Tadej Pogačar has claimed his fourth victory in this year’s Tour de France with another solo win at Le Markstein, in the Vosges.
Approaching stage 14’s finish line, he waved his finger in the air, glanced over his shoulder and raised both hands aloft in celebration. It is his 125th career stage win, and his 25th in the Tour, bringing him just 10 stage wins away from Mark Cavendish’s record.
Pogačar distanced his rivals on the final Col du Haag, which made its first appearance in the Tour de France this year. Towards the top of the 11.2-kilometre, 7.3% climb, the road narrowed, becoming a bike path. The crowds were thick, lining the sides of the road, standing on the verge – and some even climbing trees to get a glimpse of the race.
Decathlon CMA CGM and Visma-Lease a Bike had set a high pace on the climb, but with 1.6 kilometres to the top —7.5 kilometres to the finish line— Pogačar launched his attack. Like on the Tourmalet on stage six, or at Le Lioran on stage 10, it was Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) who was first to follow.
Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) clearly had good legs, shaking off the other GC contenders to catch Vingegaard just before the summit. But in the end, it was Pogačar’s teammate, Isaac del Toro, who would snatch second place ahead of Seixas, in third, and Vingegaard, in fourth. Seixas moves up two places in GC and takes the young rider’s jersey from Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek).
“I must say thanks to all the fans that came to the side of the road – it was something unforgettable,” said Pogačar after the stage. “To see all the cars on the hills and on top of the mountain. I’ve never seen something like this.”
“It was a perfect day. We marked this stage since the beginning,” he continued. “I knew that Isaac [del Toro] is maybe not 100%, so I was waiting for the last two kilometres to see if there was going to be any movement. Actually, Decathlon and then Jonas did a really hard pace on the climb, and one by one there were guys dropping.
“I felt good, so I said I would try the last two kilometres, [which] I know very well. Also, there was so much crowd that it just gives you an additional boost to go to the top…I had good feelings, so I grabbed it and took the opportunity.”
More to follow…
