The history of the Tour de France is marked by what French observers refer to – while licking their lips – as bouleversements, when the obvious race scenario is turned upside down in an unexpected and dramatic way. One of those great upsets took place this week, when the wraith-like Dane Jonas Vingegaard dislodged the race’s No 1 favourite, Tadej Pogacar, whose domination of the first 10 days had led most onlookers to predict a seamless third overall title.
Mostly, the Tour proceeds according to a formbook that is written early on; usually, the race belongs to the favourite who performs best at the first mountain top finish or time trial. That was how the 2022 Tour looked, but on Wednesday, when the stage finished atop the giant Alpine climb of the Col du Granon, Vingegaard and the Jumbo-Visma team first harassed Pogacar mercilessly before dispatching him with clinical ruthlessness.
