Pogacar says goodbye to the Tour de Vingegaard with a rage triumph in Le Markstein

Tadej Pogacar shouted, his fists clenched, finally some happiness after days of agony, of seeking and not finding explanations for his lost Tour. A victory at Le Markstein, the 11th of his career at the age of 24. A cry of rage at the finish line in the Vosges, the podium for the teammate assured, goal of the day accomplished, even though the real one, the one that matters, lost it resoundingly in the middle of the week with that imperturbable guy that is Jonas Vingegaard, vigilant to the last meter even though he had everything well tied up, his second consecutive Tour, a place in history. [Narration and ratings]

In that sprint in Le Makrstein were the recovered forces, but also the liberation from so much frustration. The Slovenian prevailed without too many problems, there is no one like him with that punch, ahead of Felix Gall and Vingegaard himself, who could hardly oppose. Behind, the Yates brothers, Adam securing third place overall and Simon storming fourth from an injured and suffering Carlos Rodríguez, who reached 50 seconds and finished his first Tour fifth, with the victory in Morzine forever.. Sixth and also a stage winner, another one that deserves applause, a whole Pello Bilbao to the end.

It turned out to be a stage of keeping what was obtained for three weeks before attempting feats, ambitions already as exhausted as energies. A day marked by the last dance of Thibaut Pinot, by the early fall of Carlos Rodríguez and by Pogacar's only attack in Platzerwasel, 5.5 from the top, although without solution of continuity. Once traced by Vingegaard, they played tactically, without conceding a relief to the Dane, this time to the expectation of the Slovenian.

It had been a completely frantic stage start. Nobody wanted to be absent from the last party of the Tour, despite the forces at the limit, a true gymkhana in just over 130 kilometers through the Vosges. At dawn from Belfort, Vingegaard could well be seen in the group of escapees, arousing the suspicions of the rest. Or Giulio Ciccone collecting points for his mountain jersey. He was going to achieve it mathematically in the fourth level, the Col de la Schlucht and he celebrated it like this, with arms raised as if he had won a stage. The last Italian to finish with the red dotted jersey was Franco Pellizotti in 2009, before Chiappucchi in 1992.

Thibaut Pinot also monopolized the spotlight, the last propitious stage in the career of one of the most charismatic cyclists in the peloton, receiving all the deserved tributes in the mountains where he grew up and where he has his farm in Melisey. A guy who carried the weight of a nation on his shoulders, capable of acknowledging that he puts his popularity above his talent, of pronouncing: “I wish I had less love and more victories.”

But not all were joys. Carlos Rodríguez and Sepp Kuss were involved in a fall at kilometer 33, in a curve of the descent of the Ballon d'Alsace, both soon reinstated but with visible injuries on their bodies and faces. It was going to be too much for the Spaniard, who nevertheless never gave up even though he saw how soon the chances of getting back on the podium vanished, even the other Yates slipped away from him.

The escapees, who never enjoyed a notable advantage, soon found themselves caught up in Pogacar's impetus. Felix Gall took the initiative with the two colossi again testing each other and the Yates brothers finished their work masterfully.