"Unprecedented ability at that altitude" - Johan Bruyneel praises Jonas Vingegaard's Col du Granon attack

In a long column in Wielerflits Johan Bruyneel has talked about the battle between Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar which is ongoing for the victory in the Tour de France. 

Between the several aspects of the current battle, Bruyneel has pointed out the capacity of the Dane to race at altitude, a surprise taking into account specially is development in Denmark. "Although I do not want to detract from the performance of Jonas Vingegaard. I understand that on the Granon above 2000 meters he kicked away no less than 6.1 watts per kilogram in 36 minutes. That is an unprecedented ability at that altitude after such a race. Even Egan Bernal, who lives at altitude for much of the year in Colombia, has never made it above 2000 meters," he said.

It was on that mountain that the Jumbo-Visma rider made the crucial gap at the race so far, which has turnt the race on it's head and now sees Pogacar and UAE Team Emirates on the aggressive stance as there is time that needs to be cut in order to go for a third consecutive title in the race.

It hasn't been easy however, with Vingegaard resisting the attacks of Pogacar at the Alpe d'Huez and Côte de la Croix Neuve. "With the yellow jersey on his shoulders, Vingegaard has been riding very solid for the past three days. On l'Alpe d'Huez and on the climb in Mende, Pogacar tried to attack him a few times, but the Dane does not give him an inch," he said.

"It will therefore be very difficult for Pogacar to win back the yellow. Uphill, Vingegaard does not seem to be inferior to him and in the time trials the differences are not so great either," Bruyneel points out. Over the massif central both have tried attacking at the start of the stages and attempted to surprise, however with no differences made in the end.

The duo remains equal in firepower, however the advantage sits on Jumbo-Visma's side after they used their team depth to make the difference.