HAUTACAM, France — Jonas Vingegaard responded to a series of attacks from defending champion Tadej Pogacar at the Tour de France on Thursday and ultimately dropped his rival in the last big mountain stage of this year’s race.
With only one big test left before the race reaches Paris — a 41-kilometer time trial scheduled for Saturday — the Jumbo-Visma leader seems all but guaranteed to win a maiden Tour title after reaching the Hautacam resort on his own.
Barring a crash, the yellow jersey should be his.
Pogacar, the two-time defending champion, cracked about 4 kilometers from the finish after spending the day on the attack.
Vingegaard then went solo to claim a second stage win following his success at the Col du Granon last week in the Alps on the day he took control of the race. Pogacar crossed the finish line more than one minute behind Vingegaard.