The first complete week of the Tour de France has been a pincer movement, with the peloton trapped between two towering figures. On Friday the leader, Tadej Pogacar, produced a second successive stage win to put him in pole position for a hat-trick of overall titles. But the rider he deposed on Thursday, Wout van Aert, has been dominant at times and looks certain to be a defining figure as the race unfolds in the next two weeks.
It is rare for any rider not involved in the final overall battle to be as influential as Van Aert was last week. He began by finishing second on the first three stages in Denmark – a remarkable achievement in itself and one that put him in the yellow jersey – and then managed one of the most spectacular stage wins of recent years into Calais, a solo effort from 12km out with the entire race trailing in his wake. The image is an indelible one: Van Aert unleashed on the climb of Cap Blanc-Nez with his nominal leader, Jonas Vingegaard, clinging on desperately, then unable to hold his pace.
