‘It is very emotional for me. Coming back from the crash’ – Jonas Vingegaard pips Tadej Pogacar to lay down Tour de France marker

Pogacar, the Tour leader, kept the yellow jersey but it was the two-time defending champion who earned a psychological victory at the end of an epic battle in the Massif Central.

The pair left all their rivals in their wake and Vingegaard, after closing a big gap to Pogacar in a brutal climb, outsprinted his rival to finish half a wheel ahead for the stage win.

“It is of course very emotional for me. Coming back from the crash,” Vingegaard said, trying to hold back tears. “It means a lot. All the things I went through in the last three months, it makes you think of that.”

Vingegaard was hospitalised for nearly two weeks in April following a high-speed crash in the Tour of the Basque Country.

He only resumed competitive racing at the Tour and there were many question marks about his form. His tremendous ride showed he is more than ready to defend his title.

“I’m just happy to be here and it means so much to win a stage, especially to win it for my family. They were there supporting me the whole time,” Vingegaard said.

True to his habit of attacking every time he gets the chance, Pogacar tried to pull clear alone about 32km from the finish with a strong attack. After getting dropped, Vingegaard kept his head cool and proved to be the fastest on the next ascent to catch his rival.

Vingegaard said he thought he would not be able to bridge the gap to Pogacar, and was also surprised he could beat him in the sprint.

“I would never have thought this three months ago. I was only thinking about doing my own pace and then the sprint.”

The pair then stayed together to gain time on Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic, who crashed near the finish. Evenepoel reached the finish 25 seconds behind, with Roglic 55 seconds off the pace.

Evenepoel trails 1:06 behind Pogacar overall, with Vingegaard in third place, 1:14 back. Roglic is fourth, 2:45 behind the race leader.

“He is in top shape,” Pogacar said about his rival. “He beat me really good on the line, and I did a pretty good sprint after that kind of stage. He was really strong.”

Ireland’s Ben Healy finished 17th over four minutes down but had been the most aggressive from the early breakaway and is now 16th in the general classification.

Tomorrow’s Stage 12 from Aurillac to Villeneuve-sur-Lot is mainly flat and looks one for the sprinters. The battle between Pogacar and Vingegaard is expected to resume this weekend when the peloton reaches bigger mountains in the Pyrenees.