Appetizer of frustration for Pogacar

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If it were the feelings that spoke,

would be crowned on Sunday as the brand new winner of his first Tour.

The Dane, an ice man before the fire of

, does not tremble, not even half a second of doubt before the increasingly desperate attacks of his rival.

At the Pyrenees aperitif, where the Canadian

culminated the day's solo escape at the Foix finish line, the Slovenian's pyrotechnics turned into pure frustration.

[Narration and rankings]

It is true that the main dishes come on Wednesdays and Thursdays, without time to think, that the Pyrenees still have everything to say and that Pogacar is insatiable and will try until he faints, perhaps even commits suicide.

But in the third scenario for the comeback, a script was repeated, hacks that did not bear fruit.

A novelty was even introduced: Tadej did not try again in the second big port of the day.

In the Mur de Peguere the Slovenian gave up.

Only he knows if due to lack of strength.

Before, by land, sea and air, his desire to come back from Pogacar had not been long in coming.

He seeks surprise, he seeks weariness, he seeks what seems impossible, to get rid of his own shadow.

In the Port de Lens, the first important of the Pyrenean triptych that was inaugurated this Tuesday from Carcassonne, the Slovenian, as planned, could not take it anymore.

The stage progressed with the game ahead, a numerous escape in which Vlasov's incursion called attention, who with more than eight minutes of distance became virtual second overall.

The Bora player was going to be the great beneficiary of the day, in contrast to another new stage to forget about Enric Mas.

The Russian is already sixth, fully involved in the fight for a podium from which the Spanish definitively said goodbye.

The Jumbo was losing men -in the middle of the port, Sepp Kuss barely had left the leader-, but also the UAE.

Both with people ahead, all the tactics on the board.

But, disconcerted, he had taken the opportunity to make his first move on the Tour.

He came out together with Verona and Gregor Mühlberge, he got a minute away, and for a moment it seemed that he was going to achieve something.

Until Pogacar started.

Then, four kilometers from the top, a shooting broke out.

Only Vingegaard could answer him in the first person, again with a smug impression.

They stopped, regrouped, and Tadej charged again.

Again no luck.

The third acceleration came when the descent began, but the Dane did not give him a meter.

Neither up nor down.

And then, as if a lion had been injected with a sleeping pill, calm came.

Majka tried to make another pick on Peguere but broke the chain.

In contrast, it was Kuss's pace that left no one wanting.

On the way down, all the roosters except Bardet, Yates, Pidcock and Enric Mas regrouped, Nairo Quintana included.

The silent Geraint Thomas is still less than three minutes behind yellow.

Houlé had won third last week at Saint Etiennen, the second Canadian win in Tour history 34 years after Bauer.

He attacked in the last port and his teammate and compatriot Michael Woods and Movistar Jorgenson tried to catch him.

Until the American fell in a curve, that until then the Spanish team has bad luck.

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