HAUTACAM, France — Tadej Pogačar powered to an impressive stage win on the first day in the Pyrenees to take back the Tour de France yellow jersey on Thursday.
On a day when many wondered if he would suffer any ill effects from his crash the day before, Pogačar showed none and put himself in prime position for his fourth Tour victory with a break on the stage-ending climb to Hautacam.
He finished more than two minutes ahead of main rival Jonas Vingegaard.
Hautacam is the resort overlooking Lourdes and Stage 12 must have felt like a pilgrimage for all the riders.
Ben Healy, who wore the yellow jersey for two stages, finished well behind on a brutal day for the Irish rider.
In 2022, Vingegaard dominated Pogačar at Hautacam on his way to his first Tour victory. But the Danish rider is now 3½ minutes behind his main rival in the general classification. Belgian rider Remco Evenepoel is third, 4:45 behind Pogačar.
As if in a rush to face the grueling challenges awaiting in the mountains, the riders sped through the first 31 miles in just under an hour with the peloton chasing a large 52-man breakaway group.
But their efforts on the narrow, twisting roads through spectacular landscapes and stone-house villages took their toll as exhausted riders dropped behind, one by one.
Birds of prey circled overhead as the riders suffered below.
Pogačar made his move with about 7 miles remaining with help from UAE teammate Jhonatan Narváez, who looked over his shoulder and allowed Pogačar to accelerate past. Vingegaard initially gave chase but couldn’t keep up with his rival, who overtook French rider Bruno Armirail for the lead with nearly 7 miles to go for his 20th stage victory – third in this race.
Pogačar finished 2:10 ahead of Vingegaard, with German rider Florian Lipowitz 2:23 off the pace in third.Armirail, who had been leading, followed 10:46 after Pogačar.
