Jonas Vingegaard of Team Jumbo-Visma rode away from his competitors on the Col du Granon on Wednesday during Stage 11 of the Tour de France. Five kilometers later, he arrived solo at the finish line and earned the yellow jersey after his resounding victory.
Vingegaard, aided by Durangoan Sepp Kuss and Jumbo-Visma, then maintained his lead with a sixth-place finish on Stage 12 Thursday.
The peloton had to cross several alpine giants in the challenging 151.7-kilometer stage on Wednesday. After the Col du Telegraphe and the Col du Galibier, the subsequent Col du Granon was decisive. Team Jumbo-Visma perfectly dropped Vingegaard off at the foot of the final climb.
It was all part of the team’s plan, which gave the competition a hard time for hours.
“The team rode a fantastic stage,” Vingegaard said. The Dane was part of a plan in which his team tried to hurt the competition. It resulted in a man-to-man fight on the penultimate climb.
On the ascent of the Col du Granon, Vingegaard kept quiet for a while.
About 5 kilometers from the finish, however, the Dane turned the race on its head.
Vingegaard’s attack proved too much for his rivals.
“I felt the competition was struggling after my attack,” he said. “The moment I rode in front, I felt our plan worked well. I am so incredibly grateful to my teammates. When a great champion like Primoz sacrifices himself in service of me, I can only look at that with great admiration.”
Vingegaard was handed the yellow jersey after his third win of the season.
“This is what I dreamed of as a child,” he said. “It’s nice to be second in the general classification, but the podium’s highest step is the absolute goal. We now have the yellow jersey and will do everything we can to bring it to Paris. We will keep fighting until the last meter. Fortunately, I feel empowered by a powerful team.”
Team Jumbo-Visma’s Tour team has now recorded 29 victories this season.
Vingegaard won in 4 hours, 18 minutes and 2 seconds, 59 seconds ahead of runner-up Nairo Quintana of Team Arkea-Samsic. Tadej Pogacar of UAE Team Emirates went with Jumbo-Visma when it attacked, but showed weakness for the first time on the Tour and finished seventh, 2:51 after Vingegaard, to lose the yellow jersey. Pogacar was third in the GC after Stage 11, trailing Vingegaard by 2:22. Romain Bardet of Team DSM moved up five spots into second (+2:16).
Wout Van Aert won the first sprint to grab another 20 points and extend his lead in the points competition.
Jumbo-Visma had six riders finish in the top 25 Wednesday, including Kuss, who finished 19th (+11:31). Steven Kruijswujk (ninth, +3:59), Primoz Roglic (20th, +11:31), Tiesj Benoot (22nd, +13:47) and Van Aert (25th, +17:27) also finished near the front.
Kuss moved up nine spots in the GC on Wednesday to 18th (+24:52).
Fellow Durangoan Quinn Simmons finished 89th on Stage 11 (+30:37) for Trek-Segafredo.
On Thursday, Kuss continued to move up in the GC and was in 17th place after finishing ninth on the 165.5-kilometer mountain stage. Kuss is the top American in the GC standings, one spot ahead of Neilsen Powless, and 24:55 back. Powless, who rides for EF Education EasyPost, is 27:16 back in 18th, but led USA on Stage 12 with a fourth-place finish.
Thomas Pidcock of INEOS Grenadiers won the stage in 4:55:24, finishing 49 seconds ahead of the runner-up, Louis Meintjes of Intermarche Wanty Gobert Materiaux.
Pogacar finished fifth, but Vingegaard crossed sixth in the same time, both finishing 3:23 after Pidcock, to hold to the yellow leader’s jersey and maintain his 2:22 advantage over Pogacar.
Kuss finished three seconds leader ninth.
“A super tough day that I got through well partly due to my teammates' outstanding work,” Vingegaard said. “The heat didn't make it easy. I did not feel bad today, but my legs were not as good as yesterday. In the final kilometers, I could answer some attacks of the other GC riders well. It was a cool climb. I’ve rarely seen so many spectators. The fans behaved well and, in most cases, gave us enough space to pass through. Riding in the wheel of my teammates even allowed me to enjoy this tough stage. The team’s efforts were phenomenal.”
Vingegaard was partly referring to Kuss’ excellent work. The Durangoan took on much of the lead on the final climb. “I felt strong enough to assist Jonas for a long time today,” Kuss said. “It may sound strange, but in the past few days, I tried to save energy where possible to be able to assist Jonas here. It’s good to see that he easily countered the competitor’s attacks. We have a strong team. Everyone has been able to see that. We know each other’s strengths. We head towards this Tour’s second half in good spirits. There is still a lot to come.”
Pogacar did pass Bardet, who finished 11th (+3:42), to move into second in the GC. Pogacar also passed Fabio Jakobsen in the points race to move into second, 159-155, but still trails Van Aert’s 313.
At an intermediate sprint at the beginning of the Stage 12, Van Aert added another couple of points to his total as the green jersey wearer led the entire peloton on several climbs. “It was a super tough day,” Van Aert said. “As a team, we showed that we have recovered well from a tough day like yesterday. ... We showed that we are also able to consolidate. I felt good, but I did suffer. I think Jonas suffered the least of all of us. He has gone through a great evolution in recent years. It’s really nice to be able to work for him.”
Simmons finished 84th on Stage 12, 27:38 back, and remained in 92nd place in the GC (+1:59:13) and 12th in the youth competition, 1:56:51 behind Pogacar. Simmons, who turned 21 in May, is the youngest cyclist in this year’s Tour.
Tony Gallopin leads Trek Segafredo in the GC in 27th-place (+51:01).
INEOS Grenadiers, meanwhile, now leads the team race in 39:30:39, 15:46 ahead of Jumbo-Visma in second. Trek Segafredo moved up two places Thursday into 14th (+2:32:20).
Simon Geschke of Cofidis leads the King of the Mountain race with 43 points, followed by Meintjes (39) and Vingegaard (36).
