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Tour de France #11: Vingegaard wins and the momentum shifts

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Vingegaard Tour de France Pogacar

Cycling: Jonas Vingegaard has won the eleventh stage of the Tour de France, giving Tadej Pogacar a bitter setback. The man in the yellow jersey crossed the finish line at the same time, but will now have to mentally grapple with today's stage.

Vingegaard Tour de France Pogacar

Vingegaard is Tour favorite again

The eleventh stage could go down in history as the one that turned the 2024 Tour de France on its head. Tadej Pogacar (UAE) looked like the certain winner after his attack with around 32 kilometers to go, holding a lead of over 30 seconds. But Jonas Vingegaard (Visma – Lease a Bike) fought back, clawed back second by second, and actually closed the gap. In the sprint for the stage win, the Dane even beat the Slovenian. This suggests that the momentum of the two GC contenders could now shift. Vingegaard seems to be getting stronger, while Pogacar appears to be losing strength and dominance. In the battle for third place, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal – Quick-Step) prevailed over Primoz Roglic (Bora – hansgrohe), partly because the Slovenian crashed on the final descent.

Ten outliers – but UAE controls

Tim Declercq (Lidl – Trek) did not start the 211-kilometer stage from Évaux-les-Bains to Le Lioran . The Belgian fell ill on the rest day and did not feel fit enough to tackle today's hilly stage. During the race , Alexis Renard (Cofidis) and Ion Izagirre (Cofidis) abandoned the race. The ten breakaway riders, who managed to distance themselves from the peloton after a long battle, had much higher ambitions. Among them were Richard Carapaz (EF Education – EasyPost), Oier Lazkano (Movistar), and Romain Gregoire (Groupama – FDJ). However, UAE Team Emirates kept the pace high in the peloton and allowed the breakaway group a lead of barely more than two minutes. As the peloton climbed the Puy Mary Pas de Peyrol with approximately 35 kilometers to go, the last of the escapees was caught.

Pogacar attacks at Puy Mary Pas de Peyrol

Somewhat surprisingly, Tadej Pogacar (UAE) launched his attack 32 kilometers from the finish, after his teammate Adam Yates (UAE) had done his job. Shortly before the summit of the Puy Mary Pas de Peyrol, he rose from the saddle and immediately opened up a gap. Prior to this, several strong riders, including Juan Ayuso (UAE), Joao Almeida (UAE), Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers), and Enric Mas (Movistar), had already been dropped. On the descent, Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe) caught up with Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike). The Slovenian and the Dane then worked together to limit the gap to Pogacar. Behind them were Remco Evenepoel (Soudal – Quick-Step), Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers), Giulio Ciccone (Lidl – Trek), Joao Almeida (UAE) and Adam Yates (UAE) in a group. Due to Rodriguez's descending skills, the chasing group eventually merged.

Vingegaard closes again

On the climb to the Col de Pertus, the balance of power among the chasing peloton became clear once again. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma – Lease a Bike) managed to break away along with Primoz Roglic (Bora – hansgrohe), but then dropped the Slovenian again. Behind them, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal – Quick-Step), wearing the white jersey as best young rider, was riding solo. The Belgian seemed to be pacing himself better on the climb. He caught up with Roglic before the summit. Vingegaard also seemed to be feeling better. Having at one point had grown to over 30 seconds, he was now gradually reducing the gap to Tadej Pogacar (UAE). Before the summit of the Col de Pertus, Vingegaard even managed to close the gap. However, Pogacar wasn't about to let the bonus seconds slip away.

Vingegaard sprints past Pogacar

Since there were no further attacks on the Col de Font de Cère, the stage win was decided in a classic two-man sprint. Tadej Pogacar (UAE) – usually known as a much more explosive rider – surprisingly lost this sprint to Jonas Vingegaard (Visma – Lease a Bike). This means the man in the yellow jersey has to accept a bitter defeat today. The Slovenian had actually hoped to increase his lead over Vingegaard on these short climbs. But the Dane impressively demonstrated that he has recovered well from his crash a few months ago and is getting back into better form every day. Remco Evenepoel (Soudal – Quick-Step) secured third place ahead of Primoz Roglic (Bora – hansgrohe), who crashed on the final descent and thus lost valuable seconds.

Tags:jonas vingegaardNewsPrimois RoglicRemco EvenepoelTadej pogacarTour de FranceTour de France 2024

About Michael Behringer

Cycling with all its tactics, stage analyses, placements and forecasts are Michael Behringer's great passion. In 1996 he tracked his first Tour de France. Since then he has observed almost every race. His passion for cycling has been with him for over two decades. There is no end in sight.