Tadej Pogacar could hardly wait to put on his show of strength on the toughest Pyrenees stage of the Tour de France. “I woke up far too early today, at 7 o’clock in the morning. I just couldn’t sleep in because I was so looking forward to today,” said the Slovenian after the sixth stage, on which he secured a commanding stage victory and reclaimed the yellow jersey.
He explained that there had already been a lot of excitement within the team the evening before, in anticipation of the stage, which included the climb up the iconic Col du Tourmalet. “We thought to ourselves: we’re going all in. What’s the worst that could happen?” said the four-time Tour winner.
Or as his team-mate Nils Politt put it on ARD: “He simply said he was really up for it. And when he’s really up for it, he really goes for it.” The team kept stepping up the pace before the 27-year-old launched his solo breakaway on the Tourmalet, 43 kilometres from the finish.
Vingegaard: “The battle isn’t over yet”
As is so often the case, no one could keep up with Pogacar. As is so often the case, Jonas Vingegaard remained the closest. At the summit of the Tourmalet, the gap for the Dane was still manageable at just over half a minute, but on the descent and the final climb it widened to 2 minutes and 38 seconds.
“Of course I’m disappointed,” said Pogacar’s long-standing rival at the finish line. “But I still believe my legs will get better as the race goes on. The battle isn’t over yet.”
Nevertheless, Pogacar dealt a real blow to hopes of a thrilling battle for the overall victory at the 113th Tour de France. The defending champion looks just as dominant this year.
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