With the falls of Roglic and Van Aert and the mechanical problem of Vingegaard, the Jumbo almost lost very badly on the cobblestone stage.
But the chase led by the Belgian yellow jersey at the end of the stage allowed the Dutch team to limit the gaps on Pogacar.
We're not going to lie to each other, the Jumbo almost lost the Tour de France this Wednesday during the cobblestone stage finally won by the Australian Simon Clarke.
When Jonas Vingegaard got on a bike that was too high for him after having a mechanical incident, everyone thought very strongly that the second of the 2021 Tour was going to lose big in the North.
And when, a few kilometers further, Primoz Roglic wallowed on a bale of straw, panic was clearly in order in the Dutch team, outdistanced by an impressive Tadej Pogacar on the cobblestones.
“Everything was going well until Jonas had a problem with his bike.
And a few kilometers later, it was Primoz Roglic who fell.
We were really unlucky.
A motorcycle dropped a bale of straw in the middle of the road, I narrowly avoided it but Primoz fell.
It's like that but in the end, I think we save the furniture for Jonas, ”says Christophe Laporte, the French sprinter of the Jumbo.
Van Aert fell at the start of the stage
If Roglic lost big in the stage (nearly two minutes on Pogacar), Vingegaard knew how to keep his distance by finally conceding only thirteen seconds to the double winner outgoing of the Tour.
And if the Dane still has hope for the general this Wednesday evening, it is mainly thanks to his teammate Wout Van Aert.
Fallen at the start of the stage, the Belgian was never in the game for the victory on the cobblestones.
“At the start I didn't really feel good at the front of the peloton, with these crossings of villages and these narrow roads.
I didn't want to take any risks so I wanted to back off a bit.
And in reality I crashed, lost a bit of ground, but above all I lost confidence in being able to drive ahead on the cobblestones.
It's not the day we were hoping for with the team, ”admitted the Belgian champion.
An impressive chase
But rather than abdicate, Van Aert remobilized to limit the damage with a chase at the end of the stage on Pogacar which will go down in history.
While the Slovenian had taken up to a minute lead over his main rivals in the general classification, the yellow jersey was able to limit the damage to nibble away seconds, save his place as leader, and preserve his Danish team-mate's chances for the continuation of the Tour.
“Wout did a great job after his crash.
It's not easy to remobilize after a fall like that.
But he made the model teammate.
It's good that he knew how to do it because it helped the team a lot, ”continues Laporte who also did not give his part to the dogs in the final.
“He is a rider who has in him what cycling is in its entirety”
Still yellow jersey of the Tour after six stages, Van Aert continues to impress.
"He has it all.
He's a wonderful runner.
He gave himself up to the last drop of energy in this pursuit.
Hat.
I have a deep admiration for this guy.
He is a rider who has in him what cycling is all about.
He has this cycling education which makes him a special rider.
He's a huge runner, ”says Marc Madiot, the manager of Groupama-FDJ, admiringly.
Coming out of nowhere at the end of the stage, the Belgian did not ignite.
Even if he is happy to keep his yellow jersey as the Tour arrives at his home in Belgium on Thursday.
“It was a surprise for me to keep the Yellow Jersey.
I didn't even think about it anymore, because I didn't feel like I had good enough legs in the final.
But it's good to keep it, I'll be able to enjoy it tomorrow on the Belgian roads”.
Enough to give him new reasons to shine again at the start of the Tour.
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Tour de France 2022
Wout van Aert
Tadej Pogacar