the stage win and is now third in the overall standings. However, Bora captain Jai Hindley is only one second behind in fourth place.
Pogacar attacked on the Joux Plane, putting a small gap between himself and Vingegaard. But the Dane recovered and closed the gap again. When Pogacar started again 500 metres before the pass, he was unable to get past a photographer's bike and a TV motorbike. Vingegaard then surprised his rival at the top of the pass and secured an extra three bonus seconds. At the finish, Pogacar took two seconds back by finishing second. "It was a great battle. I'm happy to have gained a second," said Vingegaard.
Duel between Vinegaard and Pogacar
Vingegaard and Pogacar started the stage with a gap of just nine seconds. To date, there have only been five editions of the Tour de France in which the leaders and chasers were even closer together. In 2008, Cadel Evans and Fränk Schleck were separated by just one second. In the end, neither of them won, but the Spaniard Carlos Sastre. There is unlikely to be such a turnaround in the current Tour.
However, the duel for the yellow jersey was initially not an issue. The first mass crash of this year's Tour brought the race to a halt a good five kilometres after the sharp start in Annemasse. Around 20 riders crashed on a descent and the same number were held up. Each of the 22 teams was somehow involved in the crash, so Tour director Christian Prudhomme neutralised and stopped the race.
Eleven tasks during the race
Due to a crash, this is a rather rare procedure for the Tour organisation; in 2017 it happened once in Belgium. In other cases, it was other factors. Sometimes activists blocked the road, sometimes the riders went on strike for more safety. In 2019, the stage to Tignes had to be cancelled due to a landslide.
The crash on the way to Morzine meant the immediate end of the Tour for the Spaniard Antonio Pedrero and the South African Louis Meintjes - both had to abandon the race and be taken to hospital. Meintjes' collarbone fracture was immediately confirmed. The 31-year-old was in 13th place overall and was the captain of the Intermarché team with Georg Zimmermann from Augsburg.
A short time later, Esteban Chavez also got off his bike. The Colombian champion had tried to continue after the almost half-hour interruption to the race, but the pain in his shoulder was too great. On another descent, John Degenkolb's team-mate Romain Bardet and James Shaw crashed. Both the Frenchman and the Brit were forced to withdraw from the Tour. Dutch rider Ramon Sinkeldam and Portuguese rider Ruben Guerreiro also came off their bikes during the stage.
Stage 15 with a view of Mont Blanc
At least they will be spared the next mountain ordeal on Sunday. The 15th stage leads over 179 kilometres from Les Gets to the mountain finish in Saint-Gervais within sight of Mont Blanc. The final climb, which is only seven kilometres long, is likely to suit Pogacar more than Vingegaard, but the gaps will probably not be too big.
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