Tadej Pogačar seemed destined for victory as he surged up Butte Montmartre for the second of three ascents on the Tour de France’s final stage. His lead in the general classification was insurmountable—four minutes and 27 seconds ahead of Jonas Vingegaard, with everyone else trailing by over 10 minutes. Since the race’s final stage does not affect the general classification, his triumph was already sealed. He had taken four stage wins; that he hadn’t claimed six appeared more a matter of choice than necessity. There was little reason to push for another stage win here, but Pogačar’s relentless drive urged him to try. He launched an attack on the cobbled climb, leaving most of the peloton behind, cresting the hill with only four riders still with him.
Among them were Matteo Jorgenson and Wout van Aert, both from Vingegaard’s team. In previous years, Vingegaard had used Pogačar’s aggressive racing style against him, forcing him to respond to repeated attacks until fatigue set in. That strategy had secured Vingegaard victories in the 2022 and 2023 Tours, but now those battles felt like distant history. Since then, Pogačar had eliminated any hint of vulnerability, dominating the 2024 Tour and the first 20 stages of the 2025 race without faltering. Most teams no longer even tried to challenge him—resistance seemed futile. The peloton, a dynamic swarm of riders, had no answer to his strength, leaving only Vingegaard as a plausible rival. Yet given Pogačar’s overwhelming margin in 2024, Vingegaard would need an even stronger team effort to stand a chance.
Jorgenson was determined to contribute. As a domestique—a role defined by selflessness—his job was to sacrifice his own ambitions to protect his leader. If this were warfare, the Idaho native would be leading a charge against Pogačar, knowing he would eventually fall but hoping to wear him down.
In the opening stages, Visma experimented with unpredictable attacks—on flat terrain, descents, and in crosswinds. Jorgenson kept himself high in the standings, forcing Pogačar to cover his moves as well as Vingegaard’s, a tactic designed to stretch his energy reserves. Pogačar swatted away these challenges while also engaging in sprints against Mathieu van der Poel, a more powerful finisher.
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