Defending champion Tadej Pogacar extends his lead by beating Jonas Vingegaard in a thrilling finish in the seventh stage of the Tour de France
Tadej Pogacar has come one step closer to a third Tour victory with Friday’s stage win
He shot past Jonas Vingegaard in the last 20 meters to claim a thrilling win
UAE Team Emirates rider leads by 35 seconds from Jumbo-Visma’s Vingegaard
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Close to where Tadej Pogacar took his first Tour de France victory two years ago, he came one step closer to third with a stage win at La Planche des Belles Filles on Friday.
It was on the climb in the Vosges that Pogacar wrestled the yellow jersey from compatriot Primoz Roglic in a dramatic time trial in 2020.
This time the racing continued for another kilometer, the ‘Super’ version of the climb with gravel sections and 24 percent gradients – distance enough for the main contenders to break the heart of leader Lennard Kamna within sight of the finish and for Pogacar to pass Jonas Vingegaard on the line.
Tadej Pogacar has come one step closer to a third Tour de France victory with a stage win on Friday
There are still 14 stages to go this year, but barring injuries or incidents, this looks to be the 23-year-old’s race to lose as he aims to become just the ninth man to win three or more Tours and only seventh. to win three in a row.
The UAE Team Emirates rider leads by 35 seconds over Jumbo-Visma’s Vingegaard, with Geraint Thomas of the Ineos Grenadiers in third place, 70 seconds behind after losing 14 seconds in the closing meters of the summit finish.
But Pogacar’s second stage win in as many days – he took yellow card from Wout Van Aert to Longwy on Thursday – again underlined his dominance.
Pogacar shot past Jonas Vingegaard as he claimed his second consecutive stage win
It’s only been 10 years since this climb made its Tour debut, a day when Sir Bradley Wiggins went yellow and Chris Froome took his maiden stage win, but there have been some significant days in Tour history and this has the potential to be someone else.
Pogacar said: ‘It was very difficult, especially at the end. The last part, when Jonas attacked, he was so strong, but I thought: “My boys have been working all day, I have to push to the finish”.
“It was a big goal. Jonas is one of the strongest climbers in the world, probably the best climber in the world. A little advantage is always good, but in cycling there is no hole enough.’