Pogacar lashes out at 'scared' Vingegaard tactics at Tour de France / Photo: Anne-Christine POUJOULAT - AFP
NYSE - LSE
Pogacar lashes out at 'scared' Vingegaard tactics at Tour de France
Tour de France overall leader Tadej Pogacar voiced frustration with Jonas Vingegaard's defensive tactics on Sunday, claiming the defending champion was "scared" as little-known Frenchman Anthony Turgis won stage nine.
The attack-minded Pogacar tried to break several times on a novel run through the champagne vineyards, including dusty gravel roads for a first time, but finished alongside his title rivals Visma Lease-a-Bike's Danish rider Vingegaard and Belgian Remco Evenepoel.
"It's a shame me, Remco and Jonas didn't go for it together," said Slovenian Pogacar.
"I think it's because of Visma's tactics.
"Otherwise, we'd have been the three of us on the podium.
"They are scared of me and just followed," the 25-year-old lamented.
Second-placed Evenepoel, 24, agreed with UAE Emirates' Pogacar but was less disappointed.
"It's a shame yes, we could have taken three or four minutes off the others," said Evenepoel.
"I had a good time though, I enjoyed it.
"You have to accept other team tactics," the Soudal Quick-Step rider added.
Briton Tom Pidcock was second on the day after tailing Turgis but looked to be slightly blocked as he made a last-gasp bid for the line ahead of third-placed Derek Gee of Canada.
Turgis, 30, claimed the first major victory of his career having come fourth in the French road race championships last month and second at 2022's Milan-San Remo.
"That was wonderful," Turgis said at the finish line in the city of Troyes.
"I've been close to winning for ages and to get one here is just great," the Total Energies rider added.
As France voted in the second round of a parliamentary election, hundreds of thousands of cycling fans turned out for the Tour on this first holiday weekend.
A shake-up in the overall standings had been expected as the peloton tackled 14 rustic white gravel paths in the region's celebrated champagne vineyards that produce over 300 million bottles of bubbly a year.
One of them was cracked open at the finish line by Turgis, who had been part of the long-range breakaway from a group of one-day specialists.
Uno-X rider and mountains' polka-dot jersey wearer Jonas Abrahamsen and his team paid homage on Sunday to Norwegian compatriot Andre Drege who died in a fall on the Tour of Austria on Saturday.
Seven out of the outfit's eight riders on this Tour de France are Norwegian.
Sprint ace Biniam Girmay holds the green jersey after his two wins on stage three and eight, with a wide lead in the points standings.
While Monday is a rest day in Orleans, most riders will ride out for a few hours somewhere and all the leading contenders will have media duties to fulfil.
Stage 10 on Tuesday heads south from Orleans for a flat stage where Mark Cavendish will target a 36th stage win.
O.Leclercq--JdB
