A few turns of the wheel, and the balance of power drastically reverses in the peloton. A year ago, Jonas Vingegaard taught Tadej Pogačar a lesson in the Alps to achieve a second triumph in yellow. Before losing their first title sponsor and, it seemed, any form of luck and success, the Jumbo-Visma team was crushing the peloton while the rivals of UAE Team Emirates were bitterly experiencing a return to the rank all relative to the Tour de France.
In Combloux as in Courchevel, the splendor of Pogi suddenly died out. It is an understatement to say that it shines once again in the firmament of international cycling at a time when all the stars gather in Florence to attack the Tour de France 2024, in which the Slovenian is preparing to return to historic performances (will resurrect- will he be the Giro-Tour double; will he be the youngest triple winner in the history of the Tour?). Because after the slap, UAE Team Emirates flexed their muscles.
The Giro-Tour double, a blessing for Pogacar? “If it starts to get to 35 or 40 degrees…”
The trauma: Combloux, more violent than Loze
There was Pogačar’s livid face and the words, spoken on the radio to his team: “I’m finished, I’m dead.” In the Col de la Loze, one of the most beautiful monstrosities recently unearthed by the Tour, the legs gave out, the breath stopped, the brain almost disconnected, resigned. For perhaps the first time, the mischievous Pogi had limits imposed on him. He had already experienced defeat but, at least, he had always been able to try to shake things up. There, all that remained was for him to suffer, without hope, almost without purpose.
The failure of the former prodigy, turned cannibal, was spectacular. But Pogačar had already lost the Tour before losing himself on the Loze. After two weeks of incandescent fighting, Jonas Vingegaard had passed the first blade the day before in the time trial between Passy and Combloux. His flight towards Courchevel gave more scope to his demonstration of strength the day after a much more significant performance: in the space of 22.4 kilometers, the Dane had blown Pogačar away (pushed back to 1’38”, a difference of 4 and a half seconds per kilometer) and ridiculed the rest of the peloton.
After the shock, similar to that which had gripped the men in yellow and black when Pogačar had turned everything upside down on La Planche des Belles Filles in 2020, the Emirati team tried to put things into perspective. The failure of the Loze would suggest that their champion was not at his best, after a preparation truncated by his fractures to the left wrist and hand. However, the Slovenian had pushed back Wout van Aert (3rd) by more than a minute. “Pogačar was literally flying,” was whispered that same evening in the Slovenian’s entourage. “The team was confident of being in yellow today.”
The reaction: Let’s say we’re tired of losing.
Pogačar quickly recovered by winning on Le Markstein before heading towards new victories from the north to the south of Europe. But for its leaders and Emirati donors, defeat always goes down badly. Pogačar’s unique talent was to shine throughout the world but, on the podium of the Champs-Élysées, it has now been two years in a row that they have been subjected to the law of Jonas Vingegaard and his Dutch team, which is developing increasingly close relationships concrete with Saudi Arabia. “Let’s just say we’re tired of losing,” we are still letting go on the UAE side.
From the summer, a “super team” is taking shape for the 2024 Tour with Adam Yates, Joao Almeida and Juan Ayuso to support Pogačar. Marc Soler is immediately in the small papers, after towing Pogacar in the ascent of Loze. The cast was quickly completed by Pavel Sivakov, Tim Wellens and Nils Politt. Everything was announced in December, when Pogačar revealed his ambitions for the Giro, which he assured would not hinder his progress towards the Tour. Six months later, he went for a ride in Rosa and all his lieutenants (none of whom participated in the Giro) are present at the meeting that was set for them.
“Yates is my right hand man”, explained Pogačar in the Geraint Thomas podcast. “Ayuso and Almeida will be great servants in the mountains. Soler and Sivakov are the big guys for the mountains who can also help on the flat, and then you have Wellens and Polit.” Reaction from Thomas, who has had his share of armadas with Sky and Ineos: “My God, it’s a hit squad!”
And now: the big aggression?
On Monday, Pogačar and his gang descended from the Isola 2000 station, which he could soon annex (19th stage, 2,024 meters above sea level, the 11th highest finish in the history of the Tour) and where they put the finishing touches to their joint preparation. They obviously did not come to Florence to admire the countless wonders of the Italian Renaissance. They are brimming with ambition and confidence, as the leader sums up: “We are eager to get started and we hope to fight for the victory and put on a great show.”
The competition is much tougher than at the last Giro, where Pogačar did not have to exhaust himself excessively. As in May, Pogi’s July Guard also wants to strike as quickly as possible, with a particularly muscular start on the Italian roads. The course is cut out for the Slovenian, who excels on almost all terrains anyway. And the dynamic is inexorably favorable to the UAE, which has just crushed the Tour de Suisse and now has 48 victories in 2024 (Lidl-Trek follows with 30 successes).
Above all, Pogačar has every interest in establishing his authority as soon as possible, to better stifle any dissenting inclinations, starting with those of Vingegaard condemned to gain power over the course of the Tour. After three months without competition, the Dane hopes to find his best legs in the last big climbs. But where will he stand at that point against Pogačar? Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) may have provided an answer on Wednesday: “I expect Tadej to be virtually unattainable.”
