CAUTERETS – Very clever whoever can predict the winner of this 110e Tour de France after another memorable fight between Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard in the 6e stage where the two champions share the honors at the finish line.
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In the mist, with a few traces of snow on the horizon, Pogacar and his immaculate white jersey won this second major Pyrenean stage alone. Behind him, just 24 seconds away, however, Vingegaard took the yellow jersey.
The winner of the 2022 Tour therefore finds the precious tunic with a lead of 25 seconds while Jai Hindley completes the provisional podium, at 1m 34s. The Australian leader limited the damage with a 6e place at the top.
Jonas Vingegaard
AFP
Immediate response
If the Dane had surprised by his ease in landing his opponent the day before, the reply came immediately from Pogacar, who did the same to him with an irresistible attack which the other could not respond to in the last three kilometers. Doubts were quickly dispelled about the condition of the Slovenian, who despite his wrist injury in the spring, won another stage victory at just 24 years old.
“It’s my 10e stage win… watch out, Mark Cavendish, I’m headed your way! It is certain that if it had happened in the same way, I would have started to tell myself that I had only to go home. But in the end it went very well and that gives me hope for the rest of the Tour, ”explained Pogacar, who lowered his head instead of sticking his chest out. photo-finish.
To continue the fight, Vingegaard will always be able to take advantage of the colossal work at Jumbo by Wout van Aert and the phenomenal American climber Sepp Kuss, former winner at Mont Mégantic in 2016.
Tadej Pogacar
AFP
Each in turn
“Tadej was really strong, he deserves his stage victory. It’s no surprise to me to see him bounce back. He is capable of it and that is what can make the Tour very exciting,” said Vingegaard in return.
Dressed in blue, Adrien, a very old Frenchman who struggled to stand up, in Cauterets, summed up the boxing rounds between the two belligerents.
“It’s everyone’s turn. They are as strong as each other,” he said with a very pronounced accent while the speakers at the Bistro du Boulevard were spitting out the Masked ball of the Creole Company. “Cycling is much better than football. It’s much harder,” added the proud supporter.
A big cleaning
The two big favorites of the Tour cleaned up the peloton by climbing the Col du Tourmalet, before settling their accounts on the Cambasque plateau for yet another exciting sporting duel. Pogacar had the knife between his teeth, but Vingegaard managed his effort since the confrontation has only just begun. Unfortunately for the other competitors, there are only crumbs left to eat.
The last to crack was former Polish world champion Michal Kwiatkowski. The breakaway was doomed to die, crushed by two human rockets that refuse to negotiate.