It’s game on at the Tour de France after Pogačar and Vingegaard clash in Le Lioran - Philippa York Analysis

UAE Team Emirates team's Slovenian rider Tadej Pogacar wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey and Team Visma - Lease a Bike team's Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard cycle in the final kilometers of the 11th stage of the 111th edition of the Tour de France cycling race, 211 km between Évaux-les-Bains and Le Lioran, in the Massif Central mountains of central France, on July 10, 2024. (Photo by Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP).

That half a wheel that separated Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar might as well have been half a mile. It was hugely symbolic. 

It is remarkable that Vingegaard is at the Tour de France, even more so that he is competitive. It was astonishing that he was the strongest rider at the finish, after a long haul through the hills and mountains of the Massif Central. Then to see the Dane out-sprint Pogačar to win stage 11 in Le Lioran showed that the Slovenian is right to fear and respect his biggest rival. What a race we have.