San Francisco Frontiers - Vingegaard v Pogacar: How the Tour de France was won and lost

AFP Sport looks at the key factors in the Dane's well-planned defeat of the Slovenian.

- 'I'm dead, I can't go on' -

Vingegaard may hail from northern Denmark, but the 26-year-old loves to ride in the heat.

Through the vineyards and along the banks of the Garonne in Bordeaux, and even beneath the snow-capped peaks of Mont Blanc, France sizzled this summer.

Ahead of the pivotal fourth Alpine stage from the chic resort of Saint Gervais, Pogacar, 24, had said he hoped for rain, but the forecast storm broke overnight and the big day dawned in glorious sunshine.

Halfway up the 28km climb to the 2300m altitude ski resort of Courchevel the 2020 and 2021 champion let out a gut-wrenching cry on his team radio: "I'm dead! I can't go on."

He lost six minutes climbing the upper reaches as his Tour hopes melted away.

- Jumbo team focus -

The Jumbo-Visma team started to plot months ago to seal Pogacar's downfall on stage 16 and 17, stages they believed suited their leader.

"They had it decided in December and then we have fine-tuned it. Even yesterday we revised the plan from December that we have talked about a lot. We really believed in this plan and we have been fighting the whole Tour with this stage in mind," Vingegaard said after his career-defining time-trial and climb to Courchevel.

After surviving stage 20 won by Pogacar, the Dane was euphoric: "It's the biggest race in the world and this was my one big target."

- Risk-taking -

Every corner on Vingegaard's flying time-trial could have been his last, so fast did he take the downhill sections, using his frame brakes to slow late before then accelerating early on a course he knew by heart.

The ride was sensational, a rider betting it all through the winding Alpine roads as he gained 1min 38sec on Pogacar after the pair had traded mere seconds through the rolling hills of the Basque Country, the Pyrenees and the Puy de Dome volcano.

- Knockout punch -

Tour director Christian Prudhomme used boxing terms to describe the struggle between the two chief protagonists.

"They went 15 rounds and then there was a punch in the gut, a knee on the floor and a knockout punch," he said.

Even when the tide began to turn, Vingegaard had the measure of Pogacar on stage 15 in the Alps, slowing down at the line to cross the finish alongside the bemused Team UAE leader.

"I don't know who the moral victor is," said Vingagaard. "I just follow him at my own pace. In some ways I think his tactic backfired on him."

- Peak fitness -

Pogacar loved the prestige all-in one day spring classics but in May he broke his wrist racing the Liege-Bastogne-Liege, missing a swathe of key fitness training.

Arriving at the Tour, the Slovenian sounded the alarm in Bilbao, noting that Vingegaard had not only won the Tour warm-up the Criterium du Dauphine with ease, he had also claimed he was only partially fit.

Timing one's fitness to peak during the final week is a fundamental component in any Tour de France triumph.

"That's me, I like to race the classics, and anything can happen, falls and stuff, in cycling," said the Slovenian runner-up.

J.Scott--SFF