To ape Lenin, there are days where nothing happens, and hours where days happen. That’s how it felt on stage 11 of the Tour de France, when after the famine of Tuesday’s quite dull sprint stage, came the flood of the Massif Central epic.
The result, in the end, on paper, suggested not much changed. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) remains in the yellow jersey, with Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) over a minute behind. However, the vibes have changed. Vingegaard, the two-time defending champion, is back, and, crucially, he won the stage, beating Pogačar in a two-up sprint.
Comebacks, grand ones, are nothing new in sport. However, as Vingegaard explained, this comeback is almost miraculous.
The Tour is his first race back after a few months where he barely touched his bike. His horror crash at Itzulia Basque Country in April saw him break multiple ribs and punctured his lung, among assorted serious injuries.
While it was known that that the crash was serious, Vingegaard admitted on Wednesday that he believed he was near death after the incident.
“I was very emotional to be honest,” he said. “I spoke with Trine [his wife] straight away, and for both of us, we were both crying. It means so much for the both of us. For the support she gave me and the support I’ve got. You see not only with me. But with the team. With how much bad luck web’ve had. To have this win, it’s really incredible for us.
“It’s because of where I came from in the last three months. All the bad luck, with the crash I had. I really believed I was going to die three months ago. Sitting here with a stage victory in the biggest race in the world is really unbelievable. I would never have believed this would have been possible for me to get this far.”
It was a thought echoed by Frans Maassen, his Visma sports director. The whole team seemed caught up in the emotion of the moment. For a unit which has seemed to be ultra scientific in the past, and with Vingegaard a man of few words on occasion, it was clear that the comeback means a lot. More, possibly, than his previous Tour de France triumphs, and he’s won it twice.
“This is a huge boost for Jonas’s confidence because we couldn’t imagine this six weeks ago,” Maassen said, struggling to talk through his emotion. “I did doubt if this was possible. The crash was so hard and at that moment I was so deep with him, in the hospital it was terrible, The weeks after it was terrible. The fact he is back here is incredible. It doesn’t matter if he wins, being here is a big victory. It’s crazy. The win today shows that it’s going to be a big fight for the Tour de France. It’s not over yet. I’m really proud of him.”
It Vingegaard being at the Tour was a miracle, for the Dane to not only take a stage win, but to match Pogačar in the mountains, is a huge victory. Being within touching distance of his biggest rival with 10 stages to go is more than a simple achievement
“I am feeling really relieved and very happy especially for Jonas himself,” Grischa Niermann, another Visma sports director, said. “I can take a lot of encouragement from this. There was a moment where we thought if he loses two minutes today then everyone loses two minutes to Pogačar today and the Tour might be over. What Jonas showed, that was more than incredible so I’m really impressed by him. He deserved this victory.”
The biggest surprise of the day, according to Vingegaard, was that he could catch Pogačar when he was flying. It bodes well for the coming Pyrenees.
“I was surprised that I could close the gap, but from the moment he dropped me I thought I’d do a time trial,” he explained. “Do my own pace, see if I could limit my losses, but all of a sudden he was here in front of me. I heard the times were going down, but all of a sudden he was just ten seconds in front of me and then believed I could catch him back.”
After the reflections over whether Vingegaard had “balls” or not, it's important to note that the Dane has shown bravery just by being at the race, let alone racing on the limit, winning stages, and being back to his old self.
“For Jonas I can imagine it’s just unreal and I hope he changes his mindset going forwards,” his teammate, Matteo Jorgensen, said. “I was already 100% believing in him winning, I know what he’s capable of and I’ve watched the last two Tour de Frances in person and I know he’s incredible when it comes to the mountains. It will just help his own confidence.”
Thursday could be another day where not a lot happens, but this Tour de France has already proved that there are enough hours where days happen. Vingegaard will be there.
