HAUTACAM, France: Tadej Pogacar said he was in the form of his life after climbing to a commanding Tour de France stage win on the Hautacam mountain in the Pyrenees on Thursday.
The three-time Tour winner punished his key rival Jonas Vingegaard on stage 12 as he left him trying to limit the damage on the first major mountain on the 21-day race.
Team UAE leader Pogacar skipped away on an 11km solo ascent to finish two minutes and 10 seconds ahead of Vingegaard, who refrained from trying to follow the blistering attack.
Overnight leader Ben Healy of Ireland meanwhile wilted to a 13min deficit on the day.
French President Emmanuel Macron was on hand at the mountaintop finish, shaking his head in admiration as the 26-year-old shot across the line. Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel was also left trying to limit his losses, finishing 3min 35sec down in seventh on the 180.6km ride from Auch.
In the overall standings Pogacar now leads by 3min 31sec over Visma rider Vingegaard while Evenepoel is third at a daunting 4min 45sec.
Pogacar admitted after the race that until now he’s been cranky, complaining about attacks, the heat and tiredness.
But he offered a different story in the Pyrenees.
“I could see that Visma weren’t feeling so well,” he said.
“On the last climb it was really hot but I was really feeling good,” he said, explaining how he shattered the 12-man group still clinging on at the foot of the final climb.
He also offered a broader explanation.
“This is the best moment of my career. It’s been like a fairytale,” he said of the stage win on a mountain where he had previously been beaten.
“I enjoy this sufferfest,” he said of the long climb days. “I’m at the peak of my career. Once this fire goes out, my performance will drop.”
Pogacar admitted at the finish line his team had been secretly targeting this stage for some time.
“The plan was to win this stage,” he said. “I’m super happy to take time and win on this particular climb,” said Pogacar, who fell heavily on stage 11.
“You don’t know how your body reacts after a crash. It wasn’t so bad. The team did a super job.”
The champion had kind words for Irishman Healy, who had a bruising day himself.
“Healy tried, he showed big spirit. It was hard for everybody today,” said Pogacar.
He also dedicated this win to Italian junior cyclist Samuele Privitera who died aged 19 following a fall at this week’s Tour of the Aoste Valley-Mont Blanc.
“I was thinking of him in the final kilometer. This sport can be so hard. It’s so sad,” Pogacar said.
Friday’s stage 13 could shake up the standings again as it is an unforgiving individual time trial, mainly uphill, that the Slovenian has been looking forward to.
“The race isn’t over, just look at the next few stages and then there’s next week too,” he said.
Pogacar also took over the polka dot king of the mountain jersey while Jonathan Milan has the green sprint jersey and Evenepoel the white jersey as the best young rider.
Healy described his time in yellow as a “whirlwind” after dropping to 11th, over 13min off the pace.
There were three mountains on the menu Thursday as the peloton entered the Pyrenees. The pack was whittled down before Pogacar’s astonishing attack on the fabled Hautacam, a 13.6km ascent at 7.8 percent gradient.
On Friday a 10.9km race up the Peyragudes mountain rescue airfield with slopes of up to 16 percent await some potentially tired legs with the temperature set to hit around 33 degrees Celsius (92 Fahrenheit).