Friday, July 28, 2023
Okay, before we get to who won the last stage of The Tour, let’s go over the overall winner. That is the person with the least amount of time, known as The General Category or GC winner, who gets awarded The Yellow Jersey. It’s important to understand this to understand what happened in this stage, before the end of the race.
In 2020 the old guard of The Tour de France was upset by a new comer, Tadej Pogaćar from Slovenia (pronounced “Taddy Po-gacha”). He was young. He dominated the race winning not only the yellow jersey, but The Best Young Rider. He won again in 2021. It seemed he was a shoo-in to win again. But then a young man from Denmark showed up – Jonas Vingegaard (“Yo-Nas Vinga-go”). He was slight of built, short, and seemed tireless. A year before he had been working in a fish factory shoveling ice. He was challenging Tadej There was a dual. They were only seconds apart until one mountain stage where Tadej “cracked” and Jonas got a slight advantage. That was all he needed.
By the way, “cracking” is a term applied to bike racers when their body has been working at too high an output and partially shuts down. You can watch a rider do really well going up a climb and then, all of a sudden, they can barely maintain any forward progress. This is what happened to Tadej in 2022.
In 2022 Tadej and Jonas were duking it out. One shadowing the other, not letting any distance get between them. Tadej was behind on time and needed something to get ahead. Then on a descent, near the bottom Tadej’s bike slipped out from under him. He went off the roadway into a grassy gully. He got up. Jumped on his bike. Jonas was just ahead, pedaling in circles, waiting for him. They fist bumped and continued their ride. Jonas won that year, and Tadej came in second.
That was 2022. Would 2023 be any different?
Nope. It soon emerged that it would be a battle between the two – again.
Jonas led Tadej by seven seconds, then ten. At one point in the middle of the race Tadej did something, I don’t remember what it was, but it made no sense tactically. Christian Vande Velde who was a commentator and had recently retired from bike racing wondered out loud why Tadej was doing whatever it was he was doing. The long time play by play announcer, Phil Liggett, said, “because he’s Tadej Pogaćar,” simple enough.
By the time Stage 21 came around this year Tadej was over ten minutes behind Jonas. He was firmly in second place with no hopes of catching Jonas, and no one near him to challenge second. All he had to do was finish the stage.
As the riders circled up and down the Champs, all of a sudden Tadej broke out of the pack and led the race.
Why? You now know the answer. (“Because he’s Tadej Pogaćar.”) Tadej is one of the most beloved riders on the circuit. Always, courteous to others. He made a point to congratulate Jonas after every stage, and Jonas’ wife and baby. Tadej is constantly smiling. He’s just so positive.
He couldn’t hold the lead in that last stage, but he did for several times around the Champs. Eventually, the peleton caught up to him. He receded into the pack. And then on the last leg, in the lead out to the finish, here’s Tadej! What was he doing? It quickly became apparent that he was lead out riding for the sprinter on their team.
There were four teams racing for the finish. Jasper was certain to win. He was behind several riders but managed to break to one side and dash for the finish, as did the other three. It was ten, twenty seconds of madness. Jasper was on the right side of the course (left when the TV shot face on). The two middle teams were slightly behind, but who was this on the other side? The helicopter shot from above was useless because there was a banner above the finish line.
All four cyclists pushed their bikes forward to gain that little bit of distance at the finish. Who won? The fellow on the right side of the TV screen was looking to his left when they crossed the line. Jasper was to his right. He looked around and motioned, “Was it me? I don’t know?”
No one knew.
Here’s the photo finish.
After 74 miles, eight laps, and it came down to this. Jasper (#106) is the bike closest to us. The far bike was ridden by Jordi Meeus. He had ridden in the Tour for six years, never won a stage. And today? He won the most coveted sprint in all of cycling on the biggest stage in the world, by what? The width of a tire?
Long Live The Tour!
ps Correction Jasper not Mads.
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