All that for this. Cut off in his tracks by two motorcycles on Saturday in the Col de Joux Plane, Tadej Pogacar was unable to complete the work of the UAE Team Emirates team in Morzine. The Slovenian was also unable to win the Jonas Vingegaard yellow jersey on Sunday, in Saint-Gervais, during a 15th stage won by Wout Poels. After two stages and 11 ascents, a colossal burst of energy, the Slovenian who seemed to lack juice in the final and even lost a second on the Dane (Saturday during the 14th stage), who applies to mark him physically and psychologically.
At the time of the second day of rest, this Monday in Saint-Gervais, Tadej Pogacar is still stuck ten seconds from the yellow jersey. The difference is small and substantial. The Slovenian showed and relentlessly exposed his desire and his inability to get rid of his rival. He was worn out in this pitiless duel which will leave traces.
Could he pay the price for his generosity? His training has been hard at work since day one (with the stage victory and Adam Yates’ entry yellow jersey) and hasn’t had many chances to breathe. Pogacar does not lack resources. He proved it throughout a season which notably offered him victory in the Tour of Flanders, the Amstel Gold Race and the Flèche Wallonne. But a fall in Liège-Bastogne-Liège (left scaphoid fracture) disrupted his preparation for the Tour de France. Left a little in the dark, he finds himself at the foot of the last steps. With roles, for the moment, distributed.
Jonas Vingegaard is the defender. Serene, determined, never as strong as when he has to extinguish the locks. Tadej Pogacar, a sublime striker who overturned the 2020 Tour by dominating his compatriot Primoz Roglic, is the hoped-for striker, if he has any strength left, if he manages to raise his level a little further to stop the Vingegaard mechanics. The 16th (22.4 km time trial between Passy and Combloux, Tuesday) and 17th stages (Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc-Courchevel, Wednesday climbing the Col de la Loze, the roof of the Tour 2023), will be decisive for Pogacar. To change roles… or put away your ambition.
