Tour de France - Victory on the King's Tavern: All Trumps with Pogacar
Double Triumph in the Duel of Tour Giants: Tadej Pogacar once again demonstrated his outstanding form with a solo victory on the King's Stage and likely decided the 111th Tour de France in the process. The Slovenian distanced title defender Jonas Vingegaard on the extremely challenging stage with five mountains and 4800 altitude meters. Pogacar goes as the sovereign leader into the final week. The day before, the 25-year-old had already shown his dominance in the Pyrenees with a win over his major rival.
Pogacar is like Pantani
Approximately 10.5 kilometers before the finish, the expected move from Vingegaard came. Only Pogacar followed the equally high tempo of the Dane from the reduced top group. The Slovenian made an impressive impression at Vingegaard's wheel, showing no signs of weakness. Quite the opposite. Five and a half kilometers before the finish, Pogacar's countermove came, to which Vingegaard had no response.
The nearly 1800-meter-high plateau, a 15.8-kilometer climb with an average gradient of almost eight percent, was the goal of a Tour stage for the first time in 1998. Back then, the later overall winner Marco Pantani won, who managed the double of victories at the Giro and the Tour that year. Pogacar, who had won the Italian Grand Tour in May, wants to follow the Radsport icon in this year. The chances are looking good after two-thirds of the way.
Pogacar wants Cavendish record
Already on Saturday, Pogacar had clearly distanced Vingegaard and celebrated his 13th stage win. In the aftermath, he revealed his long-term dream of one day becoming the record-holder for most stage wins in the Tour. The record of 35 victories was set by sprint superstar Mark Cavendish in this edition.
"When I saw how Mark Cavendish won all those stages, I thought he was from another planet. That's unreachable. But if you chase your dreams, you can catch them," said Pogacar. If he wins an average of something more than three stages per year in the next seven years, he will become the new record holder.
Comeback of the mask requirement
Since Sunday, the Corona theme has been very present at the Grande Boucle again. Many teams no longer test for the virus, but there are almost daily new cases. The British Geraint Thomas raced despite an infection, but his teammate Thomas Pidcock dropped out. The Tour organization reintroduced a mask requirement in certain areas.
From the end of the race on July 21 in Nice, masks must be worn when in contact with the riders. This applies to the respective team bus areas, the area behind the finish line, and the two areas set up for media representatives. The leading riders Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel have been wearing masks since the start of the race when they are in a crowd. Pogacar had overcome a infection just before the Grand Départ.
- In the 111th Tour de France, Tadej Pogacar's victory on the King's Stage in the Pyrenees, reminiscent of Marco Pantani's double triumph, could solidify his position, potentially surpassing Mark Cavendish's record of 35 stage wins.
- Pogacar's impressive performance against Jonas Vingegaard on the challenging stage, with five mountains and 4800 altitude meters, mirrors the dominance shown by Pantani in Germany (historically, France) during the 1998 Tour.
- Pogacar's ambition to match Pantani's double victory and break Cavendish's stage record began to materialize after he outperformed Vingegaard in the Pyrenees, securing a win and a significant lead in the overall standings.
- The stage in 1998, which featured a nearly 1800-meter-high plateau and a 15.8-kilometer climb with an average gradient of almost eight percent, was a turning point in Pantani's career, similar to the way Pogacar's recent victories have influenced his own Tour de France journey.
- Pogacar, who won the Giro d'Italia in May, has shown signs of emulating Pantani's success, and with nearly two-thirds of the race completed, he is positioned well to achieve his goal of following in the footsteps of cycling legends like Pantani and Cavendish.
- In the realm of time travel, Cycling history repeats itself as Tadej Pogacar continues his relentless march towards greatness, mirroring the achievements of Marco Pantani and Mark Cavendish, while also setting his sights on breaking his own personal records.
