The perfect strategy of the Jumbo that ended Pogacar: a sacrifice, two key kilometers and a deadly attack

• Vingegaard Destroy Pogacar in an alpine stage for the story

• Classifications This is the Tour

Jonas Vingegaard

has already dried his tears and caught his breath.

The first thing he has done, after getting on the roller so that the blood continues to circulate in his legs and muscle recovery is correct, has been to call

, his girlfriend.

"It means everything to me," he confesses afterwards.

Next to him passes his great enemy, defeated but not defeated.

has also regained his composure, but his jersey, still yellow, is still open, his skinny, whitish chest taking in the breeze from the Granon.

The Slovenian winks, a half smile, a touch on the rival's leg.

The sportsmanship, but also the challenge: "This is not over yet".

Hero scenes at almost 2,500 meters of altitude.

For history will remain a Wednesday that dawned in Albertville in which Tadej Pogacar chewed for the first time in his career the taste of blood in the mouth of defeat, of the rivals lost on his horizon, of the punishment of pain in his legs.

"I don't know why but I've had a bird, they've harassed me a lot, it may have been due to lack of sugar," he assured.

Unprecedented sensations in the double winner of the Tour.

But everything that happened was on the roadmap of

, the sporting director of the Jumbo, a perfect ambush.

Because the race itself had put the cards on the table before the first big mountain stage.

An intractable leader yes, but with a weak point to test for.

His team, touched by the covid, was missing two pieces.

'Isolate Pogacar' was the mission.

So easy to pronounce, only the courage of those who are willing to do anything was able to execute a masterpiece of strategy.

"If I didn't try, I was never going to win. And being second is great, but I had already done it last year. This time, I wanted to win," confessed Vingegaard.

But for the might of the Jumbo-Visma to be successful, another element was needed, a sacrificed one.

His name won't be in the headlines, but the hero was

.

His crash on the cobblestones had sparked natural selection within the Dutch squad and his caring spirit did the rest.

"What he has done has been unbelievable," admitted the new leader.

After his last effort, already on the bare slopes of the Granon, he arrived broken at almost 12 minutes.

Roglic and Kuss congratulate each other at the Granon finish line. Daniel ColeAP

Because it was the Slovenian, cursed in the Tour that eludes him, who started the fireworks of the

from the ramps of the Telegraph 80 kilometers from the finish line.

Before, they had already infiltrated the restless

in the escape of the day.

His attack, accompanied by his partner

, forced the first UAE effort.

He did not get too far, but Pogacar only had

left .

To the following lashes, he had to respond in the first person.

"Jumbo has played it from the beginning and has made the race very demanding, with a fantastic strategy. For us, with several domestiques less, it was very difficult to control", admitted

, which then responded to each of the claws, all studied.

Because Vingegaard and Roglic, who took turns at the pimpampum, did not do so randomly.

Between kilometers two and four, the colossus Galibier loosens its slope.

The attacks on that false plain did not succeed, but they caused a deadly wear.

Pogacar was melting without knowing it, while his rivals recovered the wheel.

Because the Slovenian smiled at the camera just before he fainted.

Vingegaard's last attack was the culmination of the tactic.

"At the top of the Galibier, Tadej looked very strong. However, I had many doubts as to whether he was going flat out or not. On the final climb, the car told me that five kilometers from the finish there were very hard ramps. I decided that, one of two, or they made the race doubtful or I attacked with everything".

So it was.

If on Mont Ventoux a year ago he already made his rival tremble,

"We had a plan from the beginning: we wanted to make the race very hard because we believed that it could benefit Primoz and me," summed up the Dane.

"We were prepared for this: we wanted the yellow jersey. That's why we started with Roglic from far away, because our idea was to make the Pogacar team suffer. It was planned that I would be in the breakaway,"

concluded , the only free verse of the perfect Jumbo machine, the summary of a day that will remain forever in the cycling history books.

And yet, the rebellious character of Pogacar soon regained the initiative, anticipating an extraordinary Tour.

“He has given me three minutes and maybe it will be me who will give him three minutes.

We are going to fight until the end », he challenged him before today's queen stage, with the Galibier, the Croix de Fer and the Alpe D'Huez.

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