Tour de France 2023: Battle of the seconds on Mont Blanc: Vingegaard maintains lead

Vingegaard fends off Pogacar's attacks

Thriller by the second on Mont Blanc: defending champion Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar put on another thrilling climbing show on the mighty Alpine massif and start the final week of the Tour de France at almost the same time.

The duo crossed the finish line side by side in Saint-Gervais, but this had no impact on the overall classification. After 15 stages, Vingegaard is just ten seconds ahead of Pogacar and the red carpet has been rolled out for a thrilling final week.

Poels clearly wins stage

Meanwhile, the stage win in Saint-Gervais at the foot of Mont Blanc was a matter for the breakaway. Dutch rider Wout Poels won the 1400 metre high finish as a soloist ahead of Belgian Wout van Aert and Frenchman Mathieu Burgaudeau. The favourites reached the ski resort almost six minutes behind.

It remains tight at the top of the standings

However, the focus was clearly on the duel between Pogacar and Vingegaard. Vingegaard was waiting for his rival to attack on the seven-kilometre final climb, but he was not tempted for a long time. It was not until one kilometre before the finish that the first attack came, but unlike the previous attacks, Pogacar was unable to break away. Vingegaard even followed a second acceleration in a sitting position. Spaniard Carlos Rodriguez remained third, while Bora captain Jai Hindley dropped back to fifth place. His helper Emanuel Buchmann crashed on a descent on Sunday, but continued the race.

Pogacar could possibly have taken the lead on Saturday. On the way to Morzine, the two-time champion looked like the stronger rider on the last climb, the dreaded Col de Joux Plane. When he launched an attack a good 500 metres before the pass, a TV and a photographer's motorbike blocked the narrow road and Pogacar had to brake. Although he played down the incident at the finish, he admitted that he had wasted energy unnecessarily. He lost the sprint for the bonus seconds at the top of the pass to Vingegaard.

The Tour banned both motorbike crews from Sunday's stage and fined each of them 500 Swiss francs (around 515 euros). The photographer apologised. "I will not defend the indefensible. We shouldn't be in this situation. I should have asked my biker to distance me faster and earlier," said Bernard Papon, an employee of the French sports newspaper "L'Équipe". He explained the incident with the many spectators on the mountain.

Spectator provides negative highlight

One fan was the centre of attention on the way to Saint-Gervais. Around 128 kilometres before the finish, he stood too far out on the road and held his arm out, apparently holding a smartphone. The US American Sepp Kuss, who was leading the peloton, touched the arm, crashed and took more than 20 riders down with him. Kuss is Vingegaard's most important helper in the mountains.

"This is the riders' office. Don't go into their office," said Eurosport expert Jens Voigt, who accompanied the stage on his motorbike. "Don't try to become part of the spectacle. The riders are the spectacle, they are the show. Leave the road to the riders," appealed the ex-pro. John Degenkolb was also involved in the crash, which did not immediately force any riders to abandon.

On Monday, the second rest day offers the pros the opportunity to recover from their exertions in the Alps. As a rule, the riders get on their bikes for a relaxed ride for a maximum of two hours, receive treatment from physiotherapists, attend media appointments and receive family visits.

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