News | Tour de France • July 17, 2021
Pogačar within reach of second Tour de France triumph
Slovenian 8th fastest in Saint Emilion time trial, Bjerg 7th
Tadej Pogačar inched ever-closer to claiming his second Tour de France victory, with 8th place in the 20th stage time-trial, 30.8 km from Libourne to Saint Emilion.
Success of the day went to Wout Van Aert (time of 35’53 “), with Mikkel Bjerg (7th) achieving the best performance for UAE Team Emirates stopping the clock at 36’45” (average of 50.286 km / h) , 5 ” less than the time of the yellow jersey and teammate Pogačar.
The only obstacle standing between Pogačar and claiming the three jerseys he also won in 2020, (yellow,polka-dot,white) is to cover the 108.4 km that separate the start of the 21st stage (Chatou) from the Champs-Élysées .
Pogačar: “When I crossed the finish line, I felt a happiness that’s quite hard to describe. The time trial seemed to pass faster than a normal time trial, thanks in part to the support of the public along the way. Even though I was struggling and the day was very hot, I enjoyed every kilometre.
It is not possible to compare the success in the last edition to what I am experiencing now: they are both different.
It was very nice to share this experience with the team, friends and family, the fans and having the chance to see our sporting director Allan Peiper before the start: we haven’t met since January, and he has been important in preparing for this Tour de France, so it was exciting to see him in good spirits and in good shape ”.
Bjerg: “Today I had the opportunity to try to achieve a good personal result. I am very satisfied with my performance, especially considering that I did this time trial after three weeks of hard work defending the yellow jersey.
I am proud for the whole team for how we are going to finish this Tour de France. It was a great feeling to see Tadej cross the finish line knowing that the yellow jersey is safe for Paris. ”
Stage 20 results
1. Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) 35’53 ”
2. Kasper Asgreen (Deceuninck-QuickStep) +21 ”
3. Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) +32 ”
7. Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates) +52 “
8. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) +57 “
General classification after the 20th stage
1. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) 80h16’59 “
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) + 5’20 ”
3. Richard Carapaz (Ineos-Grenadiers) + 7’03 “
