Jonas Vingegaard set to win maiden Tour de France as Wout van Aert claims stunning Stage 20 time trial win

Chasing a third stage win of a staggering Tour de France, Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard overcooked a bend and almost came a cropper inside the closing moments of Stage 20, a 40.7km time trial to Rocamadour. The wake-up call saw the man in yellow knock off his effort but he still had enough to take second place at the finish to all but secure the first Tour win of his career.

Victory on the day went to Vingegaard’s swashbuckling teammate Wout van Aert, the indefatigable Belgian becoming the first rider since Bernard Hinault 43 years ago to win a Tour time trial in the green jersey.

Van Aert completed the demanding course in a time of 47’59” after knocking world champion Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) out of the hot-seat with an average speed of 50.893 km/h. The race’s most combative rider then had to wait to see if his time was enough to win his third – and his Jumbo-Visma team’s sixth – stage win of the 109th edition of the Tour.

Both Vingegaard and Slovenia’s two-time champion Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) went through the first time check quicker than Van Aert, while Britain’s Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) – the third man on the podium – was just one second slower, setting up a nail-biting finale in the sun-drenched south-west of France.

If the white jersey Pogacar faded a little, Vingegaard was still quicker than his teammate at the second and third checks ahead of two testing climbs where Van Aert had really come into his own when riding an hour before the big guns.

Just five seconds separated Vingegaard, Van Aert and Thomas at the 32.6km mark but the hardest sections were yet to come as Van Aert watched from the winner’s enclosure with a far more serene face than he displayed while watching teammate Primoz Roglic get caught on La Planche des Belles Filles by Pogacar in the fateful penultimate day time trial in 2020.

There was to be no such upset for Jumbo-Visma this year – although Vingegaard provided a heart-in-mouth moment when he overcooked a bend and almost skidded off the road at high speed as he took perhaps unnecessary risks ahead of the final climb into the picture-postcard village of Rocamadour.

It was perhaps the reality check the 25-year-old needed – and instead of the man in yellow powering to a third stage win, it was his trusty teammate, the man in green, who completed another sensational hat-trick of wins on the Tour.

Vingegaard eased up on the home straight and was greeted by Van Aert as he crossed the line, 19 seconds down on his teammate. Pogacar took third at 27 seconds and Thomas fourth at 32 seconds, with the world champion Ganna settling for fifth, 10 seconds further back, on a course that did not suit his powerhouse properties.

“It means everything,” an emotional Vingegaard said when asked how he felt to become only the second Danish rider to win the world’s biggest bike race. “It’s really incredible. It’s hard for me to put words on it. It’s the biggest in cycling – and we did it.”

Vingegaard, who finished last year’s Tour as runner-up but over five minutes down on Pogacar, had to wipe away the tears as he paid tribute to his Jumbo-Visma teammates. The 25-year-old also referred to the difficult moment the team endured when Roglic conceded the yellow jersey one day from Paris in 2020.

“Since last year I always believed I could do it and now it’s happened. It’s incredible. It’s a relief. I’m so happy and proud. I think what happened two years ago, we weren’t afraid of it, but we had it in our heads. We just wanted to go for it and get the best result possible.

“The whole team is incredible. It just shows how close everyone is on this team and the special thing we have on this team. We’re all happy for each other and I’m really happy for Wout’s win today. These guys are my friends – we’re brothers.”

Vingegaard will ride into Paris on Sunday ahead of the final showdown on the Champs-Elysees with a 3’34” lead over the reigning champion Pogacar, with Welshman Thomas, the 2018 champion, completing the podium at 8’13”. Frenchman David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) was passed by Thomas during the time trial but held on to protect his career-best fourth place in the standings.

Slovenia’s Pogacar remained upbeat despite losing the Tour for the first time in his career, the 23-year-old vowing to bounce back in 2023.

“First, let’s focus on tomorrow – it’s going to be a good day. But there’s big motivation for next year. After these three weeks a lot has been learned and we can improve a lot, so I’m looking forward to new challenges.”

Russia’s Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe) moved up two places into the top five at the expense of Colombian veteran Nairo Quintana (Arkea-Samsic) while Frenchman Romain Bardet (Team DSM) moved above South Africa’s Louis Meintjes (Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert) into seventh.

The top 10 is completed by Kazakhstan’s Alexey Lutsenko (Astana-Qazaqstan) and Britain’s Adam Yates (Ineos Grenadiers) with a whopping 23’43” separating Vingegaard and Yates after three weeks of pulsating racing.

The last word went to the rider who has lit up practically every stage of this race, a rider described by Bradley Wiggins as “aesthetically beautiful on a bike”, an integral cog in Vingegaard’s winning machine – and a rider who could yet win his fourth stage win of the race, in green, in Paris on Sunday.

“I’m really emotional,” Van Aert said after his latest display of brilliance. “Winning this Tour de France as a team is really special. Also today was like a dream scenario. Jonas is such a strong guy, but especially such a good guy. I want to thank all my teammates and the whole team for a special three weeks – it’s unbelievable.

“I’m super tired after three weeks and gave it my all today. I want to win races and today I hoped to take the stage and I also hoped Jonas could secure his yellow.

“It was a really fast time trial but you had to keep something left for the final 6km with two hard climbs. I paced myself really well and I could accelerate in the final. Also, technically I made no mistakes. It’s a great day.”

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