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Follow us on GoogleTadej Pogacar set a new record time on Mont Ventoux, resisting a wave of attacks from Visma | Lease a Bike and Jonas Vingegaard and even sprinting away from the Dane by two seconds at the top. “Job done,” said the Slovenian from UAE Team Emirates-XRG after the race, but the analysts are not convinced. They saw some very important signs in stage 16 of the Tour de France that indicate that we may still be in for an epic battle in the third week.
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In the podcast In De Waaier, Thijs Zonneveld first expressed his surprise that Pogacar and UAE did not go for the stage win on Mont Ventoux. This was a change from what we have seen in recent years. “If Pogacar had felt the same way he did in the last two weeks, he would have just said: close the gap, and I want to win the stage. Because it's Mont Ventoux and I'm the leader in the GC and I win all the big races.”
"If they had done so, he probably would have won, but at the front I don't think he was super confident, and Visma sensed that, which was one of the reasons why Visma decided to push really hard," concluded Zonneveld, who saw Visma | Lease a Bike react and wait for the two grueling Alps stages on days 18 and 19. “That was really not the case at all. When UAE decided not to control, Visma went all out for the classification.”
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Zonneveld saw grimace at Pogacar and stronger Visma | Lease a Bike
According to Zonneveld, Visma's tactics were spot on, even though, in his opinion, the entire team has been weaker than in previous years. “Benoot is weaker, Kuss is weaker, Jorgenson is weaker, Van Aert is weaker, Yates is okay but tired after the Giro, and Campenaerts is at a good level. As a team, Visma was in worse physical shape, with Vingegaard also weaker. Still, as a team, they managed to isolate Pogacar and had riders left to support Vingegaard.”
Another clue, according to the Dutch cycling journalist: Pogacar's grimace during Vingegaard's first attack on Ventoux. “When Vingegaard attacked in the forest, we saw something on Pogacar's face for the first time in this Tour. He was in pain, and he said so after the race, that it hurt and that he was at his limit. Moreover, Vingegaard was able to withstand an attack from Pogacar for the first time in this Tour. It was the first real duel, which is a small ray of hope.”
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Knetemann also sees "small cracks"
Pogacar's form was also discussed in the podcast In Het Wiel. "We can look forward to the coming days, because Vingegaard will continue to do this and will have gained motivation from this," said Marijn Abbenhuijs. Roxane Knetemann also cheered for Visma: "If you don't attack, you'll never beat Pogacar. If you follow him, you know it will stay that way. But if you want to create a chance to beat him, you have to ride like they are riding now."
"I don't think Pogacar had his best day, just like his team," said Knetemann. “I was quite surprised that they didn't ride for the win, because I expected Pogacar to want to win on Mont Ventoux. With how we saw him riding, you just want to win, right? But he didn't try; it was different from what we've seen from him over the past two weeks." Abbenhuijs: "We didn't see his cannibalism, the first crack in his armor."
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Bram van der PloegEditor-in-chief
Bram van der Ploeg (35) is the proud founder of In de Leiderstrui, IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, launched in 2018. Finally, he could create stories about the sport he had followed since childhood. He is the editor-in-chief on paper, but prefers to be with his recorder next to a rider, a team bus, or in the mud at a cyclocross race. Every year, from February to the end of May, Bram follows the entire Italian cycling season, from the Trofeo Laigueglia to the Giro d'Italia, with the grand finale in October in Lombardy. During that time, he lives in Tuscany, where he has since come to call Italy his 'home'.
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