Tadej did not celebrate a victory in the shortened 19th stage, but in the last mountain test of the 112th Tour, he achieved his first goal – he defended the yellow jersey without any problems. He wears it with a lead of 4:24 over Jonas Vingegaard (Visma Lease a Bike) two days before the end of the race.
The UAE Team Emirates – XRG team once again did an excellent job and brought Tadej to the front at the foot of the final climb to La Plagne. Initially, the pace was set by the riders of the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale team, who were competing for Felix Gall’s 5th place in the overall standings.
Then Tadej attacked 14.2 kilometers before the finish, and only Vingegaard followed him, but he did not want to cooperate in setting the pace. This was an opportunity for Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers), who attacked 13 kilometers before the finish.
Tadej attacked once more 7 kilometers before the finish, and even after that, the other riders did not contribute to the chase after Arensman. In the end, in the fight for 3rd place in the overall standings, Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe) accelerated and, together with Tadej and Vingegaard, came very close to the Dutchman, who nevertheless celebrated his second stage victory in this year’s Tour.
Vingegaard overtook Tadej in the sprint, so he only lost two seconds and defended the yellow jersey without major problems. »I was counting down the kilometers to the end. Arensman was going super well, I hoped I could set the pace at which I would feel comfortable enough to accelerate if someone attacked. I had to maintain a certain pace, Arensman went faster, chapeau to him. In the end, I’m happy with how we raced. We are done with the mountains,« said Tadej.
»We tried to go for the stage win because we felt strong, we worked well as a team. Some riders think they can sprint 19 kilometers from the base to the top of the climb. We went all out, and then no one wanted to pull. So I attacked, thinking Jonas and I would go to the top. Then Arensman attacked and he was strong enough,« continued Tadej.
He is happy that the Tour de France is nearing its end. »Obviously, I’m tired, the Tour wasn’t easy, people attacked me left and right, I had to stay focused and motivated from day one to the end. The priority is the yellow jersey, and sometimes you just count the kilometers to the finish,« added Tadej.
He is smiling at the prospect of a fourth yellow jersey in Paris after victories in 2020, 2021, and 2024. With it, he would equal four-time champion Chris Froome, and on the all-time list, he would only trail five-time winners Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Indurain. He has two stages left, the hilly 20th with a finish in Pontarlier and the 21st with a changed route through Paris. Three ascents of Montmartre could be selective enough for Tadej to also go for the win.
»I just hope to arrive in Paris in yellow, if I have good legs, we have a good team for this route. At the moment, I don’t feel energized to think about racing on Sunday. The route is hectic, it will be challenging. We’ll see what happens on Sunday, but tomorrow’s stage might be more important,« finished Tadej.