Cycling

Tour de France, the Alpine stage goes to Australian O'Connor but the strongest is still Pogacar

Slovenian champion confirms supremacy in the Alps, Vingegaard lagging behind

24 July 2025

TOPSHOT - L'australiano Ben O'Connor del Team Jayco AlUla pedala fino al traguardo per vincere la 18ª tappa della 112ª edizione del Tour de France, 171,5 km tra Vif e Courchevel Col de la Loze, nelle Alpi, nel sud-est della Francia, il 24 luglio 2025. (Foto di Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP)

3' min read

Where do we start?

By the one who won the long-awaited Alpine stage (the Australian Ben O'Connor, well done, great escape)! or by the two eternal rivals who, here on the Col de la Loze, after three out-of-category peaks and 5450 metres of elevation gain, should have clarified once and for all who this 112th Tour de France will go to?

Let's start with the two rivals. The clarification was there, also because, let's face it, there was no more match. Tadej Pogacar, ever the yellow jersey, has once again erased all doubt. He is the strongest. Let's face it. There's nothing we can do. We could extend the French race by another week, but the response would not change one iota.

And it showed again this time. All hell was to break loose. A final showdown between breathtaking mountains and cutting legs. Instead, little or nothing. Even the much feared bad weather only finally threw a splash of water into the fog without scaring anyone.

Amidst the low clouds, 500 metres from the finish, where the ramp was steepening, Pogacar decided it was time to end the tedious dance that had been going on for a good 171 kilometres.

A sharp sprint, a flick of the throttle when everyone's legs were annealed, and the Slovenian left behind Vingegaard, until then his shadow. A fine sprint that with the bonus allowed him to increase his lead over his rival by another 11 seconds, which now stands at 4 minutes 26 seconds. A heavy gap but to which must be added another psychological load of eleven: that the yellow jersey proved to be virtually unassailable.

Vingegaard tried hard, whipping the Visma, but the truth was that the Dane never managed to make a difference. The train of bigwigs, which occasionally lost a few wagons, including Onley himself, who then came fourth at the finish line, breathing down Lipowitz's neck, went on without the two rivals ever once hinting at a hit. A slow pace that, in the end, only favoured Pogacar, who was well protected by his squires. The one who had to give battle was in fact the good Vingo, with all that catching up to do. But he could not bring his aces to the table for a simple reason: he did not and does not have them.

The best cards, as seen especially in the Pyrenees, are always held by the Slovenian, who is now enjoying his 51st yellow jersey in the knowledge that Paris is getting closer. Now only one Alpine stage, the one from Albertville to La Plagne, is missing to change anything. But what can Vingegaard do in the face of Tadej's overwhelming power? This La Plagne stage is in fact a faded copy with 40 kilometres less than the stage that has just finished.

In cycling, making too many predictions is bad luck, but there are no grounds for a resounding reversal. On the Col de la Loze, to give the duel some sauce, the ghosts of a beating that the Slovenian had suffered three years ago from the Dane had recurred. A stinging defeat, however, that Pogacar had already redeemed in Hautacam. This time, there were no twists and turns: Pogacar, in order to avoid any risks, preferred to tone down his serial killer instincts, contenting himself with controlling the race and building up a few seconds' advantage.

The bottom line is this: dear friend Jonas, if you don't stay calm in your seat, I will still be the one attacking you. So, let's end it here. Paris is now close. I'll take my fourth Tour and you settle for an honourable second place. Which at the Tour is not so disreputable.

To be resolved at this point is the question of third place. The 22-year-old Scottish talent Oscar Onley, after an initial crisis, managed to stay in the wake of the two big names, gaining a decent lead over the German Florian Lipowitz, who finished more than three and a half minutes behind and still kept the white jersey.

His third place in the classification, however, is wavering. Onley is hot on his heels and is likely to give him another shot at La Plagne.

A few words finally for the winner of the day, Ben O'Connor. The 29-year-old Australian did brilliantly to sneak into the day's breakaway on the Col du Glandon, manage the situation on the Madeleine and lead the winning attack on the Col de la Loze, when he pulled away from the Colombian Rubio by riding all alone in a stunning climb that overshadowed even his two rivals for a day.