Good afternoon and welcome to this live blog! My name is Jeroen van Barneveld and I will keep you updated on the twelfth stage of the Tour de France, in which the riders will tackle the high mountains for the first time. Enjoy!
A photo for the history books: Tadej Pogacar lays a strong foundation on the Hautacam for his fourth overall victory in the Tour de France.
Behind Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, and Florian Lipowitz, Tobias Halland Johannessen and Oscar Onley finish fourth and fifth, respectively.
Florian Lipowitz finishes just behind Jonas Vingegaard. The young German surprises with third place in this tough Pyrenean stage.
There’s Jonas Vingegaard. He crosses the finish line with his mouth wide open, 2 minutes and 10 seconds behind Tadej Pogacar. What a blow for the Dane from the Dutch Visma-Lease a Bike team.
Finish! Tadej Pogacar wins the first Pyrenean stage on the Hautacam and delivers a blow to Jonas Vingegaard! What a display of power from the world champion! He takes his third stage win in this Tour de France and reclaims the yellow leader’s jersey!
400 meters to go – While Tadej Pogacar comes into view of the fixed cameras, Jonas Vingegaard is only just entering the final kilometer.
1 km to go – Tadej Pogacar, already shaking his shoulders, passes under the banner of the final kilometer. He too proves to be human, but it is impressive what the Slovenian world champion is showing on this final climb.
1.5 km to go – Tadej Pogacar enters the zone with the barriers, which means he is almost at the top. Meanwhile, Jonas Vingegaard is looking back more and more frequently. He is 1 minute and 50 seconds behind Pogacar and feels the hot breath of pursuer Florian Lipowitz.
2.5 km to go – Remco Evenepoel is annoyed by a spectator with a flag who is too slow to retract their textile. With a lot of fuss, the Belgian vents his frustrations on the spectator. It all fits with Evenepoel’s bad day in this first Pyrenean stage.
3 km to go – It is becoming more and more painful for Jonas Vingegaard, who is now 1 minute and 40 seconds behind Tadej Pogacar. Pogacar will soon take a margin of 3 minutes in the general classification. It would have to be very strange for Pogacar to give that away in the coming days in the Tour de France, provided he stays on his bike.
3.5 km to go – Behind Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard, a great battle is raging for third place, between youngsters Florian Lipowitz (24) and Oscar Onley (22). Lipowitz seems to have the best cards, but top talent Onley from Picnic PostNL is not giving up easily.
4 km to go – After a moment of stabilization, Tadej Pogacar is increasingly distancing himself from Jonas Vingegaard. The difference has already increased to 1 minute and 20 seconds.
5 km to go – Jonas Vingegaard has halted the big decline. His gap to Tadej Pogacar is no longer increasing as quickly as in the past kilometers. The time difference between the two cycling giants is just over a minute.
5.5 km to go – Meanwhile, Remco Evenepoel is keeping the damage reasonably limited, even though he is having a bad day on the bike today. He is riding 2 minutes behind Tadej Pogacar, but does not yet have to give up on a podium place. He has a group with Primoz Roglic, Oscar Onley, Florian Lipowitz, and Tobias Halland Johannessen in his sights.
6 km to go – It is a pleasure to see Tadej Pogacar on his bike. The steeper and heavier it gets, the easier the world champion seems to be on his bike. The best rider in the world is putting on an impressive show on the flanks of the Hautacam. His lead over Jonas Vingegaard is 1 minute.
7 km to go – The gradient percentages are now rising sharply on the Hautacam, a monster of a climb in the sunny Pyrenees. Can Jonas Vingegaard win back some time on Tadej Pogacar here? It doesn’t seem like it. Pogacar is riding smoothly to the top for the time being, while Vingegaard is visibly struggling. The difference is already 50 seconds.
8 km to go – Will the Tour de France already be decided here? Tadej Pogacar increases his lead over Jonas Vingegaard to 45 seconds. Virtually, Pogacar has a lead of 2 minutes over Vingegaard in the general classification. There are still nine stages to go after today.
It is an impressive display of climbing that Tadej Pogacar is showing on the Hautacam. He dismisses all doubts about his condition after his crash yesterday. A phenomenon on wheels.
9 km to go – Suddenly, Tadej Pogacar’s lead over Jonas Vingegaard is increasing rapidly. On the easier part of this final climb, the world champion extends his lead to a margin of no less than 32 seconds. Is Vingegaard hoisting the white flag?
10 km to go – We are watching a fantastic battle between Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard. Pogacar’s lead is increasing slightly, but Vingegaard is keeping it limited to 20 seconds for the time being. Behind them, a group with, among others, Primoz Roglic and Oscar Onley is riding 50 seconds behind Pogacar.
11 km to go – Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard are riding so hard that the French escapee Bruno Armirail has already been caught. Meanwhile, Pogacar is increasingly disappearing from Vingegaard’s sight. One thing is clear: Pogacar is not suffering much from his crash yesterday.
11 km to go – Jonas Vingegaard keeps Tadej Pogacar in his sights. The gap is only 15 seconds.
12 km to go – Attack by Pogacar! After a pace increase from his teammate Jhonatan Narváez, Tadej Pogacar jumps away from the group of favorites! What a statement from the world champion, after all the doubts about him after yesterday’s crash. Jonas Vingegaard cannot follow him!
12 km to go – A major setback for Visma-Lease a Bike: Sepp Kuss has to let go, so Jonas Vingegaard no longer has a helper on the tough final climb. Surely that can’t be the intention? Tadej Pogacar still has two helpers left.
13 km to go – The group of favorites has also started the tough final climb. The lead of the French leader Bruno Armirail has decreased considerably. He has only 1 minute and 25 seconds left. It does not look like he will win today.
13.5 km to go – Leader Bruno Armirail has started the Hautacam, the tough final climb of today. It is a climb to be feared. The Hautacam is 13.5 kilometers long and has an average gradient of 7.9 percent. Are we going to see a new duel between Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard here?
15 km to go – The tension is starting to increase in the group of favorites. For the time being, it is UAE Team Emirates that is taking the lead. Does Tadej Pogacar feel better than everyone thinks?