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It came down to the final climb and yet another fascinating battle between the two prime candidates for the yellow jersey in Paris, Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates).
After Rafal Majka had dropped most of the contenders for the general classification, including Austalian Jai Hindley (BORA-hansgrohe), Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) took up the pace, setting a high tempo that distanced everyone with the exception of Pogacar and Vingegaard.
With three kilometres left to climb, Pogacar seemingly let Yates go, dropping away to cagily watch Vingegaard. The Danish defending champion for his part didn't chase Yates, who started the stage over 5 minutes behind the yellow jersey.
Third overall Carlos Rodriguez (INEOS Grenadiers) rejoined the pair briefly, before Pogacar attacked hard in the final kilometre. He shot across to Yates, who was with teammate Soler from the breakaway, then had the pace made for a moment before attacking again.
However, Vingegaard was Pogacar's constant shadow, even trying his own attack in the final few hundred metres, though it became clear that neither was going to be able to shake the other and they rolled over the line for 16th and 17th on the stage, their 10-second gap on the general classification maintained.
"We took the final climb hard,” said Pogacar. “I felt that Jonas was super good. I knew I could not drop him because the climb was too easy.”
Pogacar explained the decision to let Yates go up the road, the ploy being more for his teammate’s benefit than to put pressure on Vingegaard.
“I tried to improvise and let Adam [Yates] go so he could grab a few seconds for the GC,” said Pogacar. “He is now closer to the podium, which is super nice.”
“We can head into the third week with lots of confidence. We feel good, we have good legs. Today was a really good team performance.
“We have a rest day tomorrow, and yet another one for some of the guys on Tuesday. Let’s see after the rest day how to tackle these final decisive stages. As for the ITT, I know the route very good. I hope it suits me pretty well. It’s a very good parcours and can’t way to get started."
Meanwhile, Vingegaard was his normal reserved self, not giving too much away in the interview post-stage.
"It has been yet another battle between the two of us,” said Vingegaard. “I guess it keeps getting better and better for the spectators!
Vingegaard said he felt more at ease on the final slopes than when challenged by other Pogacar attacks.
“Today I felt more in control than in previous days,” said Vingegaard. “We can be happy about the stage.”
“The team felt pretty good today, although we of course had this crash that affected some of my teammates. I hope everyone involved is well.”
A spectator took down Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma) at the head of the peloton, and it caused many more, particularly from the Jumbo-Visma squad to fall, blocking the road. It appeared not to affect the major contenders of the day.
Vingegaard ended with a plea to spectators to step back from the sides of the roads and respect the racing riders.
“I’d like to tell the spectators to enjoy the race and be there to cheer for us without standing on the road or pouring beers on us,” said Vingegaard. Please, just enjoy the race.”
