Tadej Pogacar powered to an impressive stage win on the first day in the Pyrenees to take back the Tour de France yellow jersey on Thursday.
On a day when many wondered if he would suffer any ill effects from his crash the day before, Pogacar showed none and put himself in prime position for his fourth Tour victory with a break on the stage-ending climb to Hautacam.
He finished more than two minutes ahead of main rival Jonas Vingegaard.
Photo: REUTERS
“You don’t know how the body reacts after the crash, but it was not too bad, it was not a bad crash,” said Pogacar, the defending champion. “I feel my hip only when I do acrobatics, but here I’m just riding the bike.”
Hautacam is the resort overlooking Lourdes and Stage 12 must have felt like a pilgrimage for all the riders. Ben Healy, who wore the yellow jersey for two stages, finished well behind on a brutal day for the Irish rider.
In 2022, Vingegaard dominated Pogacar at Hautacam on his way to his first Tour victory, but the Danish rider is now 3 minutes, 31 seconds behind his main rival in the general classification. Belgian rider Remco Evenepoel is third, 4 minutes, 45 seconds behind Pogacar.
As if in a rush to face the grueling challenges waiting in the mountains, the riders sped through the first 50km in just under an hour with the peloton chasing a large 52-man breakaway group.
Their efforts on the narrow, twisting roads through spectacular landscapes and stone-house villages took their toll as exhausted riders dropped behind, one by one.
Birds of prey circled overhead as the riders suffered below.
Pogacar made his move with 11.8km remaining with help from teammate Jhonatan Narvaez, who looked over his shoulder and allowed Pogacar to accelerate past. Vingegaard initially gave chase, but could not keep up with his rival, who overtook French rider Bruno Armirail for the lead with 11km to go for his 20th stage victory — third in this race.
“I was just looking forward for today. And then all the people were all the time coming to me and saying, ‘Oh yeah, this is the revenge time,’ and blah blah blah. And then when we approached the bottom of the climb, it was just a reverse story of a few years ago,” Pogacar said.
Pogacar finished 2 minutes, 10 seconds ahead of Vingegaard, with German rider Florian Lipowitz 2 minutes, 23 seconds off the pace in third.
Armirail, who had been leading, followed 10 minutes, 46 seconds after Pogacar. Healy finished 13 minutes, 38 seconds off the pace.
Riders took time before the stage in memory of Samuele Privitera, the 19-year-old who died after a crash while racing in Italy the day before.
Privitera crashed in the first stage of the Tour of Valle D’Aosta.
“The risk that we are taking sometimes is too far,” Pogacar said before racing.
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