Team Jumbo-Visma leader Jonas Vingegaard won his first stage of the Tour de France on Tuesday and took a massive lead in the general classification in the process.
Competing in the Tour’s only individual time trial this year, Vingegaard won the 22.4-kilometer sprint in 32 minutes and 36 seconds. Tadej Pogacar of UAE Team Emirates, who started the day 10 seconds behind Vingegaard in the GC, finished second, 1:38 after Vingegaard.
Wout Van Aert of Jumbo-Visma finished third (+2:51) while teammate Sepp Kuss of Durango finished 14th on the stage (+3:40). Kuss held on to sixth-place in the GC with his effort.
Mattias Skjelmose finished eighth to lead Lidl-Trek (+3:21) while Mads Pedersen placed ninth (+3:31).
Vingegaard was the last to start the race against the clock. The yellow jersey got off to a fast start and was 16 seconds ahead of Pogacar at the first checkpoint. Vingegaard further extended his lead on the first climb and on the descent, before going into the final climb with half a minute advantage and then extending it even more.
“I felt fantastic, but I also surprised myself a bit,” Vingegaard said. “This was the best time trial I have ever done. It started with the flat part and the first climb, where I went as fast as possible. After that, I hoped to recover on the descent and go all out on the final climb. It went incredibly well. The team also did a fantastic job guiding me through the day. I thank them from the bottom of my heart.”
On Stage 15 Sunday, a spectator taking a photo hit Kuss with their arm, causing Kuss and at least 10 others to crash and halting the peloton behind them.
Dylan van Baarle and Nathan Van Hooydonck of Jumbo-Visma were also involved in the crash that paralyzed the peloton. It was the second consecutive day there was a mass crash. Kuss, and the rest of the riders involved in the Stage 15 crash, however, were all able to finish the stage.
A large group of riders, including Van Aert, then broke away and the group eventually fought for the stage win.
Trailing by a few minutes, Vingegaard and Pogacar fought again for every meter. The Danish yellow jersey wearer fended off an attack and stayed on the wheel of the Slovenian. The pair eventually crossed the line side by side. As a result, Vingegaard took a 10-second lead into the time trial and the final week of the Tour de France.
Wout Poels of Bahrain-Victorious soloed to victory after the tough trek in the Alps while Van Aert eventually finished second (+2:08).
Pogacar and Vingegaard finished together. Pogacar attacked in the final kilometer, but Vingegaard was able to counter immediately and get back on his wheel. Vingegaard went over the top at the end, but Pogacar was able to catch him.
Giulio Ciccone of Lidl-Trek took the polka-dot king of the mountain jersey with 16 points on the stage.
Kuss, meanwhile, bounced back from the crash to finish 20th on the stage (+7:05).
Jumbo-Visma also took the lead in the team race on Sunday and extended by six minutes to 9:42 in the time trial.
The Tour has five more stages and will conclude Sunday in Paris.
