Tadej Pogacar achieved the unthinkable this Saturday at La Planche des Belles Filles.

What a stopwatch!

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Marco Bertorello / AP / SIPA

  • Thunderclap on the Tour!

    On the eve of the arrival in Paris, Tadej Pogacar spanked Primoz Roglic on the time trial between Lure and La Planche des Belles Filles.

  • The small Slovenian stuck nearly two minutes to his elder, pushed back to 59 seconds overall.

  • "When you imagine a course, you dream of a situation like this", reacted the director of the Tour de France, Christian Prudhomme.

From our special correspondent at La Planche des Belles Filles,

From up there, Laurent Fignon surely smiled.

He is no longer the only one cursed.

This only runner to whom the Grande Boucle stretches its arms until an incredible turnaround.

Greg LeMond had played a dirty trick on him in 1989 on the time trial of the Champs-Elysées?

Tadej Pogacar gave Primoz Roglic the same nightmare, this time at La Planche des Belles Filles.

Even worse if we refer to the final gap between the two men: 1'56 over the 36.2 km of this time in the middle of Franche-Comté.

Second, Tom Dumoulin was also pushed back to more than a minute (1'21)!

Sign, once again, of the tour de force achieved by the youngest Slovenian, 22 years old on Monday.

"We dream of a situation like this"

A feat ?

Without a doubt.

The biggest of the last few years, all sports combined?

Without trying too hard, the cases of such improbable lifts that come to mind are on soccer fields.

In Barcelona, ​​with PSG or in Istanbul (Liverpool-Milan 2005).

We must not minimize the event experienced this afternoon: this September 19, 2020 will be remembered, for fans of cycling or sports itself.

On arrival, Christian Prudhomme was aware of it.

“When you imagine a course, you dream of a situation like this,” admits the race director.

"I would be lying to you if I said this morning I thought it could happen… 57 seconds early, seemed enough to me."

Then we saw from the start that Roglic wasted time regularly.

He was still 21 seconds ahead at the foot of La Planche des Belles Filles.

But on a time trial, we do not change and he still conceded seconds on the slopes.

"

" I can not believe it "

Until the unthinkable becomes reality ... To the dismay of many, more pained for the vanquished than disillusioned by the Terminator of the day.

Seen from the mixed zone, where the media and post-race runners meet, it looked like a great stupor for half an hour.

"I can not believe it", was in denial an Italian colleague when an English speaker multiplied the "Fuck" ... "Your big paper on Roglic from tomorrow morning, you can keep it", also launched a French journalist to his colleague , before rushing to the wikipedia page of the youngest Tour winners.

This morning, barring another earthquake, Pogacar will be at the top of the post-war list.

Just behind Henri Cornet, winner at 19 years and 352 days in 1904. "The glorious uncertainty of sport still exists", concludes Christian Prudhomme.

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