ANALYSIS: 1000 days since Jonas Vingegaard cracked Tadej Pogacar and changed cycling forever

1000 days have passed since one of the most iconic Tour de France stages of the modern era. On July 13th, 2022, Stage 11 of the Tour de France ripped through the Col du Télégraphe and the Col du Galibier before finishing atop the monstrous Col du Granon.

It was a day of pure carnage in the Alps, a day that marked a changing of the guard. For the first time, Tadej Pogacar cracked.

And badly too.

The Slovenian prodigy, who had seemed untouchable in his back-to-back Tour de France victories, finally looked mortal. The man who broke him? Jonas Vingegaard, powered by a historic team performance from Jumbo-Visma, now known as Team Visma | Lease a Bike.

That day now lives in cycling folklore, and any fan will remember where they were watching that race. Not just because Pogacar lost yellow, but because of the sheer tactical and physical domination by his rivals, and the way in which he fell off the cliff.

It was a masterclass in strategy, and brutal climbing power, one that reshaped the dynamics of modern Grand Tour racing and gave Vingegaard the platform to become a two-time Tour winner.

Let’s review that fateful day in the summer of 2022.

The 151.7km route from Albertville to the summit of the Col du Granon was always going to be pivotal, but no one could have predicted the brutality of what unfolded.

Jumbo-Visma, knowing they had to unseat Pogacar, launched their plan early. Primoz Roglic, despite being bruised from previous crashes, went on the offensive from the Col du Télégraphe. Attacking relentlessly, he forced Pogacar to chase again, again and again.

By the time the riders hit the Galibier, Pogacar had been isolated, and UAE Team Emirates, weakened by illness and crashes, simply didn’t have the numbers. Jonas Vingegaard remained calm, while Pogacar had burned matches trying to mark every move. Wout van Aert had also played his part earlier, dropping back from the break to pace Roglic and push the tempo.

At the summit of the Galibier, Pogacar still looked strong. He even attacked, but was this simply to mask to his rivals that for the first time, the fuel tank was going red?

The damage had already been done. The elastic was stretched.

Then came the Col du Granon. A rarely-used monster climb, the Granon had only once before appeared in the Tour, in 1986, when Eduardo Chozas of Spani won the stage. The narrow road twists upward with long, exposed ramps, and as the air thinned, so did Pogacar’s resistance.

With 4.5km to go, Vingegaard made his move. Pogacar tried to follow. For a few pedal strokes, it seemed he might. But then, the unthinkable: he sat down. His face twisted in pain. He had cracked. Hard.

It wasn’t just a few seconds lost, it was 2:51 minutes. Pogacar rode in agony as one by one, GC contenders passed him: Geraint Thomas, David Gaudu, Nairo Quintana. The yellow jersey was slipping away, and there was nothing he could do. Vingegaard surged to victory, and with it, into the maillot jaune for the first time in his career.

He would not relinquish it again.

Until that moment, Pogacar had appeared untouchable in Grand Tours. He had won the 2020 Tour in miraculous fashion with his time trial on La Planche des Belles Filles, and in 2021, he dominated from start to finish. He attacked whenever he wanted, often gaining time in unexpected places.

But on Stage 11 in 2022, he showed vulnerability, and try as he might he could not overcome Visma that year.

It also marked a turning point. Vingegaard had shown he could not only match Pogacar but beat him. And Jumbo-Visma had shown that a united, all-in team effort could take down cycling’s golden boy.

Much of the credit went to Jumbo-Visma’s strategic brilliance, and the use of Roglic to force Pogacar into repeated chases was key. So was the depth of their squad. Sepp Kuss played the perfect mountain domestique, pacing Vingegaard when it mattered. Wout van Aert had already won a sprint stage and the green jersey by that point but sacrificed his own chances to help break Pogacar’s rhythm earlier in the day.

It was a day where everything clicked for the Dutch squad, and everything fell apart for UAE Team Emirates.

Pogacar, to his credit, didn’t give up. He clawed back time with a stage win on Peyragudes and another dominant victory on Hautacam. But Vingegaard never faltered again. He sealed the Tour with a majestic ride on the final mountain stage and a mature, measured time trial.

In 2023, Vingegaard destroyed Pogacar in the third week of the Tour and the duo were tied on two yellow jersey’s each. Of course, in 2024, Pogacar turned the tides with the greatest cycling season we have ever seen, as he reclaimed his throne.

Just this past weekend, Pogacar destroyed a field of classics legends to win the Tour of Flanders for a second time. Next weekend, he’ll head to Paris-Roubaix in search of another monument win, before turning his attention once again to the Tour this summer.

Right now, the world champion is the favourite to win just about every race he starts this seaso

But remember, before stage 11 of the 2022 Tour, Pogacar was deemed unbeatable. Many respected experts believed he would win every Tour for year’s to come, until Vingegaard and Visma ripped up the script.

1000 days later, Stage 11 of the 2022 Tour remains the benchmark. It was the day a new rivalry was born. The day Pogacar cracked. And the day Vingegaard rose.

As cycling fans count the days to the next Tour, that one alpine stage continues to echo through the sport. It wasn’t just about losing yellow, it was the realisation that even the greats are human, and sometimes, even the strongest legs can falter.

We will certainly never forget what was one of the greatest stages of the Tour de France in history.