Tadej Pogacar is on track for his third overall Tour de France win, after securing his fifth stage victory of this year’s competition. Despite anticipating a breakaway win in stage 20, from Nice to Col de la Couillole, a move by Remco Evenepoel to challenge Jonas Vingegaard’s hold on second place proved advantageous for Pogacar. His overall lead increased to five minutes, 14 seconds.
Although the traditional last stage in Paris is potentially different this time with a 34km time trial slated in Nice and Monaco, the leading positions seem fairly fixed. Evenepoel trails Vingegaard by two minutes and 50 seconds.
Pogacar expressed his joy over another stage win, despite the unexpected turn of events. He is anticipating the time trial as he approaches the end of the Tour. His performance, he admits, has exceeded expectations. Already the second cyclist after Gino Bartali in 1948 to win five mountain stages in a single Tour, Pogacar is also aiming to be the first to clock a Giro-Tour double since Marco Pantani in 1998.
The UAE Team Emirates, to which Pogacar belongs, had willingly allowed the breakaway on stage 20 following Pogacar’s victory in Isola the previous day. However, Evenepoel’s attempts to oust the current champion from second place, forcing his Soudal-QuickStep team into pursuit of a ten-man breakaway, played into Pogacar’s favour. Despite Evenepoel’s two attacks, Vingegaard remained resilient, even leaving the Belgian behind while accompanied by Pogacar, who continues to dominant the race.
The rider in the yellow jersey patiently sat on Vingegaard’s tail as they managed to catch up with Richard Carapaz and Enric Mas, the final pair remaining from the breakaway, before Pogacar dashed through the last few hundred meters to secure yet another victory. Following seven seconds later was Vingegaard, widening the gap with Evenepoel by 46 seconds on the road and an additional six seconds thanks to bonuses.
The two-time Tour champion demonstrated resilience despite Friday’s emotional outpouring when his quest for the yellow jersey was thwarted, the devastating injuries he endured in April becoming painfully clear.
The twice Tour champion voiced that if he were to end up in second place, he would consider it one of the most remarkable achievements of his career, given the adversity he had faced over the previous three months, including severe injuries to his right upper body and punctured both lungs. He noted how incredibly proud he was of this journey he embarked upon with his family.
With a hint of a half-smile, the 27-year-old confessed that he had yearned for a moment where Pogacar might have conceded the stage victory to him, but deep down, he was fully aware of the realities. “One can always remain hopeful, but at the end of the day it’s just cycling, and I don’t fault him one bit,” said Vingegaard, “I’d probably have done the same. I’m simply content with how I performed and my comeback from where I was yesterday.”
Carapaz concluded the stage in third position, securing enough points to retain the king of the mountains title.