The winner of the Tour de France 2022, Jonas Vingegaard, in yellow, and his runner-up, Tadej Pogacar, in Paris, July 24, 2022. ETIENNE GARNIER / AP
Paris, July 24, 2022. Tadej Pogacar comes down from the formal podium of the Tour de France with, on his shoulders, the white jersey rewarding the cyclist aged 25 or under who is best placed in the general classification. The Slovenian, double winner of the event (2020 and 2021), failed in his quest for a third rank crown, giving up the precious yellow tunic to Jonas Vingegaard. At the end of the twenty-one days of racing, the Dane from the Jumbo-Visma, second in 2021, is ahead of him this time by 2’43” overall.
Read also on the Tour de France 2022: Article reserved for our subscribers Jonas Vingegaard, this yellow jersey that comes from afar
This Grande Boucle barely completed, the followers are already rejoicing at the idea of the next one. “I will come back hungry”, promised then the prodigy of the UAE Emirates training on the Champs-Elysées. The great barnum of the Tour de France has put down his suitcases in Bilbao, in the Spanish Basque Country, from where, on Saturday July 1, the kick-off of a revenge fantasized for almost a year by fans of the little queen.
The 2022 edition had indeed kept all its promises: a fierce duel between the favourites, a combative Pogacar and, at the finish, a “pedal” victory for Vingegaard, who was able to sweep away the doubts linked to his late outbreak. at the highest level. “I can say that I lost the Tour in the best possible way”recognized the Slovenian nugget in an interview with the site Cycling Tips, some months later. On this occasion, the native of Komenda, 24, said to himself « content » of his defeat – his first in a stage race since the Tour of the Basque Country 2021, where he was ranked 3rd –, convinced that it would be a catalyst for the future.
Pogacar: “The injury allowed me to rest my body”
The new act of this duel is all the more awaited as the protagonists have been able to raise the suspense since the start of the season. Tadej Pogacar won the two stage races he contested: the Tour of Andalusia and Paris-Nice, each time with three stage victories. The Slovenian also offered three classics, including the Tour of Flanders – his fourth “monument” in his career.
Jonas Vingegaard shone in three of the four events in which he took part: O Gran Camiño, in Galicia, at the end of February, without losing a single stage; the Tour of the Basque Country, at the beginning of April, where he had raised his arms three times; and the Critérium du Dauphiné, at the beginning of June, with two new stage successes, gleaned during the eight days of competition.
Their only confrontation this season, on the roads of Paris-Nice, in March, had however left a bitter taste. Presented as the first rehearsal of the announced duel between the winner of the Tour and his runner-up, this edition of the Race to the Sun had quickly turned to Pogacar’s advantage; the Dane contenting himself with a third place overall, behind the Frenchman David Gaudu.
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