Emotional Vingegaard beats Pogacar in sprint to win stage 11 of the Tour de France in the Massif Central

Just three months ago, Jonas Vingegaard was lying in a hospital bed with broken ribs and a collapsed lung. On Wednesday, he beat rival Tadej Pogacar in a two-man sprint after a tough day in the mountains.

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

The duo left all their rivals behind and Vingegaard, who had built up a big gap to Pogacar on a tough climb, outsprinted his rival and finished with half a wheel ahead in the final battle, good for the stage win.

“It’s very emotional for me of course. Coming back from the crash,” Vingegaard said, fighting back tears. “It means a lot. Everything I’ve been through the last three months reminds you of that.”

Vingegaard spent almost two weeks in hospital in April after a serious crash during the Tour of the Basque Country.

He only just resumed competitive racing at the Tour and there were many question marks over his form, but his superb ride on Wednesday 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 whenever he gets the chance, Pogacar tried to get away alone with a strong attack about 32 kilometers from the finish. After being dropped, Vingegaard kept his cool and proved to be the fastest on the next climb to overtake his rival.

Vingegaard said he didn’t think he would be able to close the gap Pogacar had created and was also surprised he was able to beat him in the sprint.

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

The duo then stayed together to gain time on Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic, who crashed just before the finish. Evenepoel reached the finish 25 seconds behind, Roglic was 55 seconds behind.

Evenepoel is 1:06 behind Pogacar overall, Vingegaard is third at 1:14. Roglic is fourth at 2:45 behind the race leader.

Stage 11’s 211-kilometre rollercoaster ride featured four tough climbs and more than 4,000 metres of elevation gain in the second half.

The race started at a high pace and the peloton stayed together for about 40 kilometers before the riders were able to break away in damp conditions. A group of 10 riders rode ahead but split at the foot of the first major climb, the steep Col de Neronne.

Pogacar and Team Emirates set a high pace but were caught one by one as they headed towards the Puy Mary, the toughest climb of the day.

Pogacar, a two-time Tour champion, attacked 600 meters from that summit to beat everyone and then went all out on the descent, showing his great skills on the technical descent to extend his lead and enter the next climb with a 35-second advantage. But Vingegaard still had the final say.

“He’s in great shape,” Pogacar said of his rival. “He really beat me well on the finish line and I did a decent sprint after a stage like that. He was really strong.”

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