Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) won the final mountain stage of the 2023 Tour de France in a final show of pride. Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) was with him and so set-up overall victory for a second year, with just Sunday’s final parade stage to Paris to race.
Pogačar was determined to fight back after suffering in the Alps and losing seven minutes to Vingegaard. He followed his big rivals in the final corners and then sprinted to the line, celebrating his stage win.
Felix Gall (AG2R-Citroën) was second at the line and Vingegaard was third, with Simon Yates (Jayco-AlUla) fourth.
Pogačar was part of a select group of five riders that caught and dropped Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) after he attacked alone in front of his home crowds in his last mountain stage of the Tour. It could have been a fairy tail ending but UAE chased the attacks all day and then Pogačar, Vingegaard caught and dropped him on the final climb. Pinot's only consolation was the Prix de la Combativité and final day on the attack.
As the riders travel towards Paris for Sunday’s final stage Vingegaard leads Pogačar by 7:29, with Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) third overall at 10:56.
Simon Yates jumped past Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) to move up to fourth overall at 12:23.
Victory put a smile on Pogačar's face after the disappointment of missing out on overall victory.
“I finally feel like myself again. It was good to feel good again from start to finish after many days of suffering,” he said.
“To pull it off at the finish line, I’m just super, super happy."
“I was waiting for Adam to come back, and his brother again, they were super good. I know him very well, he led me out really good. Thanks to him it was a bit easier to prepare the final and less nervous. I was super happy that the team did such a great job again.”
Pogacar was smiling again but was happy the Tour was coming to an end. He tried to stay optimistic in defeat, finding the special memories of his race.
“I think just the atmosphere in the bus every day, how this team was, I think this will stay as the best memory of this Tour de France.”
He was asked for his worst memory and again avoided talking about defeat but touched on the day he cracked the mighty Col de la Loze climb and had to fight to hold onto second place overall.
“Everytime Marc Soler looked at me on Col de la Loze with his scary eyes. That was the most terrifying moment,” Pogacar said, confirming how Soler played a vital role in getting him to the finish on the day that decided the 2023 Tour de France.
Vingegaard’s 7:29 margin on Pogačar in the general classification meant that he could already begin to celebrate overall victory.
“A second one is also really amazing,” he said, of his 2023 success, which follows his first win in 2022.
“Of course, there’s still the stage into Paris, we have to be careful and not to do anything stupid, but it’s amazing to take my second victory in the Tour de France. I almost can’t believe it.”
Vingegaard seemed to savour his long and intense battle with Pogačar.
“It was definitely a crazy battle we had all these three weeks. I think it has been a really nice race to watch,” he said.
“Also for us, I really appreciated the battle I had with Tadej in this year’s Tour de France. He’s a super great guy. It’s been an amazing fight since Bilbao and hopefully also in the future.
“I enjoyed today and I enjoyed every day I had in the yellow jersey. I felt good on the bike today and so it was another nice fight between me and Tadej.”
Vingegaard rightly shared his success with his Jumbo-Visma teammates.
“I’d never have been able to do this without my fantastic team, they’ve been there every day for me. They’ve done so well over the last three weeks, I’m so happy for all of us. It’ll be super nice in Paris tomorrow,” he said.
“We had a plan and it was the way we executed the plan every day like we wanted to. Thanks to the team, they were so good every day.”
How it unfolded
With just 133.5km to race before the final stage to Paris, stage 20 was always going to be a hectic affair, as different goals, different ambitions, tactics and levels of fatigue intertwined during the final day in the mountains.
Thibaut Pinot naturally got the biggest cheers as he raced on home roads at the Tour de France for the final time and even dreamt of a final victory. However there was also the fight for the stage victory, for the final top ten places, the polka-dot mountains jersey and for pride.
Yet again the stage started fast, with Victor Campenaerts and Lotto Dstny teammate Jasper De Buyst attacking from the very start. They were eventually caught and dropped on the 11.5km Ballon d'Alsace climb and the pace never eased.
Lidl-Trek controlled the peloton and then went on the attack to help Giulio Ciccone in the battle for the polka-dot jersey. Mads Pedersen drove the attack hard and then Matthias Skelmose led out Ciccone at the summit so he could maximum points.
Behind the peloton never eased up, with the race ‘on’ even during the sweeping descent.
Sadly a crash saw Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) and Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma) go down hard on a bend and both suffered cuts to their right eye and the side of the head. Both needed medical treatment from the race doctor but both were allowed to race on.
The peloton split briefly after the crash, with Vingegaard in a 16-rider move. He soon dropped back and so we suddenly had the break of the day. Ciccone was there, with Skelmose, as they chased more KOM points.
Ciccone and Skelmose were first to the top of the Col de la Croix des Moinats, moving the Italian within reach of mathematical victory and the final polka-dot jersey in Paris.
Over the climb, Pinot made his move with teammates Valentin Madouas and Stefan Küng. They dived down the descent and valley road and then catapulted Pinot into the attack on the Col de Grosse Pierre.
Up front were Pinot, Madouas, Ciccone, Skjelmose, Chris Harper (Jayco-Alula), Warren Barguil (Arkéa Samsic), Maxim Van Gils (Lotto Dstny), Rigoberto Uran (EF Education-EasyPost), Kevin Vermaerke (Team dsm - firmenich) and Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers).
Ciccone took more points and knew that the jersey would be his on the Col de la Schlucht after a high-speed 80km of racing. Skelmose again led him out and the Italian danced away in sight of the line, throwing up his arms in victory as he scored two decisive points.
Yet behind the peloton again refused to let the break go, with UAE leading the chase, to try to set up Pogačar. Little did they realise the challenge they faced.
Soon after Col de la Schlucht, it was time for the Petit Ballon climb, so dear to Pinot. He knows every metre and his fans were packed along the roadside from bottom to top and especially at the ‘virage pinot’ official corner.
Pinot soon took off alone to try to win the stage and savour the moment. Only Madouas, Barguil, Pidcock, Harper and Ciccone could chase him but soon only Pidcock and Barguil could stay at 20 seconds, with the Vingegaard chase group at 1:20.
Yet Pinot pushed on, the cheers of the crazy crowds all pushing him along. He went deep on the Petit Ballon, dancing often on the pedals to fight the 8.1% gradient. He reached the summit with a lead of 20 seconds on Barguil, Harper and Pidcock, with the peloton still chasing at 1:25.
It was emotive and not intelligent racing from Pinot but what a moment in his career and way to say ‘adieu’ to the Tour de France mountains and his fans.
He dived down the descent of the Petit Ballon and held off even Pidcock. However, it was a huge effort that would prove costly on the final climb of Col du Platzerwasel and the plateau road to the finish.
Pogačar finally made his move with five kilometres to climb. Vingegaard jumped on his wheel and when he refused to work Felix Gall (AG2R-Citroën) was able to join them. Behind the battle for the top five and top ten also exploded in a final moment of battle.
Simon Yates and then Adam Yates got away and on the plateau road, they eventually joined Pogačar, Vingegaard and Gall after they caught and dropped Pidcock, Barguil and even Pinot.
Pogačar wanted the stage win and so Adam Yates led the group for his leader, while also securing his third place overall.
The final kilometres snaked across the hillside and so Vingegaard bravely hit out first, ever giving an inch to his big rival. However, Pogačar was faster and came past him in the finishing straight as the road rose upwards one last time.
Pogačar had the speed and anger to win the stage. It was not revenge for overalls defeat but perhaps helps ease the pain.
Simon Yates’ time gain lifted him past Rodriguez into fourth overall, the Briton is now 34 seconds ahead of the young Spaniard before the ride into Paris and the final sprint on the Champs Elysées.
After 20 days of intense racing, the overall classification, the other jerseys and the final podium places have been decided in what has been a Tour de France for the ages.
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