Two races in one on the Puy de Dome, incredibly empty and silent without an audience. This time at Tour de France it was run in a similar way to the Tour of Italy with two races in one. And today's two races were won by Michael Woods e Tadej pogacar.
Two challenges with deeper technical content than what has been seen from the outside and for this reason Domenico Pozzovivo helps us analyze them. The Lucanian has a double value, he is Woods' teammate at Israel Premier Tech and he's a climber and since we're talking about climbing…
For the stage
The race could be summed up as “it thundered so much that it didn’t rain”, or at least it “drizzled a little”. There was enormous anticipation surrounding this stage and this mountain, which had been missing for 35 years. L'Equipe had proposed a cover with a historical flavour, playing on the 1964 duel between Poulidor and Anquetil.
Instead, the group of men in the general classification let go. The breakaway escaped on the first attempt and built up a huge lead, whose maximum advantage exceeded 16 minutes.
At the beginning of the climb Matteo Jorgenson escapes and appears to have gotten away with it. All eyes are on Woods, the favorite, but he doesn't react.
Domenico, one of your classmates won. Congratulations!
Mission accomplished! When a team like ours, trained for the stages, wins one, we can be satisfied. Now the boys will run in a more relaxed way and maybe they will be able to run, taking even more risks, and, why not, win again.
Winning leads to winning, right?
Yes, you're more relaxed, you're not afraid of losing and taking risks. And all in all Woods already feels like he's been playing poker today. He relaxed a bit at the start of the climb and then had to recover. But he managed to exploit his qualities.
And what are his qualities?
Those of a very good rider on climbs of this type: tough but not too long. He is very explosive and coming from an athletics background, from middle distance running, he has an enviable lactic capacity.
Did you already know him?
Yes, I've known him for years, we've been competitors, and now this year we're racing together. He's a talented, strong guy...
And he's no child either! Did Woods know this section? Had he come as a scout on that day organized by ASO?
No, because he wasn't at the Dauphiné. Michael was with me at the Tour d'Occitanie, where he also won. He managed to take advantage of this stage. The escape was favored by the tactical development. A close call between Vingegaard and Pogacar was expected, a chess game that actually favored the breakaway. If either of them had to catch up, they would have closed the gap, the pace would have been different, and the breakaway would not have arrived.
The other race…
And then there was the chess game between the Jumbo Visma , UAE Emirates. Only shortly before the climb did Vingegaard's team take control of the race. Then Pogacar's men took over, and then the yellow-and-blacks again. Until the two sprinted forward with 1.500 meters to go.
Domenico, let's move on to the challenge between the two greats of this Grande Boucle... It thundered so much that it didn't rain: do you see it that way too?
As mentioned before, they checked themselves. When there is no stage victory at stake, the dust inevitably gets a little wet, There's never the same competitive spirit. Furthermore, today's stage went smoothly, and it took them a while to shift into aggressive mode.
They know each other very well. Pogačar launched an attack for "X" seconds, and the other knew his thrust would last that long. Then he held firm, but the other insisted a little longer. They were on edge. It was all very technical and tactical. What's your take on it?
The truth is that I saw Pogacar more worried than Vingegaard. In my opinion, Tadej was very careful about the heat. If you noticed, he often got wet all over his body. We know that when it's hot, he often has a bit of a downturn. Vingegaard, for his part, was counting on this and perhaps expected him to ease a bit. While Pogacar felt better than he thought and attacked.
What about watts?
I believe that both expressed it a little less than in the Pyrenees, and I think it depends on the heat.
Pogacar and Vingegaard are truly on the edge and evenly matched. We're talking meters now, not even seconds. Will it also be a battle of nerves?
Without a shadow of a doubt. This It is a fundamental component in the one-on-one challenge. And in this Tadej perhaps has a better chance, even if the other has a great team.
