Tour de France 2022: Three notable things – Jonas Vingegaard made a statement about the overall victory in the time trial

Another 50 minutes of suffering and then the overall final classification of the Tour de France will be decided. The final duel of the top drivers took place 40.7 kilometers from La Capel-Marival to Rocamadour.

A prestigious victory was still on the line before the final chapter of Episode 109 “Grand Bouquet” was written in the final stage in Paris.

As in the previous year, the victory in the fight against the clock went to Wout Van Aert on the 20th stage, who was able to celebrate his success on the third day in July.

But it wasn’t just the sequential and dominant green jersey winner who set the agenda in search for seconds.

Three things stood out in the time trial:

1. Vingegaard makes a winning statement

Even before the start of the 20th stage, there was no longer any reasonable doubt about the Dane’s overall victory – at 3:26 his lead was so great that even Tadej Pojjakar was able to bridge that gap on Dream Day.

But Vingegaard made it clear from the first scale that he wasn’t interested in managing the yellow jersey: as a last start, he compiled split times records from behind. It wasn’t just a quick start to stifle any hope for the Slovenian – no, the 25-year-old kept going, on all three measuring points making the best value.

2. Bora turns up the heat at the last minute

Lots of effort, but little luck – the 2022 round didn’t go well for the German racing team.

However, at the twentieth stage, he once again explained what would have been possible without the bad luck of falling and getting sick. Captain Alexander Vlasov worked his way up to fifth overall, assuring that had he been in normal shape he would have already been a contender for the podium.

3. Long distances in the fastest round

The last 115 kilometers in Paris won’t change anything decisive in the numbers: the 2022 Tour will be the fastest of 109 events to date, currently averaging 42.158 km/h after more than 3,200 kilometers. There are various reasons for this, from favorable wind conditions and short daily sections to many very fast stages due to difficult starting stages.

It’s been 25 years since the first ten riders were on a spaced out tour so far. Also in that year, 1997, another team wore the yellow and green jersey to Paris. “Communication occupies all the lines,” was the headline in the French press at the time.