Tadej Pogacar briefly looked his competitor deep in the eyes in the constant rain of Tignes, pedaled hard and made the rest of the favorites of the Tour de France look like amateurs in the bitterly cold Alpine final.
With attacks like from another planet, the Slovenian rose to the inviolable dominator of the tour on the first two high mountain stages, who can only lose his yellow jersey due to a currently unforeseeable weakness.
“The jersey gives me a little more warmth.
That's good, "said Pogacar, praising the stage winner on Sunday:" Ben O'Connor was very impressive.
I fought to keep the jersey.
I hope for nice weather on the rest day so that I can relax a bit "
The Australian O'Connor was the virtual overall leader after a stroll from Pogacar a good ten kilometers before the first mountain finish in the 2017 meter high Tignes, before the Slovenian accelerated the pace again in the final.
"I was a little afraid he almost got the shirt," Pogacar admitted.
O'Connor remained the victory on the ninth stage, Pogacar slipped into a fresh yellow jersey.
On Saturday, the 22-year-old stormed into the coveted Maillot Jaune in the stage victory of Belgian Dylan Teuns in Le Grand-Bornand with a simply unbelievable 30-kilometer solo.
A day later, it looked like Pogacar would lose the jersey again due to a tactical weakness.
Only when the British Ineos team took over and Pogacar finally took over did O'Connor's lead shrink to a good six minutes.
"I was afraid that Tadej would come up from behind," said O'Connor.
In the overall standings, Pogacar is now 2:01 minutes ahead of O'Connor and 5:18 minutes ahead of third-placed Colombian Rigoberto Uran.
"He's on a different level"
On the first day of rest on Monday, Pogacar's demoralized competitors will rack their brains about how to stop the over-driver. You may not find many answers, the captain of the UAE team on the completely rainy weekend in the Alps had to be considered. "He's on a different level than everyone else," admitted Sir Dave Brailsford, head of the successful British Ineos team.
The shocked competition will have to set new goals. The Bora-hansgrohe team is still hoping for the podium with Wilco Kelderman, while Emanuel Buchmann wants to win a stage at the weekend after losing a lot of time. Primoz Roglic, second in the previous year, decided on Sunday shortly before the start of the ninth stage not to do the rest of the tour. The Slovenian gave up the race in great pain due to his fall on the third stage.
“It just didn't make sense anymore.
I tried, but the pain was just too great, ”said 31-year-old.
On Saturday, Roglic crossed the finish line third from bottom, more than 35 minutes behind.
In the best company, however, because the former Tour winner Geraint Thomas was just one place ahead of the Vuelta Champion.
The Welshman, who was also marked by fall injuries, continues to fight his way through the tour.
Mathieu van der Poel did not want to do that with a view to the Olympic Games.
The Dutchman, who wore the yellow jersey for six days up to Saturday, did not start for the stage to Tignes.
"I am very proud of my lines on my first big tour and now want to concentrate on my other goals," said the cross world champion, who wants to start in Tokyo in the mountain bike race.
The tour drivers can catch their breath on Monday. The first day of rest is on the program in Tignes. On Tuesday, the peloton continues its journey towards the Mediterranean with the stage from Albertville to Valence.