Pogačar crushes rivals in brutal uphill time trial and solidifies Tour lead

PEYRAGUDES, France (AP) — Tadej Pogačar delivered another crushing defeat to his Tour de France rivals by dominating an uphill time trial and reinforcing his grip on the yellow jersey on Friday.

The brutal effort in the Pyrenees mountains was all about strength and stamina. It was just a painful experience offering no respite after already 12 grueling stages of racing. Riders first covered 2.9 kilometers (1.8 miles) to reach the bottom of the climb to Peyragudes, a daunting 8-kilometer (5-mile) ramp with a steep gradient.

On that brutal terrain, Pogačar reigned supreme and killed any suspense. He increased his lead in the general classification to more than four minutes.

“I really wanted to go all out from start to finish, smashing the pedals as much as possible,” he said. “I almost blew out in the end but I saw the time on the finish arch and it gave me an extra push because I saw I was going to win.”

It was Pogačar’s 21st stage win at cycling’s biggest race.

Setting off last, the three-time Tour champion was faster than everyone else on the flat section, putting five seconds into time trial world champion Remco Evenepoel. Jonas Vingegard was eight seconds off the pace through the first time check.

Pogačar was even better as soon as the road started to climb and he crossed the finish line at Peyragudes with a lead of 36 seconds over Vingegaard, his closest challenger. Primoz Roglic was third, 1 minute, 20 seconds off the pace.

Pogačar said he rode “on instinct,” having decided not to use the race radio.

“I suffered a bit with three kilometers to go. I took a deep breath and recovered some power because I knew the last kick was super steep and I wanted to have somewhat good legs,” he added.

Evenepoel cracked in the climb and was overtaken by Vingegaard, who started his effort two minutes after his Belgian rival.

Pogačar, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG leader, cemented his grip on the race during Thursday’s first big mountain stage on the slopes of Hautacam, where he destroyed the field to take the stage win and reclaim the yellow jersey.

Overall, Pogačar has a 4:07 lead over Vingegaard. He has been in dominant form since the start of the season and, barring an accident, his current form leaves little doubt about who will be wearing the yellow jersey when the race finishes in Paris on July 27.

“So far, so good,” Pogačar said. “We’re just a bit over halfway now and it’s still a long way to Paris but if we keep riding like this and don’t do any mistake, then we can be satisfied with this margin.”

Evenepoel salvaged his third place overall, 7:24 behind the race leader, but he was under threat from Florian Lipowitz, just six more seconds back in fourth place.

After taking a beating in Hautacam, Vingegaard conceded more time to Pogacar but reassured himself by limiting his losses in the time trial. Unlike Pogačar who used a road bike, Vingegaard opted for a time trial machine and used an aerodynamically designed helmet.

“Yesterday was one of my worst performances and today was one of my best,” Vingegaard said. “The Tour is far from over. We have to keep believing we can do something here in the race.”

Saturday’s stage

The peloton faces another day of suffering during Saturday’s Stage 14 from Pau to Luchon-Superbagnères. It features four major climbs, including the final ascent to the ski resort of Superbagnères, which is more than 12 kilometers long.

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