The battle for the general classification in the Tour de France is almost over, after Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard were locked up – as they have this last week – at phase 19.
Vingegaard, who wore Pogacar’s King of the Mountains sweater for him, was at least one over his rival by winning a small sprint for the second place on top of La Plagne, the last Hors category climb of this year’s race and ends the last of this year’s tour.
But the DANE apparently did not have the legs to attack his rival and remotely to take the climb of 19 km, with the couple corresponding to each other’s movements but failed to falter in Thymen Arensman.
The Dutchman -who had already sealed one win over a HC climb, in superbagneres on Stage 14 -only had a handful of seconds over the GC duo that went into the last kilometer, but stopped them with a Herculean effort and ended for two seconds for both Vingegaard and Pogacar.
Arensman covered his face in disbelief when his debutour went from brilliant to even better and saved a difficult race for the Ineos Grenadiers, who otherwise had no impact on the Tour and had to defend unwanted attention on historical accusations of misconduct against a staff member.
“I was absolutely destroyed. I can’t believe it,” said the 24-year-old at the finish. “To win one stage in the Tour – unbelievable. Of the GC group against the strongest riders in the world … feel like I’m dreaming.
“I don’t take no to answer. It’s Tadej [Pogacar] and Jonas [Vingegaard] – Everyone knows that they are the strongest in the world, almost alien beings. As a person I still want to beat them. I didn’t try to look behind and go as quickly as possible and it was enough. It’s just crazy. “
Now the Pyrenees and the Alps are over, and there are only two phases to get through before the stage ceremony and champagne populary in Paris.
Stage 20 Screams ‘Breakaway’: a hilly, spicy route through the mountain range of Jura, starting in Nantua, in the foothills of the Alps, and four classified climbs on the 184 km away to Pontarlier.
In total there is 2,850 meters of climbing, but no difficult enough for the general classification candidates, who will probably be in the peloton and are wrapped in cotton by their teammates while they are wrapped to Paris.
That means that there will be 14 Winless teams of this year’s racing battles to get the escape of the day, so that an undoubtedly chaotic first few kilometers racing when a group settles.
A non-classified turnout from Nantua quickly leads to the first climb of the day, the Drie Col de la Croix de la Serra category, the longest of the day at 12.1 km but a relatively forgiven 4.1%. This leads to the category Cote de Valfin (5.7 km at 4.2%), with the intermediary sprint at Chaux du Dombief 72 km in the procedure – an important milestone for Jonathan Milan, who will look at his lead in the points classification.
The bumps and bumps continue, due to the quieter, sharpest climb of the day, the Kote de They (3.6 km with an average of 8.9%), with the final clear climb at 20 km from the finish in the Cote de Lonegeville (2.5 km at 5.5%).
The road flattened in the last seven kilometers or so, which means that if enough sprinters have survived, we can have a reduced sprint.
With an unknown quantity on the Horizon in Paris – the addition of various climbs from Montmartre potential enough to offer Adieu On the Sprinters – Their teams can have a quick finish in Pontarlier, which sets up an incredibly last hour of racing.
Road map and profile
Starting time
The penultimate phase of the Tour de France starts at 12.05 hours local time (11.05 am BST) with an earlier expected finish time of approximately 4.10 pm local time (3.10 pm BST).
Prediction
This phase is one for both the punchers and the rougeurs of the peloton, in which the flatter finish bows a powerhouse driver who can come over the climbs. Jonas Abrahamsen loves an escape and already has one victory to his name, on a similar cloner day in Toulouse on stage 11. From a British perspective, Fred Wright has been a constant in escapes, but was unable to hold on to the pointed end – but it is allowed to make a last attempt tomorrow.
Kasper Asgreen is another separate artist who excels in this kind of terrain, but with a second place Already to his name on phase 15, is my bet Victor Campenaerts. He has been Visma-Lease of the strongest domestique of a bike in the entire race, consistently better than climbers in the Pyrenees and Alps, and my feeling is that Visma will thank him by letting him go for a shot on Glory of his own on the road to pontarlier.
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