Jonas Vingegaard waiting for Tadej Pogacar at Tour de France is a 'beautiful moment in the sport'
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Updated 21/07/2022 at 19:24 GMT
A superb chapter in Tour de France history was written on Thursday as Jonas Vingegaard stunned Tadej Pogacar by sitting up and waiting for the two-time champion after a crash. Such was the respect between the pair, they shared a handshake mid-descent, and then a hearty embrace after Vingegaard had sailed clear to win Stage 16 and practically guarantee the yellow jersey is heading to Denmark.
‘Wow’ – Vingegaard allows Pogacar to catch up after crash in ‘incredible’ gesture
Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) proved he was a “true champion” in waiting for Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) in a “quite remarkable” act of sportsmanship at the Tour de France, according to The Breakaway gang.
Vingegaard slowed down to let Pogacar latch back on during the final descent on Stage 18 after the Slovenian crashed while trying to put his rival under pressure.
The pair shook hands when Pogacar caught up, with the two-time champion refusing to attack for the remainder of the descent – appearing to defy team orders after he was spotted having an animated discussion with his support vehicle.
On a handshake which will undoubtedly become a defining picture in the Tour history books, Adam Blythe said: “This is a beautiful moment when Pogacar said ‘thank you very much for that’.
“That is the sign of a true champion where you can wait for someone and say, ‘if you want to beat me, I want you to beat me fair and square’.”
Vingegaard and Pogacar also shared a hearty embrace at the finish after Vingegaard had ripped away on the final climb behind team-mate Wout van Aert to win the stage and all but confirm a maiden Tour title.
But the attention after the stage was largely on that moment between the two favourites, who have been utterly dominant at the 2022 Tour in the mountains.
“It was amazing because you’d just completely forgive both of them for just hating each other at this point: Vingegaard hating Pogacar for consistently attacking him at every opportunity, Pogacar hating Vingegaard for never letting go, always being glued to his wheel,” said Dan Lloyd.
“So to see that moment was quite remarkable, at that point in the race when they’re so fatigued.
“It was just a beautiful moment in the sport and one you don’t see quite as much these days.”
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‘You could forgive them for hating each other!’ – Vingegaard lauded for sportsmanship
Vingegaard’s generosity was made even more commendable given Pogacar’s furious pace going downhill had forced him into a mistake just moments earlier – with the Dane unclipping his left shoe to regain his balance and only just avoiding a nasty crash.
“Just the sportsmanship of it in the heat of battle, to have that fairness about you,” said Robbie McEwen.
“To go ‘this guy’s been attacking me everywhere, including on descents, trying to force a mistake from me’ – which Vingegaard almost really made a big one – and then say ‘OK, I’m going to wait for him now he’s gone…’
“He’s within his rights to say, ‘you tried to force a mistake from me, you made one, now you’re going to pay and I’m going to keep rolling down this decent as quick as I feel like’.
“But it was a nice moment to see the sportsmanship of it.”
While Lloyd praised Vingegaard, he wondered whether he would have waited had he not felt so comfortable.
“I think that that showed a great act of sportsmanship by Vingegaard but it also in that moment showed how confident he was in his own abilities,” he said.
“Had he been close to cracking on one of these previous stages, one of the previous climbs from today, I’m not sure he would have waited.
“If he thought Pogacar might go on this last climb of the day, and he might crack, I don’t think he would have waited.”
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