Rarely has a team dominated the Tour de France as completely as Jonas Vingegaard’s Jumbo-Visma did this year’s race. There’s still a chance of another stage win for cycling everyman, Wout van Aert, a rider even more complete than his Danish team boss when the peloton sweeps onto the Champs Élysées early Sunday night.
With the Tour itself already won, Vingegaard relaxed enough to smile in disbelief as he crossed the finish line of the penultimate stage, Saturday’s individual time trial, which saw him gain further distance over two-time Tour champion Tadej Pogacar of UAE Team Emirates , albeit just a handful of seconds.
As Van Aert clinched another stage win, Vingegaard sealed his first Tour de France win in the final time trial of the 2022 race from Lacapelle-Marival to Rocamadour, though not without a heart-mouthed moment when he nearly fell in a corner bend.
“Actually I didn’t feel like taking a big risk but in the corner the surface wasn’t regular and I didn’t take the right angle so yeah it was close,” he said. “After that I thought about the stage [win] was a bonus. There were only two or three corners left so I took it easy.”
Still, he underscored his superiority over Pogacar, the outgoing Tour champion, extending his lead over the Slovenian by a further eight seconds and, save for one disaster, won the Tour by almost three and a half minutes.
The 25-year-old Dane also won the final mountain stage to Hautacam on Thursday and never showed himself vulnerable despite Pogacar’s numerous attacks. However, some in the Tour convoy have criticized Pogacar and his team for arriving at the Tour “surprised”. The 23-year-old started winning back in February and that form lasted until June when he won his own national tour. But at times during this Tour de France he seemed a little behind the cutting edge that brought him his last two wins.
Jonas Vingegaard, in the overall leader’s yellow jersey, cycles past Rocamadour during stage 20 of the Tour de France. Photo: Thomas Samson/AFP/Getty Images“I’m glad it’s over,” said Pogacar. “It was a good three weeks with ups and downs. We were a bit unlucky in the team but I think the fight between me and Jonas was really special. We have a few interesting years ahead of us.”
While Van Aert’s talent propelled him to another stage win, his third this year, in the final ‘Race of Truth’, the reality is he was the star of this year’s Tour while his less flamboyant Danish team-mate demonstrated the resilience, Endurance and infallibility that distinguishes all Tour champions.
In relation to everyone in the peloton, this was a two-horse race dominated by the duel between defending champion Pogacar and Vingegaard.
After the time trial, Pogacar admitted he made “some mistakes” and needed to learn from them. At least for now, the Dane has the upper hand.
Together, the two won four of the Tour’s five summits, with Ineos Grenadiers’ Tom Pidcock playing gooseberry with his overwhelming success at Alpe d’Huez. While Pidcock was explosive, his veteran teammate Geraint Thomas was the Tour’s Mr Consistency.
“I’ve always been pretty consistent,” said Thomas, who collapsed to 41st in 2021 after a crash, said. “I think it will be very special to turn it around from last year, to be on the podium.”
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Despite this, the Welsh driver, who displayed the maturity and cunning that always distinguished his best performances, was at times reduced to the role of an interested spectator. Even so, and despite the ambivalence of his Ineos Grenadiers team management, Thomas clung to his third podium finish in four Tours.
Thomas admitted it was time to celebrate with only the ceremonial rounds on the Champs Élysées ahead, but added that he was happy to wait until Sunday night.
“In the past, when Froomey [Chris Froome] won, the protocol was to drink as much as you want, but not for me this year,” he said. “When I won, I narrowed it down to two. I’ll do the same tonight because it can be tough Paris when you’re mentally unplugged.”