Image 1 of 34 Jonas Vingegaard wins stage 11 at the Tour de France (Image credit: Getty Images ) Image 1 of 34 Jonas Vingegaard wins stage 11 at the Tour de France (Image credit: Getty Images ) Image 1 of 34 Jonas Vingegaard wins stage 11 at Tour de France (Image credit: CHRISTIAN HARTMANNPOOL AFP via Getty Images ) Image 1 of 34 Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) celebrates at finish line as stage 11 winner and is the new race leader (Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images ) Image 1 of 34 Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) reacts on his finish at Col de Granon, losing the yellow jersey and dropping to third in GC (Image credit: Christian Hartman / Pool Getty Images ) Image 1 of 34 Jonas Vingegaard (Image credit: Getty Images ) Image 1 of 34 Warren Barguil (Arkéa-Samsic) on solo breakaway ride headed to finish at Col de Granon Serre Chevalier (Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images ) Image 1 of 34 Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma) takes a drink as he work with teammates to mark Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) n the chase group at Col du Galibier (Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images ) Image 1 of 34 Headed pas postcard scenery on their way to Col de Granon are. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) and Jonas Vingegaard (Team Jumbo - Visma) (Image credit: Vincent Kalut/PN/SprintCyclingAgency ) Image 1 of 34 Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) attacks on slopes of Galibier during Stage 11 (Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images ) Image 1 of 34 Jumbo-Visma riders surround yellow jersey, led by Primož Roglič on climb of Galibier (Image credit: MARCO BERTORELLO AFP via Getty Images ) Image 1 of 34 The peloton in the French Alps during stage 11 from Albertville to Col du Granon (Image credit: ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT AFP via Getty Images ) Image 1 of 34 Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) rides early on stage 11 in front of Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma), wearing the sprinters green jersey (Image credit: MARCO BERTORELLO AFP via Getty Images ) Image 1 of 34 Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Jumbo'sVisma Wout van Aert in a breakaway early on stage 11 (Image credit: ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT AFP via Getty Images ) Image 1 of 34 Mathieu van der Poel just before he abandoned the race on the Col du Télégraphe (Image credit: MARCO BERTORELLO AFP via Getty Images ) Image 1 of 34 Peloton on the ascent of Montvernier (Image credit: MARCO BERTORELLO AFP via Getty Images ) Image 1 of 34 A general view of the peloton climbing the Lacets de Montvernier (Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images ) Image 1 of 34 Tadej Pogačar of UAE Team Emirates tries to cool down on stage 11 (Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images ) Image 1 of 34 Neilson Powless of EF Education-EasyPost (Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images ) Image 1 of 34 Warren Barguil of Arkéa-Samsic competes in the breakaway (Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images ) Image 1 of 34 Mattia Cattaneo of QuickStep-AlphaVinyl competes in the breakaway (Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images ) Image 1 of 34 Riders on one of many switchbacks on the ascent of Montvernier (Image credit: ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT AFP via Getty Images ) Image 1 of 34 Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) in the Yellow Leader's Jersey (Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images ) Image 1 of 34 Maximilian Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) rides alongside Simon Geschke (Cofidis), wearing the Polka Dot Mountain Jersey, in the breakaway (Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images ) Image 1 of 34 The front of the breakaway led by Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) and Cofidis' Ion Izaguirre (Image credit: ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT AFP via Getty Images ) Image 1 of 34 A general view of riders in the chase group passing through Col du Galibier (Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images ) Image 1 of 34 Mattia Cattaneo of QuickStep-AlphaVinyl passes through Col du Galibier (Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images ) Image 1 of 34 Race leader Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) rides ahead of Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) in the chase group at Col du Galibier (Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images ) Image 1 of 34 Nairo Quintana (Arkéa-Samsic), here on Galibier climb, would accelerate from the chase group with 10km to go (Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images ) Image 1 of 34 The Devil, Didi Senft of Germany in his annual costume, runs alongside Dylan Teuns (Bahrain Victorious) during stage 11 (Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images ) Image 1 of 34 UAE Team Emirates' Tadej Pogačar wearing the overall leaders' yellow jersey rides in front of Jumbo-Visma's Jonas Vingegaard on the final climb (Image credit: MARCO BERTORELLO AFP via Getty Images ) Image 1 of 34 Warren Barguil (Arkéa-Samsic) struggles to stay in the lead on the Col du Granon (Image credit: ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT AFP via Getty Images ) Image 1 of 34 Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) on the ascent of the Col du Granon in yellow jersey group (Image credit: MARCO BERTORELLO AFP via Getty Images ) Image 1 of 34 Warren Barguil (Arkéa-Samsic) on his lone breakaway (Image credit: ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT AFP via Getty Images ) Image 1 of 34 Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) took control of the Tour de France with victory atop the Col de Granon on one of the most dramatic days in the rich history of the race. Since his debut in 2020, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) had barely shown a flicker of weakness at the Tour, but he finally cracked on a brutal day in the high Alps, and Vingegaard took full advantage.
Not only Vingegaard, but almost all the other serious GC contenders, as Pogačar - jersey flapping in the heat, shoulders swinging - pedalled squares above the 2000-metre altitude barrier. The foundations were laid some 60km out, on the famous combination of the Col du Télégraphe and Col du Galibier, where Jumbo-Visma started applying pressure on the yellow jersey. In a remarkable sequence on the gentle lower slopes of the Galibier, Vingegaard and Primož Roglič - still just about in the GC picture - set about taking turns to attack the race leader.
Pogačar appeared to deal with the situation calmly, and further up the Galibier, when there were four Jumbo riders in a GC group of eight, he similarly appeared to have disposed of the threat, taking matters into his own hands and dropping all but Vingegaard by the Tour's highest summit. The cards even appeared to have fallen in his favour when Jumbo made the decision to call Wout van Aert back from the break in order to drag Roglič back in the valley, in turn bringing Pogačar's only remaining domestique, Rafal Majka back into the equation. Majka calmly set pace on the hors-catégorie final climb of the Granon as Jumbo's numbers all fell away again, but the tables dramatically turned when Vingegaard launched his attack 5km from the 2,413-metre summit.
Tellingly, Pogačar lost the wheel when Majka launched the response, and the rest of the climb turned into a nightmare for the two-time champion. More to follow. .
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