Vingegaard maintains his lead in the Tour de France despite Pogacar’s victory at the summit of Peyragudes.

As long as he doesn’t wear the yellow jersey, Tadej Pogacar will have something to smile about: a new stage win at Tour de France. The race’s 17th stage was won by the Slovenian on July 20th, just edging off the Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard at the Peyragudes altiport (Jumbo).

Due to the bonuses given to the stage winner, the reigning champion, Tadej Pogacar, only gained a four-second advantage over his adversary because he was unable to pass him. In spite of this, Vingegaard leads the race by more than two minutes and eighteen seconds.

During the penultimate finish of the Tour de France, the first two riders fought it out for victory on the final ramp, which was also the penultimate finish. Exhaustion prevented Pogacar from finishing the race and he collapsed at the finish line. Tour de France stage victories became a regular occurrence for him at 23 years old, when he won the tenth one in his career.

Although Rafal Majka’s morning package affected Pogacar, the rest of his team (Bjerg and McNulty) were able to use their remaining capabilities to disrupt Vingegaard and make the race more difficult for him.

Pinot Noir is the wine in the lead position.

Thibaut Pinot and Alexey Lutsenko of Kazakhstan fought it out in the first of the day’s four passes against the scouts. The Hourquette d’Ancizan was the next stop for them. In the first-category pass known as Val Louron-Azet, an American climber called Brandon McNulty cornered the two.

The Slovenian challenged the Dane without making any demands at the crest, twenty kilometres from the finish line. They had a two-and-a-half-minute lead over the Welshman Geraint Thomas, who was pushed back severely by the likes of Kuss, Lutsenko, and Bardet, as well as a two-and-half-minute lead over the rest of the field, save for British rider Adam Yates, who was pushed back even farther than the others.

McNulty deviated from the path by 300 metres before the most difficult hill on the eight-kilometer ascent to the altiport, which had an average slope of 7.8 percent.

Pogacar’s lead over Vingegaard has largely remained unchanged by the finish bonus, as Vingegaard retains a significant lead in the overall standings. After finishing in third place, the British cyclist Geraint Thomas had his time penalty increase by more than two minutes, taking it to 4 minutes and 56 seconds before the 18th stage, which includes three difficult climbs to Hautacam.

Thursday is Bastille Day, a national holiday in France that commemorates 1789, when the country’s previous regime was ousted by the people’s power and the Bastille was demolished.

The Tour de France experienced its own revolution on Wednesday.

Tadej Pogacar, the reigning Tour de France champion and high favourite to achieve a hat-trick of wins this year, was toppled in a violent coup in an incredible stage. Having won the last two Tours, Pogacar was widely expected to win a third time this year.

Before the day’s penultimate climb, the out-of-category Col du Granon, the Slovenian had been deemed unbeatable. He was proven wrong. But only after Jumbo-Visma destroyed them on the two previous climbs, the 2642m Col du Galibier, the race’s highest point, and the Col du Télégraphe.

Stage 11 was a tactical masterclass for the Dutch team, which allowed their young Dane Jonas Vingegaard to deliver the decisive, deadly coup de grâce. In the last kilometre, he launched an attack that dropped Pogacar, regaining the yellow jersey, and securing the stage victory. It was a stunning sight.