Rip up the script and start again. Three days after 2024 Tour de France race leader Tadej Pogačar was being asked in press conferences if Jonas Vingegaard had gained the upper hand in their GC duel, at Pla d'Adet on stage 14, the UAE Team Emirates leader delivered the most convincing of answers on the road to that particular question. And after his latest spectacular solo mountain-top stage victory, few would doubt if Pogačar is back in full command of the Tour.
It´s currently a real rollercoaster of a Tour GC battle, though, and just to review the last few developments, on stage 11 in the Massif Central, Pogačar’s ability to drop Vingegaard on the brutally steep slopes of Puy Mary briefly had all the feel of an attack that would decide the entire Tour de France. And if Vingegaard was in trouble when Pogačar blazed away that day, even if Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) and Primoz Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) put up a gutsy rearguard action, the remainder of the GC rivals looked even less likely to threaten the Slovenian.
