Jonas Vingegaard Secures Lead Expansion with Time Trial Win at Tour de France
Jonas Vingegaard from Jumbo-Visma, the defending Tour de France champion, achieved his best-ever individual time trial performance to win Stage 16 of the 2023 tour. This victory helped him increase his overall lead over Tadej Pogacar from UAE Team Emirates to 1 minute and 48 seconds with only five stages left.
The previous 15 stages saw these two rivals being just 10 seconds apart in the general classification rankings, following a challenging weekend in the French Alps. The consensus among the cycling community was that the winner of this head-to-head match in Stage 16 was likely to take home this year's Tour de France.
Vingegaard secured his first stage triumph of this year's tour and expanded his overall lead by another 98 seconds. As it stands, Pogacar is in second position, trailing behind Vingegaard by 1:48.
An intense battle for third place on the podium in Paris is underway. Adam Yates, a teammate of Pogacar's at UAE Team Emirates, took third place in the general classification standings following his successful ride in Stage 16. Yates is 8 minutes and 52 seconds behind Vingegaard but currently has a five-second edge over fourth-placed Carlos Rodriguez from Ineos Grenadiers.
Stage 16 ITT: Passy to Combloux
Only one individual time trial was scheduled for the 2023 Tour de France. The Stage 16 route from Passy to Combloux was 22.4 kilometers long, but it concluded with a demanding ascent of Cote de Domancy. The Category 2 climb was 2.5 km long and had an average gradient of 9.4%.
If Vingegaard manages to fully retain the Tour de France title, he will look back at the confrontation on the Cote de Domancy as a decisive moment.
Pogacar decided to switch bikes before the Cote de Domancy ascent. UAE Team Emirates bet on the swap, which would take 10 seconds, improving Pogacar's chances. He exchanged his time trial bike for a climbing bike, but the exchange didn't make a difference.
Vingegaard, on the other hand, didn't swap out bikes. He continued riding on his time trial bike and shattered the competition on the Cote de Domancy.
"Today, I felt great," Vingegaard said. "This is my best time trial performance. Today, I even surprised myself with the time trial. I didn't expect to perform so well."
Wout Van Aert from Jumbo-Visma recorded an outstanding run at 35:27, claiming the top spot in the stage standings before Pogacar and Vingegaard took their turns. Even though Van Aert delivered a remarkable performance, he ended up in third place in Stage 16, being 2 minutes and 55 seconds behind his teammate.
Pogacar was the favorite to win the Stage 16 time trial with +100 odds, while Vingegaard was a close second at +125 odds. Van Aert had +350 odds.
Stage 17 and Stage 20 Pending
Two more relatively flat stages are up next, which favor sprinters. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) is the favorite in those stages, having already won four sprint stages this year. The Belgian sprinter is favored to cross the finish line first in Stage 19 in Poligny and once again in Stage 21 in Paris, where he was last year's winner.
The tour has four stages left, with two of them being mountain stages. Pogacar only has two chances left to whittle down Vingegaard's lead in Stage 17 and Stage 20.
The most strenuous stage of the event takes place on Wednesday in Stage 17. The 166-kilometer route starts at Saint-Gervais-les-Bains and ends at Courchevel. This stage features three categorized climbs during the initial part, with one daunting uncategorized climb (HC) near the finish line. Pogacar must make a move on the Col de la Loze during a 28-kilometer ascent.
Stage 20, on Saturday, features the last mountain stage, covering 135 km from Belfort to Le Markstein. This stage comprises six climbs, including Col de la Schlucht.
Before Stage 1, oddsmakers at DraftKings placed Vingegaard as a slight favorite at +110 odds to reclaim his title. Pogacar was +115 odds to win his third yellow jersey in the last four years.
Before Stage 16, Vingegaard's odds to win the Tour de France improved to -120, while Pogacar's odds increased to +100. The competition was still unresolved before the time trial.
After Vingegaard's Stage 16 victory, Vingegaard's futures soared to -1000 odds, while Pogacar's dropped to +800 odds. [(Source)][(Learn more)]
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