The 35-year-old Dutch rider distanced Wout van Aert and Marc Soler in the high percentages of the Côte des Amerands on Sunday to win the 15th stage.
Everything comes at the right time to who knows how to wait, and Wout Poels has shown himself to be patient. At 35, and for his ninth participation in the Tour de France, the Dutch rider finally has a stage victory on the Grande Boucle, after raising his arms in Saint-Gervais, Sunday July 16. A just reward for one who has long been a luxury teammate of Christoper Froome at Sky. Member of the long breakaway of the day, Wout Poels resisted Wout van Aert and Marc Soler in the final, two sacred customers that he dropped on the terrible Côte des Amerands, before finishing alone.
Poels in the right tempo
Like Michal Kwiatkowski on Friday on the slopes of the Grand Colombier, he is therefore a luxury team member who finally had the right to his day of glory. Member of the morning breakaway, Wout Poels was not the most expected among this mini-peloton which included, among others, Thibaut Pinot, Marc Soler, Guillaume Martin, Warren Barguil and especially Wout Van Aert. The Belgian hornet of the Jumbo Visma seemed on a mission to offer his team a victory in this Tour, in vain.
With his Red Bull helmet screwed on his head, van Aert did everything for it, attacking the wide breakaway at all costs. When Marc Soler slipped away in the Col des Aravis, it was he who went looking for him, bringing Wout Poels and Krists Neilands on his wheel. The quartet widened the gap, before Neilands let go 25 km from the line, then imitated by Marc Soler. The duel of the Wouts could start, but it was not the better known of the two who won this mano a mano.
As versatile as he is, Van Aert could do nothing to keep Poels’ wheel when he attacked him in the Côte des Amerands and his passages at 17%. Aerial, the Dutchman flew to offer a second stage victory to the Bahrain Victorious on this Tour 2023, a few weeks after the death of his teammate Gino Mäder on the Tour of Switzerland. A great victory overshadowed by the announced fight between Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard, a few hectometres behind.
Pogacar, Vingegaard: status quo
Like almost every day, the two contenders for the final victory found themselves face to face in the last kilometers, lonely. But, this time, none made the difference despite a sharp attack from the Slovenian. On the eve of the rest day, and especially two days before the steep time trial between Passy and Combloux, Jonas Vingegaard keeps a lead of 10 seconds. Without forgetting the return from the Col de la Loze on Wednesday… The battle of the Alps is not over.