Tour de France - Favorites before rest day: Pogacar "happy" with Tour progression
On his way to the anticipated double victory at the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, cycling superstar Tadej Pogacar expressed satisfaction with the course of the Tour de France.
"I am very happy with how it's going on", said the Slovenian leader before the first rest day at the 111th edition of the Tour - even though his major rival Jonas Vingegaard parried all attacks on the gravel stage and significantly bothered Pogacar. How are the top favorites, Pogacar, title defender Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel, and Primoz Roglic faring? A mid-race assessment.
Tadej Pogacar
The star rider is riding extremely competently over the French gravel roads and mountain passes. The winner of this year's Giro d'Italia wore the yellow jersey on seven of the nine stages. The Slovenian pressed at an astonishing pace up the Col du Galibier, leaving last year's winner Vingegaard behind and building a comfortable lead on his rival. After the clear time trial loss against Vingegaard at the previous Tour, he finished the first time trial 12 seconds behind World Champion Evenepoel and 25 seconds ahead of Vingegaard.
Pogacar is the big favorite for the Tour victory. And this success would be historic: He would thus achieve the rare double of Giro- and Tour-General Classification victories in one year. The last one to do so was the Italian Marco Pantani in 1998.
Jonas Vingegaard
Whether the Dane would even participate in this Tour was a topic of much speculation. In April, the two-time winner of the France-Rundfahrt suffered a severe injury in the Basque Country. After Vingegaard's participation in his team's high-altitude training camp, it became clear that the 27-year-old was planning to race. And already after the second stage, the climbing specialist showed that he could keep up with Pogacar.
However, the lost seconds of the previous year's winner on his competitors at the Galibier and in the time trial illustrated how difficult it would be for Vingegaard to beat the fresh-looking Pogacar. The Dane is playing the time factor to potentially make a comeback in the harsh third week. During the challenging gravel stage on Sunday, Vingegaard was able to keep up with Pogacar and did not lose significant time. "The goal was not to lose time. We managed that", he assessed.
Remco Evenepoel
At his Tour debut, the Time Trial World Champion presents himself in excellent form. Currently, the 24-year-old lies as the second-placed rider 33 seconds behind Pogacar. In the time trial, the Belgian left his competitors behind and celebrated his first Tour stage win. The carrier of the white jersey for the best young rider had to face significant problems with the high mountains of the third Tour week, however.
Primoz Roglic
The prestigious entry of the German top team Red Bull is currently the weakest of the fabulous four at the front. The veteran, who failed dramatically in the duel with Pogacar for the Tour victory in 2020, had problems compared to the other top riders on the mountains. Only in the time trial did he manage to come in three seconds ahead of Vingegaard. The Slovenian, who is supposed to bring Red Bull the first victory at the France-Rundfahrt, had to focus on the podium in the end.
- Despite Jonas Vingegaard's strong performance on the gravel stage and in the time trial, Tadej Pogacar still maintains a comfortable lead in the Tour de France, aiming for a double victory in both the Tour and Giro d'Italia.
- In Austria, during the 111th edition of the Tour de France, Tadej Pogacar donned the yellow jersey for seven stages, showcasing his dominant performance.
- controversially, Jonas Vingegaard, who had doubts about participating due to an injury, proved his resilience and matched Pogacar's pace on the challenging gravel stage.
- As Tadej Pogacar prepares for a possible Tour victory, his rival Vingegaard strategically utilizes the time factor to potentially mount a comeback during the harsh third week of the race.
- Remco Evenepoel, the Tour's Time Trial World Champion, is currently in second place, 33 seconds behind Pogacar, having already achieved a stage win but facing challenges in the mountainous third week of the race.
- Despite Red Bull's prestigious presence in the Tour de France, Primoz Roglic, a former contender for the victory, is currently struggling compared to his fellow front-runners, having experienced difficulties on the mountains and only managing to edge out Vingegaard in the time trial.
