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The polemics about contrasting ambitions for Wout van Aert and Jonas Vingegaard within the 2023 Excursion de France had been blown away at the first mountain degree to Laruns as the 2 riders and their Jumbo-Visma teammates blended to position Tadej Pogačar and his UAE Crew Emirates squad below force.
In a chain of instances like chess strikes that favoured the courageous, Van Aert went within the 37-rider assault together with Tiesj Benoot and Christophe Laporte.
The theory was once to be up the street to assist Vingegaard at the descent and valley highway to the end, however with Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe), the eventual degree winner, and different robust riders within the important assault pressured UAE Crew Emirates to chase for a lot of the degree.
When Sepp Kuss arrange Vingegaard for his assault close to the summit of the Col de Marie Blanque with 19km to head, Pogačar was once all at once reeling and the Dane surged away to leap 53 seconds forward of Pogačar within the total standings.
“It’s an sudden merit on Pogačar and it’s a just right scenario on GC,” Van Aert stated, amused to were awarded probably the most competitive rider prize for the way in which he frequently dragged the assault alongside.
Jumbo-Visma’s ways weren’t best however they had been spectacular. Vingegaard reached the highest of the Col de Marie Blanque ahead of Van Aert and Benoot and so needed to lead a choose team to the road.
“I’ll have to look at the race once more as a result of I handiest noticed Jonas for a 2d lately when he blasted previous me,” Van Aert joked within the podium house after amassing his prize.
“He it appears has in reality just right legs and is a brilliant begin to the mountain phases like this. It’s greater than we anticipated.
“It was once no longer a transparent plan to assault lately however the instances lead us to it. It was once a troublesome degree within the bunch as a result of we put the force at the entire day and that suited Jonas later.”
Thursday’s mountain end at Cauterets-Cambasque regarded extra fitted to a GC fight and a possibility for Jumbo-Visma to assault as a group.
They’re going to proceed to paintings for Vingegaard and tackle UAE Crew Emirates, however have additionally made themselves some new competitors. But now Jumbo-Visma, fairly than UAE Crew Emirates, appear in keep an eye on.
“We had been satisfied to be within the smash however we didn’t in fact need to deliver Jai Hindley and Giulio Ciccone up into the GC as a result of they’re robust competitors,” Van Aert defined with a long-game tactical view.
“Now we don’t handiest have to look at Tadej Pogačar, Hindley is forward folks too. He appears to be tremendous robust however we are tremendous assured now too.”
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