Tadej Pogacar has continued to claw again time on total chief Jonas Vingegaard with a late, brutal uphill dash to drop the defending champion within the finale of the thirteenth stage of the Tour de France on the prime of the Col du Grand Colombier.
The Slovenian, Tour winner in 2020 and 2021, stood on the pedals contained in the final kilometre on Friday and launched a livid dash with Denmark’s Vingegaard holding his wheel earlier than dropping the slipstream and gifting away 4 seconds on the road.
Pogacar, who has now crushed Vingegaard within the final three mountain levels, took third place on the day, 50 seconds behind Polish winner Michal Kwiatkowski, the most effective of the breakaway riders.
Pogacar, who picked up 4 bonus seconds, trails Vingegaard by 9 seconds within the basic classification.
Australian Jai Hindley stayed firmly accountable for the third place on the rostrum, ending sixth on the day, however he gave away extra time to the main pair and is now two minutes 51 seconds behind Vingegaard and a pair of:42 adrift of Pogacar.
However he nonetheless leads Spain’s fourth-placed Carlos Rodriguez by 1:57 within the podium battle.
For Australia’s prime dash star, although, the race is over. Caleb Ewan dropped out earlier than having to battle up the famed Grand Colombier, whereas struggling behind the peloton with 20km to go.
The 24-year-old Pogacar stayed quiet in the primary bunch all day and for many of the 17.4km ascent at 7.1 per cent earlier than attacking, as soon as once more displaying his capability to provide an enormous, brief effort on a steep end.
His UAE Emirates teammates set the tempo on the backside of the climb, chasing the breakaway riders, however Kwiatkowski completely managed his stamina to offer Ineos-Grenadiers their first win on this 12 months’s Tour, a 12 months to the day after Tom Pidcock on L’Alpe d’Huez.
Belgian Maxim Van Gils was the one different breakaway rider to carry off Pogacar as he zig-zagged over the road for second, his face a pale masks of ache.
In a carbon copy of final Sunday’s finale to the Puy de Dome, Vingegaard restricted the injury to take fourth place with Britain’s Pidcock fifth, 1:03 off the tempo.
Saturday’s 14th stage is a gruelling Alpine effort over 152 kilometres ending in Morzine after a tough descent from the punishing Col de Joux Aircraft, a 11.6km ascent at 8.1 per cent.
