Visma | LaB empty-handed: Pogacar storms Isola 2000 and snatches back the stage win from Jorgenson in the final moments

"Prior to the stage, there was concern about it. Whether it was due to the many climbing kilometers in the just 144-kilometer trek over the Vars, the Bonette, and the Isola 2000, or the high altitude that the riders would face. Around 12:30 p.m., the riders set off from Embrun. The first twenty kilometers were focused on the breakaway, which could soon begin at the Col de Vars."

For a change, it didn’t take long for a group to create a gap. The instigators were the Visma | Lease a Bike riders. Christophe Laporte, Matteo Jorgenson, and Wilco Kelderman took the lead, maintained a steady pace, and quickly opened a gap of a minute. Throughout the climb of the Col de Vars, it was uncertain who would bridge the gap. Many riders were close but fell off, while others successfully made the jump from the peloton.

At one point, a group of nine riders received a definite nod of approval: alongside Kelderman and Jorgenson were Richard Carapaz (EF), Cristian Rodriguez (Arkéa), Simon Yates (Jayco-AlUla), Jai Hindley (Red Bull), Oscar Onley (dsm-firmenich PostNL), and Nicolas Prodhomme (Decathlon). The last two riders had to drop off before the summit, leaving six in the group. The peloton’s gap continued to widen.

Next up was the mythical Cime de la Bonette, a giant nearly 23 kilometers long. There was hope for a real battle among the overall contenders, but in reality, nothing much happened throughout the climb. The six riders at the front worked well together, the peloton climbed hard and thinned out considerably, but did not close in on the breakaway. The big winner of the Bonette climb was Carapaz, who took the 40 points, adding to the 20 he had already secured on the Vars. He was virtually in the polka dot jersey. There was no major disruption among the leaders. Thus, the status quo in the battle for the yellow jersey and the positions in the top ten remained unchanged.

And that actually told us even more. Vingegaard made no attempt to break away, even though his two teammates at the front looked strong. The gap remained the same; the Dane apparently did not have enough confidence to lay his cards on the table. It seemed like a definitive bow from the reigning Tour winner, who only had the final climb left to try. Vingegaard stayed still, had no more teammates, while Pogacar had Adam Yates, Joao Almeida, Pavel Sivakov, and Marc Soler with him for a long time.

In the descent, it was clear how small the yellow jersey group had become. There were still many UAE riders present, even at the start of the climb. Rodriguez had to drop off the front, while Hindley surprisingly struggled quickly. Kelderman looked very strong, accelerated, and launched Jorgenson, who picked up the pace. The Dutchman sat well in Carapaz’s and Yates’ wheels, to potentially use the advantage later if the American faltered. In the elite group, Yates took command and the door was open. Carlos Rodriguez showed he was not in top form and also dropped off, along with Derek Gee.

The pace of UAE was so high that breaking away was not really an option. It was more a matter of waiting for Pogacar's acceleration. Up front, Yates and Carapaz, who were riding together again just like on Wednesday, did not give up. They certainly got a little closer to Jorgenson, though the EF rider still seemed stronger than the Brit. When Santi Buitrago and Mikel Landa also had to drop from Pogacar’s group, Adam Yates and Almeida increased the pace once more. At nine kilometers from the finish, Pogacar decided to go himself. For a moment, Remco Evenepoel and Vingegaard were able to keep up, but the gap quickly opened: the yellow jersey quickly went off on its own.

Meanwhile, Landa caught up with the white and polka dot jerseys, but Pogacar had truly flown. He quickly gained a minute on his opponents, and with six kilometers to go, Jorgenson was also within reach. It turned into a nail-biting fight for the stage win. The American was riding well and had managed his energy effectively, but the yellow jersey’s Slovenian breath was simply hot on his heels.

The rest of the breakaway riders were soon left behind, although Yates and Carapaz held on for a long time. Meanwhile, Evenepoel tried to drop Vingegaard, but the polka dot jersey showed no sign of weakness and stayed on the white jersey’s wheel. With three kilometers to go, it became precarious for Jorgenson, who still had half a minute. But it was closing fast. A nearly tragic sight for Visma | Lease a Bike, which couldn't even secure the stage win. At 1.8 kilometers, it was over, and Pogacar quickly distanced himself from the last escapee. The final few hundred meters were a victory lap for him at the location of his altitude training.

Jorgenson, Simon Yates, and Carapaz finished relatively close behind, while Evenepoel and Vingegaard attempted a small sprint. Both men finished together, a significant 1 minute 42 seconds behind Pogacar. The latter thus takes a very solid lead for the overall victory in Nice.