polka dot tour de france 2022

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Tour de France 2022 – Green jersey and polka dot jersey guide: Wout van Aert & Ruben Guerreiro favourites?

Updated 30/06/2022 at 11:06 GMT

The absence of last year’s maillot vert Mark Cavendish at the 2022 Tour de France means we will see a different rider take the green jersey, while a rule tweak means the polka dot KOM jersey is very much up for grabs. In the third of his Tour previews, Felix Lowe looks closer at the points classification and king of the mountains competition.

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How the green jersey competition works

• Largely flat stages without any major difficulties (Stages 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 13, 15, 19, 21): 50-30-20-18-16-14-12-10-8-7-6-5-4-3 and 2 points for the first 15 riders
• “Rolling” stages (Stages 7, 10, 14, 16): 30-25-22-19-17-15-13-11-9-7-6- 5-4-3-2 points
• Stages deemed “very difficult” (Stages 4, 9, 11, 12, 17, 18): 20-17-15-13-11- 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 points
• Time trials (Stages 1, 20): 20-17-15-13-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 points
• Intermediate sprints: 20-17-15-13-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 points

5 star: Wout van Aert

Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) in the green jersey during the 2022 Criterium du Dauphine

Image credit: Getty Images

4 star: Mathieu van der Poel

LE GRAND BORNAND, FRANCE - JULY 03: Mark Cavendish of The United Kingdom and Team Deceuninck - Quick-Step Green Points Jersey & Mathieu Van Der Poel of The Netherlands and Team Alpecin-Fenix Yellow Leader Jersey at start during the 108th Tour de France 20

3 star: Michael Matthews, Mads Pedersen, Peter Sagan, Fabio Jakobsen

Peter Sagan of Slovakia and Bora-Hansgrohe retains the green jersey of best sprinter following stage 4 of the 106th Tour de France 2019, a stage between Reims and Nancy (213,5km) on July 9, 2019 in Nancy, France

2 star: Caleb Ewan, Jasper Philipsen, Dylan Groenewegen

Jasper Philipsen leads the green jersey classification after two stages of La Vuelta 2021

1 star: Magnus Cort, Alberto Dainese, Alexander Kristoff, Edvald Boasson Hagen

Ireland's Sam Bennett celebrates on the podium after winning the best sprinter's green jersey of the 107th edition of the Tour de France 2020

PARIS, FRANCE - SEPTEMBER 20: Podium / Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia and UAE Team Emirates Yellow Leader Jersey, White Best Young Jersey, Polka Dot Mountain Jersey / Sam Bennett of Ireland and Team Deceuninck - Quick-Step Green Points Jersey / Celebration / T

Polka dot jersey preview

• Hors Catégorie (7 in total): 20-15-12-10-8-6-4-2 points
• Cat.1 climbs (10): 10-8-6-4-2-1 points
• Cat.2 (6): 5-3-2-1 points
• Cat.3 (16): 2-1 points
• Cat.4 (22): 1 point

Romain Bardet, polka dot jersey, Tour de France, 2019

Image credit: Eurosport

Ruben Guerreiro - Giro d'Italia 2020, stage 17 - Getty Images

Polka dot jersey ratings

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Tour de France 2022: Meaning behind yellow, green, polka dot and white jersey colours

The 2022 Tour de France sees 176 riders compete for the famous yellow jersey or maillot jaune which rewards the overall winner of the race.

While the yellow jersey, won in 2020 and 2021 by Slovenian prodigy Tadej Pogacar , is the most famous and prestigious of them all, there are three other colours to look out for in the peloton taking on this year's Tour de France route.

The green, polka dot, and white jerseys all have their own meanings, histories and significance for their respective holders.

While some riders (domestiques) work purely for the benefit of their team leader, others work to win individual stages, and others aim purely for one particular jersey.

It is not just the jerseys to watch out for – those riders wearing yellow helmets are the team leading overall when their times are added together, while the previous day’s combativity prize winner (the most aggressive racer) wears a red ‘bib’.

And anyone wearing a rainbow jersey is the reigning world champion – though this year the road champion Julian Alaphilippe is absent, still recovering from injury.

Here are the four Tour de France jerseys:

Yellow – overall winner

The biggest prize in cycling is the famous yellow jersey of the Tour de France . It is the awarded to the overall winner and worn by the current race leader at the start of each stage, and it is considered hugely prestigious to don the maillot jaune . It was initially introduced so fans could clearly spot the rider in charge, and took its colour from L’Auto (today L’Equipe), the newspaper owned by race founder Henri Desgrange.

Green– best sprinter

The green jersey is the prestigious prize given to the best sprinter in the Tour. The fastest in the pack compete for the biggest points at the end of flat stages and a smaller haul of points on offer during stages – called intermediate sprints. Peter Sagan won a record-equalling sixth green jersey last year, while Britain’s Mark Cavendish has won two and finished runner-up three times.

Polka dot – King of the Mountains

Perhaps almost as famous as the yellow jersey itself, the red polka dots on a white base are awarded to the rider who earns the most King of the Mountains points, which can be collected along the way by being the first to the top of categorised climbs – the more the severe the climb, the more points are on offer. Chris Froome won both the polka dot jersey and the yellow jersey in 2015, the first to do so since the great Eddy Merckx in 1970. In 2018 it was won by home favourite Julian Alaphilippe in some style.

White – best young rider

The white jersey is awarded to the highest placed rider who was 24 or younger on the first day of the year. The jersey was introduced in 1975, before a 10-year hiatus in the 90s, but returned in the 21st century and has been won by Alberto Contador, Nairo Quintana, and both the British Yates twins, Simon and Adam.

Tour de France: Pogacar wins stage 6, takes yellow jersey

Van Aert loses overall lead after lengthy breakaway on roads to Longwy

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) took the yellow jersey after winning the uphill sprint in Longwy on stage 6 of the Tour de France , a day that will be long remembered for previous leader Wout van Aert’s sustained but doomed onslaught at the head of the race.

The Jumbo-Visma man ultimately conceded his yellow jersey to Pogačar, but only after repeatedly splitting the field in the opening kilometres and then sparking the three-man break of the day with a little under 150km to go.

Van Aert knew he was playing with fire, of course, and he must have sensed that self-immolation was the most likely outcome. Still he persisted, and he was the last survivor of the three-man break before his move was eventually snuffed out with 11km remaining, when he caught and dropped by the peloton.

As one offensive guttered, another ignited. Pogačar splintered the leading group with an acceleration of his own on the Côte de Pulventeux with 5.5km remaining, and over the other side, his UAE Team Emirates squad set about pegging back late attacker Alexis Vuillermoz (TotalEnergies) on the final approach to the line.

Rafal Majka and Brandon McNulty marshalled a reduced front group up the 2km haul to the finish, and although Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) defiantly opened the sprint from distance, Pogačar delivered an emphatic response, careering clear to win the stage comfortably from Michael Matthews (BikeExchange-Jayco), David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) and Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers).

The 10-second time bonus for stage victory sufficed to lift Pogačar ahead of Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost) in the overall standings and into the yellow jersey. He leads the American by 4 seconds, with Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) now third at 31 seconds. Roglič looked to have weathered the dislocated shoulder he suffered on Wednesday, but he remains some 2:27 adrift of the seemingly untouchable Pogačar.

“Today was so hard from the start, the first two hours was so crazy, because the strongest guy went in the breakaway,” Pogačar said. “Lots of guys were pulling in the peloton, including all our team as well. I was thinking that he would come to the finish, but in the end, the peloton was stronger. When we came to the final climbs, I was still feeling good.”

Powless spent much of the day believing he might inherit yellow if and when Van Aert’s assault fizzled out, and he produced another strong showing to finish in the front group, which featured all of the podium contenders, but there was simply nothing to be done in the face of Pogačar’s final acceleration.

“As soon as we saw Wout in the break, we thought, ‘perfect, we can let him burn himself and try to go for yellow in the end',” Powless said. “But unfortunately, the bonus seconds at the finish took it away.”

Five years ago, the same uphill finish in Longwy produced a Peter Sagan stage victory. This time out, the front group was populated largely by GC riders, but even the fast finishers who survived the cut couldn’t match the ferocity of Pogačar’s sprint, which carried him well clear of Matthews.

“It wasn’t a pure sprint because we rode the last two climbs really hard,” Pogačar said. “It was above our threshold, it was super hard into the final climb, hectic and everything. I guess I had good legs to push at the end.”

How it unfolded

There were suggestions at the start that this might prove something of a transitional day as the peloton recovered from the rigours of the cobblestones the previous afternoon, though Matthews had a word of warning before the race left Binche. “The key point is actually the start, to see who is going in the break,” he said. “I think it’s going to be an unexpected race today.”

Unexpected was one way of putting it. Once the flag dropped, the principal aggressor was the maillot jaune himself. A searingly fast opening phase saw 52.5km covered in the first hour of racing, and that startling speed was due largely to Van Aert’s impetus, with the peloton repeatedly splitting and reforming in his wake.

Van Aert eventually forced his way clear with 148km remaining, bringing Quinn Simmons (Trek-Segafredo) and Jakob Fuglsang (Israel-Premier Tech) with him, and the peloton seemingly accepted there was little point in trying to reason with the maillot jaune when he was in this mood.

The offensive bore faint echoes of his rival Mathieu van der Poel’s defence of yellow on the road to Le Creusot at last year’s Tour, but on that occasion, the Dutchman infiltrated a 29-man move. In truth, this all-out assault was perhaps more reminiscent of Eddy Merckx’s aggression on the road to Marseille in 1971.

That afternoon, mind, Merckx’s boundless energy was diverted towards the clear goal of trying to regain the yellow jersey from Luis Ocaña. Van Aert, by contrast, was already in the overall lead and he is part of a team with two riders targeting final overall victory. His attack made no strategic sense, but his decision to race against all logic as well as against the entire peloton made for gripping viewing.

“He’s playing with our balls, isn’t he? I don’t know what to say, really,” said Tom Pidcock (Ineos), who would eventually take fourth on the stage. “He’s taking the piss, isn’t he?”

Not even a slipped chain on the Côte des Mazures and a later bike change could discourage Van Aert, who built a maximum lead of just under four minutes. He later picked up full points at the intermediate sprint, but it was clear that his eyes were on a grand exploit rather than managing his substantial lead in the green jersey standings.

Bora-Hansgrohe, Alpecin-Deceuninck and EF Education-EasyPost combined to lead the chase behind, and out front, Fulgsang sat up with 65km to go, but Van Aert and Simmons maintained a buffer of two minutes as they entered the final 50km. The pace in the bunch picked up thereafter, with German champion Nils Politt particularly effective, but Van Aert refused to be discouraged, and he eased clear of Simmons with 30km remaining.

The terrain grew more rugged from here, yet Van Aert still maintained a 30-second advantage deep into the finale, even as Ineos Grenadiers massed in pursuit. He was eventually recaptured just after the category 4 Côte de Montigny-sur-Chiers with 11km remaining, and the day’s spoils would fall to Pogačar, who inherits yellow in time for the first summit finish at La Planche des Belles Filles.

The two-time winner is already in a commanding position atop the overall standings. Friday’s finale, where he won his first Tour in 2020, offers an obvious chance to land a most telling blow.

“Tomorrow is one of the climbs where you need to go full gas from bottom to top, and there's not much calculation, but you can explode pretty fast because there are super, super steep sections,” he said. “It's good that I know the climb up to the last 1km, and then I hope that I have as good legs as I have had until now.”

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Barry Ryan is Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation , published by Gill Books.

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Simon Geschke: "It was my goal to take the polka dot jersey"

"Getting the polka-dot jersey was my goal for this stage. It was more realistic to have a go today than in the high mountains. I already had four points on my books, so I decided to go on the break and chase the KOM points all day long. It took me a big effort on the last climb, but in the end I grabbed just enough points to land the leadership on the standings. I’m honored to take this jersey into the rest day. I will try to keep it for as long as possible, but I am aware that there are many big climbs to come. When Bob Jungels and I went away, I was on my limit. I had just enough energy to be the first atop the summit. When I lost his wheel on the descent, I thought it was wiser to wait for the big group that was riding behind us. But then it turned out he was faster on the downhill and the flats than the group was. It’s the one mistake I made today."

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2022 tour de france final standings, results.

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2022 Tour de France final standings for the yellow jersey, green jersey, white jersey and polka-dot jersey through stage 21 of 21 …

Overall (Yellow Jersey) 1. Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) -- 79:32:29 2. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) -- +2:43 3. Geraint Thomas (GBR) -- +7:22 4. David Gaudu (FRA) -- +13:39 5. Aleksandr Vlasov -- +15:46 6. Nairo Quintana (COL) -- +16:33 7. Romain Bardet (FRA) -- +18:11 8. Louis Meintjes (RSA) -- +18:44 9. Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) -- +22:56 10. Adam Yates (GBR) -- +24:52 13. Neilson Powless (USA) -- +46:57 18. Sepp Kuss (USA) -- +1:02:29 DNF. Chris Froome (GBR) DNF. Primoz Roglic (SLO)

TOUR DE FRANCE: Broadcast Schedule | Stage by Stage | Cyclists to Watch

Sprinters (Green Jersey)1. Wout van Aert (BEL) -- 480 2. Jasper Philipsen (BEL) -- 286 3. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) -- 250 4. Christophe Laporte (FRA) -- 171 5. Fabio Jakobsen (NED) -- 159

Climbers (Polka-Dot Jersey)1. Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) -- 72 points 2. Simon Geschke (GER) -- 65 3. Giulio Ciccone (ITA) -- 61 4. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) -- 61 5. Wout van Aert (BEL) -- 59

Young Rider (White Jersey)1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) -- 79:36:03 2. Thomas Pidcock (GBR) -- +57:34 3. Brandon McNulty (USA) -- +1:27:43 4. Matteo Jorgenson (USA) -- +1:31:14 5. Andreas Leknessund (NOR) -- +1:54:48

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Who Won the 2022 Tour de France?

Your stage-by-stage guide to the winners of the 2022 Tour.

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Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) won the yellow jersey as the overall winner of the 2022 Tour de France. The 25-year-old outlasted two-time defending champion Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) of Slovenia to win his first Tour. Pogačar finished second, 2:43 back of Vingegaard, and Great Britain's Geraint Thomas (INEOS Grenadiers) was third, 7:22 behind the lead, to round out the podium for the Tour's General Classification.

Here’s a look at how every stage of the 2022 Tour unfolded.

Stage 21 - Jasper Philipsen

Who Won the Tour?

Surrounded by his teammates, Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) finished safely behind the peloton at the end of Stage 21 in Paris to win the 2022 Tour de France. The Dane won the Tour by 3:34 over Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), who started the race as the two-time defending champion, and 8:13 over Great Britain’s Geraint Thomas (INEOS Grenadiers), who won the Tour in 2018 and finished second in 2019.

Belgium’s Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) won the field sprint on the Champs-Élysées to take the final stage, defeating the Netherlands’ Dylan Groenewegen (Team BikeExchange-Jayco) and Norway’s Alexander Kristoff (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux) to win his second stage in this year’s Tour.

But the real story was Vingegaard, the 25-year-old from a fishing town in northern Denmark who is only the second rider from his nation to win the Tour de France. He rode an almost perfect race, only losing little bits of time to Pogačar on Stage 1, a rainy individual time trial in Copenhagen, Stage 5, a road stage over the cobbles of northern France, and on Stages 7, 8, and 9, when the Slovenian scored time bonuses at the end of each stage.

But Vingegaard was clearly just biding his time for the Alps, content to let Pogačar make big efforts for only a handful of seconds. And when it mattered most–on the steep slopes of the Col du Granon at the end of Stage 11–Pogačar was unable to respond when Vingegaard attacked to win the stage and take the yellow jersey that’s awarded each day to the rider who leads the Tour’s General Classification.

Pogačar vowed to keep fighting, and he kept his word. But Vingegaard responded quickly to each new assault, never faltering as the riders battled intense heat through the Massif Central. In the end it came down the Pyrenees, where Jumbo-Visma and UAE Team Emirates, each depleted due to the loss of key teammates, traded blows in the mountains. Again Vingeggard waited, following each of Pogačar’s accelerations with ease.

He delivered the coup de grace at the end of Stage 18 on the climb to Hautacam, the Tour’s last summit finish. Pulling away from Pogačar with about 4km left to climb, Vingegaard won the stage to put the Tour out of reach before Saturday’s time trial. Not leaving anything to chance, he still finished second in the race against the clock on Stage 20, confirming once and for all that the strongest rider won the 2022 Tour de France.

Pogačar isn’t going home empty-handed: in addition to finishing second overall, the 23-year-old won the white jersey as the Tour’s Best Young Rider and three stages during the Tour’s first week. But more importantly, he learned valuable lessons about how to better gauge his efforts during a Grand Tour. Pogačar remains the best all-around rider in the world, and with a little more tactical nous–and perhaps a bit more humility–he might get even better.

Who Really Won the Tour?

While INEOS-Grenadiers finished the Tour atop the Team’s Classification, Jumbo-Visma was the best team in the 2022 Tour de France.

In addition to winning the yellow jersey, Vingegaard also won the polka dot jersey as the winner of the Tour’s King of the Mountains competition. His teammate, Belgium’s Wout van Aert, won the green jersey as the winner of the Tour’s Points Classification and was also named the Tour’s Most Aggressive Rider. Along the way the team won six stages: three with van Aert, two with Vingegaard, and one with France’s Cristophe Laporte.

Perhaps even more impressive was the manner in which the team defended Vingegaard’s lead in the Pyrenees during the Tour’s third week. The team lost Slovenia’s Primož Roglič and the Netherlands’ Steven Kruijswijk on Stage 15, with Roglič not taking the start and Kruijswijk crashing out on the road to Carcassonne. Two of the team’s strongest climbers, some wondered if this would spell the end of the team’s dominance, but led by van Aert and American Sepp Kuss, the team had all the firepower it needed to defend and then extend Vingegaard’s lead.

Is it the best overall performance by a team in Tour history? It might be–at least in the modern era. In 2012 Team Sky went 1-2 with Britons Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome and took six stage wins. In 1984 Renault-Elf riders finished first- and third-overall (France’s Laurent Fignon and American Greg Lemond) and won an incredible ten stages. Lemond also won the white jersey as the Tour’s Best Young Rider.

But Jumbo-Visma is not a team that cares how it stacks-up against other teams in history–all that matters is that it finally won the Tour de France after several years of near-misses and heartbreak. As fans we’re all in for a treat in the coming years, as Vingegaard and Pogačar are both young and show no signs of letting up any time soon.

Stage 20 Winner - Wout van Aert

Who's Winning The Tour?

Jumbo has absolutely dominated this Tour, with six stage wins from three different riders and taking home three of the four jersey classifications. Much of that is due to van Aert, who was also awarded the race’s “Super Combativity” prize for being the most aggressive rider throughout the race.

A generational talent, van Aert is nearly unmatched in the sport for his versatility; perhaps only Ineos Grenadiers’ Tom Pidcock—reigning World Cyclocross Champion, Olympic MTB Champion, and Alpe d’Huez stage winner at this year’s Tour—has the same breadth of ability. The Belgian has now won nine Tour de France stages in four years, including time trials, field sprints, breakaways, uphill finishes, and mountain stages. He will also win his first green jersey, setting a record for the highest point total in that competition.

Who’s Really Winning the Tour?

Vingegaard, meanwhile, has cemented his rise to the top of the sport with a convincing Tour win that likely unseats Primož Roglič as Jumbo’s top GC rider. While Roglič has a deeper resumé of results, he’s been hit by bad luck in the Tour and at 32 is seven years older than Vingegaard.

At this year’s Tour, Vingegaard never seemed rattled by Pogačar’s aggressive racing to build an early lead, instead coolly waiting for the second half of the race where the long climbs suited his abilities. He withstood every challenge thrown at him, even when isolated in the Pyrenees on Stage 17 and almost crashing on the descent of the Col de Spandelles on Stage 18. As the strongest rider (this Tour, anyway) on the strongest team in the sport, Vingegaard put a decisive stop to Pogačar’s Tour-winning streak and showed that the foreseeable future of the Tour will be a massive fight between two of the sport’s best young racers, and maybe more.

Stage 19 Winner - Christophe Laporte

Who Winning The Tour?

In normal circumstances, Jumbo’s designated sprinter is Wout van Aert, winner of two stages this Tour, and who is mathematically assured to win the green jersey and score the highest points total ever in the competition. But on Stage 19, it was Laporte, who joined Jumbo in the offseason, who got the leadership nod and delivered the results.

An early breakaway of five was caught well before the finish, which soon triggered a dangerous move from three riders with just over 30km to go. So van Aert put in a powerful dig at the front in the final kilometers to help bring the group almost to the catch and then pulled off. Not long after, Laporte sprung his own perfectly timed move out of the pack, crossing the distance to the leaders and catching the others by surprise. On the slight rise to the finish and with leadouts in disarray behind, Laporte had plenty of room to hold off the chase and celebrate crossing the line.

Well, Jumbo. Entering the Tour, the Dutch powerhouse team was by broad consensus the strongest in the race. And even after losing two key riders to injury, they haven’t disappointed. Laporte’s victory is the fifth stage they’ve won this Tour, by three different riders, and they have excellent chances in the two remaining stages as well. They also will win three jerseys in Paris: van Aert’s green, plus Jonas Vingegaard’s yellow, and the polka-dot jersey for best climber, which Vingegaard also now leads after yesterday’s stage win.

The team is riding with huge confidence, as Laporte’s win shows. The 29-year-old Frenchman is a talented sprinter and Classics rider, but in his first year on Jumbo he’s showed a new level, highlighted by today's career-best moment. In eight previous seasons on Cofidis, his only other pro team, Laporte won 21 races, but it took his switch to Jumbo to get his first victories in WorldTour-level races. That’s a point that’s probably not lost on Cofidis, which is working a 14-year (and counting) dry streak since its last Tour stage win.

Stage 18 Winner - Jonas Vingegaard

Who’s Winning the Tour?

Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) won Stage 18, the final summit finish of the 2022 Tour de France, to extend his lead at the top of the Tour’s General Classification. With the help of his Belgian teammate Wout van Aert, Vingegaard dropped Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) 4.4km from the top of the climb to Hautacam. Van Aert pulled-off a few hundred meters later, leaving Vingegaard alone to take the stage–and barring catastrophe, the Tour.

Vingegaard won Stage 18 by 1:04 over Pogačar, extending his GC advantage to 3:26 over the Slovenian. Van Aert, wearing the green jersey as the leader of the Tour’s Points Classification, finished third on the stage, pumping his fist as he crossed the finish line.

Great Britain’s Geraint Thomas (INEOS Grenadiers) finished fourth on the day, losing more time to Vingegaard and Pogačar, but cementing his hold on the Tour’s final podium spot, a whopping 8:00 behind Vingegaard, but more importantly 3:05 ahead France’s David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) who moved up to fourth overall by finishing fifth on Stage 18.

With three days left in the 2022 Tour de France, Vingegaard looks assured of standing on the top step of the podium in Paris. Barring a crash, a mechanical, or a terrible ride in Saturday’s 40km individual time trial, the Dane’s lead is too much for Pogačar to overcome. Pogačar and Thomas look certain to stand next to Vingegaard on the Tour’s final podium. Thomas is one the Tour’s better time trialists, and there’s little chance of Gaudu overtaking him.

By winning the Tour’s final summit finish atop the Hors Categorie climb to Hautacam, Vingegaard also took the lead in the Tour’s King of Mountains competition. He won’t get a chance to wear the polka dot jersey as the leader of the classification, but with only three Category 4 climbs left in the race, he’s assured of taking the prize.

In the end, Stage 18 capped a legendary team performance for Jumbo-Visma, who looks set to go home with the yellow, green, and polka dot jerseys and at least four stage wins. And with two more stages expected to end in sprints and a long time trial on Saturday–all of which suit van Aert–the team’s tally could increase.

Stage 17 Winner - Tadej Pogacar

Two days in the Pyrenees down, one to go: Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) once again held on to the yellow jersey as the overall leader of the 2022 Tour de France after finishing second on Stage 17 in Peyragudes. Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) won the stage, outsprinting Vingegaard to win his third stage of this year’s Tour. Pogačar’s teammate, the United States’ Brendan McNulty, finished third after doing much of the work in the latter parts of the stage.

Pogačar trimmed four seconds from Vingegaard’s lead thanks to the 10-second time bonus he earned for winning the stage. (Vingegaard took six seconds of his own by finishing second.) The Dane now leads the Slovenian by 2:18 on the Tour’s General Classification. Great Britain’s Geraint Thomas (INEOS Grenadiers) lost time to both riders, but remains third overall, 4:56 behind Vingegaard.

Once again Vingegaard and Pogačar proved to be the two best riders in the 2022 Tour de France. Despite winning the stage, the long-range attacks that we expected from Pogačar never materialized. This has been the fastest Tour in history (so far), and given the intense heat the riders have faced and the tenacity with which Pogačar has raced since the Tour started almost three weeks ago, we suspect he’s simply running out of gas he needs to make large gains on Vingegaard.

Even after losing Poland’s Rafa Majka to a thigh injury before the start of the stage, leaving him with only three teammates, Pogačar’s team was the strongest on Stage 17, with McNulty setting a pace that dropped everyone but Vingegaard. With one more day in the Pyrenees with three categorized climbs including two “Beyond” Category ascents, Pogačar will need a similar performance from the American if he’s to have any chance of gaining more time on Vingegaard.

Thomas looks firmly entrenched in third. Despite losing time to Vingegaard and Pogačar on Stage 17, he gained time on everyone behind him. He now sits 2:57 ahead of Colombia’s Nairo Quintana (Arkéa–Samsic), and with a long individual time trial on Saturday, he should have no problems defending his place on the podium.

So tomorrow, all eyes will be–again–on the Tour’s top-2 riders, with one day left for Vingegaard to solidify his lead before the time trial, and one day left for Pogačar to get close enough to give himself a chance of winning a third consecutive Tour de France.

Stage 16 Winner - Hugo Houle

Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) survived the first of three days in the Pyrenees to hold on to the yellow jersey as the overall leader of the 2022 Tour de France. The 25-year-old finished safely in a small group of GC contenders and their teammates in Foix at the end of Stage 16, maintaining his 2:22 advantage over Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), the two-time defending champion. After getting gapped on the final climb of the stage, Great Britain’s Geraint Thomas (INEOS Grenadiers) managed to rejoin the group of favorites on the long road down to the finish. He remains third overall, 2:43 behind Vingegaard on the Tour’s General Classification.

It was a bigger day for Canada and Israel-Premier-Tech, though as Canadian Hugo Houle won the stage and his teammate and compatriot, Michael Woods, finished third. A career domestique who usually spends his time sacrificing his own chances for the sake of other riders, Houle crossed the line pointing to the sky in honor of his brother Pierrik, who was killed by a drunk driver in 2012 while out for a run. Houle’s win is only the second Tour de France stage win for a Canadian in Tour history. Steve Bauer, Houle’s team director, won the nation’s first stage back 1988.

As expected, Pogačar started his assault on Vingegaard’s yellow jersey with a series of attacks on the day’s penultimate climb, the Category 1 Port de Lers. Accelerating multiple times on both the climb and the descent after the summit, the Slovenian was matched each time by Vingegaard, gaining no time on the yellow jersey. By the time the riders reached the day’s final climb, the Category 1 Mur de Péguère, Pogačar seemed happy to let others set the pace, resigned to the fact that Vingegaard wasn’t budging–at least not today.The stage a tactical battle between the Tour’s three best teams as Jumbo-Visma, UAE Team Emirates, and INEOS Grenadiers all sent riders on the attack early in the hopes that their team leaders would have an extra support rider for the long descent from the top of the final climb to the finish in Foix at the end of the stage. The plan worked well as Vingegaard had Belgium’s Wout van Aert (along with American Sepp Kuss, who stayed with Vingegaard over the final climb), Pogačar had American Brendan McNulty, and Thomas had Colombia’s Dani Martinez waiting to help. France’s Romain Bardet (Team DSM) was the day’s biggest loser. The former podium finisher entered the day fourth overall, but lost over 3:36 on the stage to fall to ninth, 6:37 behind Vingegaard. The Tour’s best Frenchman is now David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) who moved up to fifth overall (4:24 behind the leader) with another strong ride. And last but not least, there’s Colombia’s Nairo Quintana (Arkea-Samsic) who was the only rider able to hang with Vingegaard, Pogačar, and Kuss to the top of the Mur de Péguère. Currently fourth at 4:15, a podium finish might be a stretch given the fact that there’s a long individual time trial on Saturday. But a top-5 finish would be a fine result for the 32-year-old–especially if he’s somehow able to combine it with a mountain stage win on one of the next two stages. With Vingegaard and Pogačar locked in at the top of the GC, Quintana might be given a little bit of breathing room to go for the win on one the upcoming summit finishes.

Stage 15 Winner - Jasper Philipsen

Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) survived a long, hot day in the saddle to retain the yellow jersey as the overall leader of the 2022 Tour de France. The 25-year-old finished safely with the leading group at the Stage 15 finish in Carcassonne, but the day also saw the departure of two of his most important teammates. Heading into the second Rest Day, the top-3 riders on the Tour’s General Classification remain unchanged with Vingegaard leading Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) by 2:22 and Great Britain’s Geraint Thomas (INEOS Grenadiers) by 2:43.

Belgium’s Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) won the stage in Carcassonne, outsprinting Belgium’s Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) and Denmark’s Mads Pedersen to take the first Tour de France stage win of his career.

Despite defending Vingegaard’s lead for another day and van Aert’s second-place finish, Stage 15 was a day to forget for Jumbo-Visma. It began with the announcement that Slovenia’s Primož Roglič would not be starting the stage. The 32-year-old began the Tour as one of the favorites to win the race overall, but he crashed hard on the cobbled Stage 5, separating his shoulder and losing several minutes to the other GC contenders. With his own GC chances gone, he became a super-domestique on behalf of Vingegaard, and played a large role in helping his Danish teammate take the yellow jersey on Stage 11 in the Alps. But this morning he abandoned the race to begin recovering from the injuries he sustained, a calculated risk with three days in the Pyrenees still to come.

As if to emphasize that gamble, a crash with about 67km to go brought down the Netherlands’ Steven Kruijswijk, who was forced to abandon the race with a suspected broken collarbone. Another top climber for Jumbo-Visma, Kruijswijk was 13th overall at the start of the stage and his good form was likely one of the reasons why the team felt comfortable letting Roglič head home.

And then the unthinkable almost happened: as Kruijswijk was being lifted into an ambulance, another crash brought down Vingegaard and Belgium’s Tiesj Benoot, one of the team’s top all-rounders. The yellow jersey was quickly able to rejoin the peloton, but Benoot struggled behind, obviously hurting from the fall.

The loss of Roglič and Kruijswijk will be felt most in the Pyrenees, leaving the United States’ Sepp Kuss as Vingegaard’s best domestique in the mountains. Yes, Kuss is one of the best climbers in the peloton and is probably better than anyone else’s top mountain domestique, but losing Roglič and Kruijswijk decimates the team’s depth. And if Benoot’s injuries worsen during the Rest Day and he’s unable to start Stage 16, Jumbo-Visma will have only four riders left to protect the yellow jersey. That’s not good–especially with Pogačar clearly recovered from his bad day on Stage 11 and eager to throw everything he’s got at Vingegaard.

Stage 14 Winner - Michael Matthews

Australia’s Michael Matthews (Team BikeExchange-Jayco) took a fantastic stage win, the fourth of his career. Riding with determination after several near-misses so far in this year’s Tour, the 31-year-old joined the day’s big breakaway, initiated the winning move in the stage’s final hour, dropped his two breakaway companions on the tough final climb, and was caught and gapped by Italy’s Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-EasyPost) midway up the ascent. But the Australian kept himself in contention, catching and then passing Bettiol while cresting the summit to win the stage—almost five years to the day after taking his last Tour de France stage victory. Bettiol finished second, and France’s Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) was third.

With the Pyrenees looming, the battle to win the 2022 Tour de France has been reduced to just two contenders, with Pogačar attacking and Vingegaard having no trouble following the Slovenian’s acceleration on the Côte de la Croix Neuve at the end of Stage 14. Behind them, the rest of the Tour’s general classification contenders all lost time.

But while the time gaps between Pogačar-Vingegaard and the other contenders weren’t huge on the finish line in Mende, it’s clear that everyone else is racing for third–a boon to Vingegaard as Pogačar will likely find few allies willing to risk a possible podium place by attacking the yellow jersey in the final week.

Even better for Vingegaard and Jumbo-Visma is the fact that Pogačar and his team continue to make questionable decisions. The Slovenian launched a 200-meter sprint at the end of the stage–for no good reason–and the team put Spain’s Marc Soler in the day’s big breakaway, which might have made sense had the team not already lost two riders to COVID-19. If Pogačar is to win a third Tour de France, he’s going to need all the help he can get from his teammates, and allowing Soler to waste energy on a day like this might be something they later regret.

Stage 13 Winner - Mads Pedersen

Former world champion Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) put on a display of perfectly executed tactics as he won a three-way sprint from the remains of the day’s breakaway, to take victory in Stage 13 of the Tour de France.

Pedersen narrowly missed out on stage win chances back in the Tour’s start in his native Denmark. But he made up for that disappointment on a transitional stage out of the Alps, taking his first-ever Tour victory out of a day-long breakaway. Pedersen specializes in hard days in bad weather, and while that usually means cold, wet conditions like his 2019 World Championship title, he proved equally as capable in withering heat.

Pedersen joined a seven-rider breakaway that finally established itself after 50km of hard racing. With world-class time trialists Filippo Ganna (Ineos-Grenadiers) and Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ) in the mix, the pack—led by sprint teams Lotto-Soudal and Alpecin-Deceuninck—kept a tight leash on the gap. American Tour debutants Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar) and Quinn Simmons (Trek-Segafredo) also joined.

But a heavy crash by Lotto sprinter Caleb Ewan at around 75km to go disrupted the chase severely. Ewan, clearly hurt, briefly regained the main field but soon dropped back again, and his team pulled off the front. BikeExchange-Jayco took up the hunt, but without allies they were unable to make much of a dent in the gap given the raw horsepower driving the break. With the break’s survival all but assured, Pedersen attacked on a grinding false flat with 13km to go, dropping everyone but Bahrain-Victorious’s Fred Wright and Hugo Houle of Israel-Premier Tech, then positioned himself perfectly to outsprint them at the finish.

For yellow jersey wearer Jonas Vingegaard, today was a day to stay out of the wind and out of trouble. He had little issue accomplishing that, capably protected by his powerhouse Jumbo-Visma team. The day was not expected to offer difficulties for him and generally didn’t. But a brief split in the peloton with around 40km to go hinted at risks to come in the next two days.

Saturday’s Stage 14 is another lumpy one, through the Massif Centrale with an uphill finish in Mende on the short but steep Cote de Croix Neuve. Sunday’s stage has the risk of crosswinds, and both should be uncomfortably hot. Vingegaard will simply be looking to get through both without mishaps and try to recover as well as he can ahead of the Pyrenees.

Stage 12 Winner - Tom Pidcock

A day after taking the yellow jersey, Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) remained atop the General Classification of the 2022 Tour de France after finishing sixth on Stage 12 atop the legendary climb of Alpe d’Huez. The Dane had little trouble following the attacks of Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), the two-time defending Tour champion who lost the yellow jersey as the Tour’s overall leader on Stage 11. The Slovenian made three hard accelerations on the upper half of the climb, all of which were easily covered by Vingegaard.

Thanks to his efforts, Pogačar moved up to second overall at 2:22, overtaking France’s Romain Bardet (Team DSM) on the final climb to gain a spot on GC. Great Britain’s Geraint Thomas (INEOS Grenadiers) jumped over the Frenchman into third at 2:26. Bardet recovered enough to stay within sight of the podium; he now sits fourth overall at 2:35.

The stage went to Great Britain’s Tom Pidcock (INEOS Grenadiers), the third-youngest rider in this year’s Tour. Winner of the mountain bike race at the Olympic Games in Tokyo last summer, the Briton used his superior descending skills to bridge up to the breakaway earlier in the stage, putting himself in contention for the victory. South Africa’s Louis Meintjes (Intermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux) finished second, and Great Britain’s Chris Froome (Israel-PremierTech), himself a 4-time winner of the Tour, finished third.

We learned two things on Stage 12: Pogačar has recovered from his jour sans on Stage 11 and has no intention of going down without a fight; and Vingegaard and his Jumbo-Visma team are up to the challenge of defending the yellow jersey. Pogačar pulled no punches when attacking on Alpe d’Huez, but Vingegaard immediately responded, riding tempo behind the Slovenian, almost daring him to blow himself up in a fruitless effort to dislodge the yellow jersey.

Pogačar’s final attack came as the riders approached the finish line, a questionable choice considering there were no time bonuses to be gained. Thomas even shook his head as he crossed the line, perhaps also wondering why Pogačar made such an effort to gain nothing on his rivals. Many have suggested that Pogačar’s relentless attacks during the Tour’s first week left him exposed on Stage 11. If true, his sprint at the end of Stage 12 perhaps indicates that he still has a few lessons to learn. Regardless, we’re in for a treat as the Tour continues. Vingegaard’s lead is large, but Pogačar is the most dangerous rider in the peloton. The Tour is far from over.

Stage 11 Winner - Jonas Vingegaard

Vingegaard’s team set the race on its ear midway through the 151.7km stage, when Primož Roglič accelerated out of the group of contenders and blew up the pack on the long, double ascent of the Col du Telegraphe and Col du Galibier. Pogačar followed along with some of the other top riders, but was isolated from his team, which has been reduced by COVID positives. The two favorites traded attacks but neither could get clear of the other, and small groups eventually reformed on the Galibier and on the descent to the final climb.

On the seldom-used Granon, which hasn’t been a Tour climb in 36 years, Vingegaard’s team strength of five against two for Pogačar’s UAE-Team Emirates squad was quickly reduced, but it didn’t seem to bother the Danish rider. After attacks by Nairo Quintana (Arkea-Samsic) and Romain Bardet (DSM), Vingegaard countered and quickly gained a significant gap on Pogačar (who didn’t really try to follow), then pressed his advantage to overtake all other riders on the road and take a convincing stage win.

Who's Really Winning The Tour?

Jumbo brought their full team strength today and was rewarded with the stage win and race lead for Vingegaard. And what a lead: after entering the day :39 down to Pogačar, he’s now 2:16 clear of Bardet in second, and 2:22 ahead of Pogačar. Jumbo has the strongest team in the race and is now well-positioned to defend Vingegaard’s lead.

For Pogačar’s part, the two-time defending Tour champion struggled on the final climb. Under attack and without teammates, he was visibly uncomfortable, rocking back and forth on the bike with his jersey fully unzipped. Whether it was the effort of responding to Jumbo’s aggression, the heat, the lack of teammates due to COVID, or his own as-yet unseen battle with the virus, Pogačar was in distress in a way that he has never been at the Tour or almost any other race. The next few days will tell us a lot about whether today was just a crack on a wickedly hard day, the start of a bigger fade, or rooted in some other cause.

Stage 10 Winner - Magnus Cort

A medium mountain stage that took a circuitous route past, but not over, some of the most feared climbs in the Alps, Stage 10 was always ripe for a breakaway. It took an hour for the move to get established, with repeated attacks, catches, and counterattacks. A first-hour average speed of 48.4 kilometers per hour decimated the field and briefly left yellow jersey Tadej Pogačar without many of his teammates around him.

The eventually successful breakaway had 25 riders from a whopping 18 of the 22 teams in the race. With such broad representation, the chase lacked enthusiasm and the gap grew to seven minutes, then nine after a brief on-road stop due to climate protesters blocking the race route. With Bora-Hansgrohe’s Lennard Kämna in the move, that put Pogačar’s yellow jersey up for grabs. On the final climb, the break splintered under the pressure of repeated attacks and counters. It briefly re-formed on the finishing ramp of the Megeve Altiport runway, where Cort’s bike throw got him the stage win by just centimeters, from BikeExchange-Jayco’s Nick Schultz.

Yellow jersey Pogačar had no real personal difficulty defending his race lead on the long but relatively gentle climb to the Megeve Altiport. But his grip on the top spot in the standings is looking a bit more tenuous. A second teammate, George Bennett, was forced out of the race with a positive COVID diagnosis, and a third, Rafal Majka, is reportedly positive but allowed to stay in the race for now because he has a low viral load. But UAE is already down to six riders, and if Majka—who has been Pogačar’s best teammate in the mountains—gets worse and has to drop out or even simply can't do his usual workload, that will put major pressure on the remaining riders in the team.

At the same time, challengers like Jumbo-Visma and Ineos Grenadiers are still at full strength. And Jumbo did a savvy move in the final kilometers to lift the pace just enough to ensure Pogačar kept yellow over Kämna. That forces UAE to continue defending the race lead. What’s more, Jumbo and Ineos each have two riders high on the overall standings, which presents a possible strategy of sending someone like Primož Roglič up the road to force Pogačar’s team to chase. If that effort isolates Pogačar, he is vulnerable to attacks that he will have to respond to personally. While the two-time defending champion has looked sharp and aggressive in the race’s first 10 days, it’s worth noting that his 39-second lead over his nearest real challenger, Jumbo’s Jonas Vingegaard, is far less than at this point in last year’s Tour, when he had a five-minute advantage.

Stage 9 Winner - Bob Jungels

Who Is Winning The Tour?

Four years ago, Jungels was a rising star in the sport. A talented time trialist, the 25-year-old had shown his abilities in everything from cobbled classics to the Ardennes, capped by his 2018 win of Liege-Bastogne-Liege, one of the most prestigious one-day races in the sport. But his career was instead sidetracked in a slow fade due to what was diagnosed in 2021 as iliac arterial endofibrosis, a narrowing of pelvic arteries that causes pain and power loss during hard exercise. Surgery forced him to miss last year’s Tour and the Olympics, but appears to have fixed the problem.

His stage win here—along with that LBL win the highlight of his career—is his first victory since 2019 outside Luxembourg’s national championships. It also salvages some of what has so far been a rough Tour for his Ag2r team, which has seen yellow jersey contender Ben O’Connor’s GC hopes go up in smoke the past few days with his own health issues, plus the COVID-forced withdrawal of Geoffrey Bouchard yesterday morning.

Five-time Tour de France winner Bernard Hinault, nicknamed “the Badger” for his tenacious, gritty racing style, has a motto for yellow jersey contenders: no gifts. It’s one that Pogačar appears to take to heart. On a day where the current race leader could have simply rolled across the line with his rivals, he was instead aggressive, punching out in the final few hundred meters even though no stage win or time bonuses were on the line.

Whether surprised or just exhausted after a hard week of racing, most of the rest of the diminished group of contenders didn’t immediately respond, save one rider: Jumbo-Visma’s Jonas Vingegaard, who is rapidly emerging as the lone candidate with any credible shot of denying Pogačar a third straight Tour victory. Vingegaard fought hard to claw back to Pogačar’s wheel at the finish line. The rest of the group conceded another three seconds to Pogačar’s steadily growing lead. One rider—Ineos Grenadiers’ Dani Martinez—fell out of contention entirely after being dropped on the final climb. He gave up 16 minutes and dropped 20 places on the overall classification. Another hopeful, Cofidis’ Guillaume Martin, was ruled out at the start with COVID-19, the third rider to be sidelined by the virus once the race started. Monday is a rest day in Morzine, where the race will test every rider. More forced withdrawals are likely.

Stage 8 Winner - Wout van Aert

Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) remained the overall leader of the 2022 Tour de France after finishing third on Stage 8 in Lausanne, Switzerland. Thanks to the 4-second time bonus he earned with his third-place finish, Pogačar extended his lead on the Tour’s General Classification to 39 seconds over Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and 1:14 over Great Britain’s Geraint Thomas (INEOS Grenadiers). Belgium’s Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) outsprinted Australia’s Michael Matthews (Team BikeExchange-Jayco) to win the stage, his second victory in this year’s Tour.

At one point it looked as if Pogačar was about to take his third victory in a row, as the Slovenian covered every surge on the climb to the finish line, his team firmly in control of the race. In effect, his team’s efforts handed the race to van Aert by setting such a high pace that no one could accelerate away before the inevitable small group sprint. With one stage left before the Rest Day, Pogačar is firmly in control of the race, and with a longer, Category 1 climb to the finish line at the end of Stage 9, the 23-year-old could extend his lead some more.

Van Aert was the day’s biggest winner, as the Belgian essentially put the green jersey away with his second stage win. He now leads the Netherlands’ Fabio Jakobsen (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) by 75 points on the Tour’s Points Classification, and few chances for the sprinters remaining in this year’s Tour, should have little trouble defending the jersey all the way to Paris. The Belgian’s large lead also means that he can now focus his energy on supporting Vingegaard’s efforts to try and upset Pogačar at the top of the Tour’s General Classification, a tall order that will take a coordinated team effort to pull off.

Stage 7 Winner - Tadej Pogacar

The Tour’s first true summit finish always leads to a clarification on who’s got the legs and who doesn’t, and the steep gravel ramps of the Super Planche des Belles Filles held true to that rule. When Pogačar’s last teammate, Rafal Majka, swung off the front with just a kilometer to go, the opportunity was ripe for an attack on an isolated yellow jersey. Instead, it was Pogačar himself who jumped, quickly going clear with a handful of challengers including the Jumbo duo of Vingegaard and Primož Roglič and Ineos Grenadiers’ Geraint Thomas and Adam Yates.

As other riders—DSM’s Romain Bardet, David Gaudu of Groupama-FDJ, and Movistar’s Enric Mas—slipped off the front, it was Vingegaard who made the attack in the last 200 meters that finally overhauled lone breakaway survivor Lennard Kämna (Bora-Hansgrohe). Vingegaard briefly got a gap on Pogačar, but the two-time Tour winner dug deep and put in his own massive acceleration to come past Vingegaard just before the finish line. Roglič led the others across the line, 12 seconds behind.

Just as in 2021, it’s looking like a two-rider race for the overall, and it’s the same pair: Pogačar and Vingegaard. Roglič looked surprisingly strong for a guy who separated his shoulder two days ago, but Vingegaard has been the only rider in the peloton capable of even briefly challenging Pogačar the last year or so.

Pogačar, for his part, seems entirely capable of withstanding that challenge. While his team performed decently today, what’s been clear the first week of the Tour is that Pogačar is not only capable, but confident, riding on his own. His calculated aggression at the finish today speaks to a deep reserve of mental strength; briefly gapped, he could have told himself a few seconds weren't worth the effort. But in hauling Vingegaard back and going past him for the win, he sent an unmistakable message: there are no cracks here. Vingegaard is the only rider within a minute of Pogačar on overall time, and with Roglič well back in 13th place, almost three minutes down, if Jumbo wants to win the Tour it’s going to require Roglič to take a secondary role in service of the team that he normally leads.

Stage 6 Winner - Tadej Pogacar

Pogačar was always going to be the most-marked rider at the Tour, but he seemed entirely untroubled by that focus as he struck out for a stage win and the overall lead. A day-long breakaway by yellow jersey Wout van Aert was caught with 11km to go, but having the race leader out front meant the pace was infernally high: Pogačar’s average speed for the four-and-a-half hour stage was an astonishing 49.4kph: more than 5kph higher than the fastest expected time.

The fatigue from the pace showed in the final kilometers: a touch of wheels on a straight section of road just inside 10km to go brought down a handful of riders and caused a split in the pack that delayed Vlasov. Then, the two final climbs whittled the lead group to under 40 riders, then 30, and finally just 14. Surprisingly, it was Jumbo-Visma’s Primož Roglič—suffering a separated shoulder from a crash yesterday—who started the sprint, but Pogačar quickly countered and no one could match his speed. He’ll enter Friday’s seventh stage as overall leader by four seconds over EF Education First-Easypost's Neilson Powless, and a likely repeat stage winner.

Stage 5 Winner - Simon Clarke

Clarke missed the day’s breakaway but bridged across and held tough over 11 sectors of rough cobbled roads to take a photo-finish sprint victory over Taco van der Hoorn (Intermarché-Wanty). The 35-year-old Australian has been a pro since 2006, with 11 seasons on the WorldTour. And he’s twice won stages of the Vuelta Espańa. But his improbable win here—he’s a climber, not a cobbled Classics specialist—is the jewel in his long career.

Van Aert managed to stay in yellow despite any number of challenges. An early crash left him looking uncharacteristically hesitant on the first sections of cobbles, well back in the pack. But when disaster befell his Jumbo-Visma team in the form of mechanicals and crashes, van Aert sprung into action, putting his formidable TT skills to work pacing teammate Jonas Vingegaard. As a result of his efforts, he managed to stay in yellow, but his lead shrank to 13 seconds.

Who’s Really Winning The Tour?

Two-time defending champion Tadej Pogačar (UAE-Team Emirates) looked as unruffled and at ease as one can be while bouncing over cobbled roads at 50 kilometers an hour. Pogačar was attentive and at the front all day, and usually had at least one or two teammates nearby. He had no crashes and no mechanicals of note. When Trek-Segafredo’s Jasper Stuyven struck out in late pursuit of the breakaway, it was Pogačar—and only Pogačar—who managed to match the pace. The pair never made the catch, but finished 14 seconds clear of the furious, van Aert-led chase. Although Pogačar drops one spot on GC to fourth, he put time into every one of his competitors. The Ineos Grenadiers trio of Geraint Thomas, Dani Martinez, and Adam Yates stemmed most of the damage, as did Bora’s Aleksandr Vlasov. All came home in the van Aert/Vingegaard group close behind Pogačar.

By contrast, Jumbo had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day saved only by van Aert’s heroic pulls. Co-leader Vingegaard had a panicked series of bike changes after a flat and looked to lose serious time until van Aert steadied the chase. Ultimately, he lost just 14 seconds and sits seventh overall, 21 seconds behind Pogaçar. Far less fortunate was teammate Primož Roglič, caught in a senseless crash on the pavement caused by an errant haybale in a roundabout. Roglič quickly dropped off the pace and, despite help from teammates, conceded over two minutes to Pogačar. He’s now way back in 44th overall. Ag2r’s Ben O’Connor had an even worse day, shipping almost three and a half minutes to Pogačar, while Bahrain-Victorious’ Jack Haig dropped out.

Stage 4 Winner - Wout van Aert

It had been a bittersweet overall lead until now for van Aert, who took the yellow jersey on time bonuses, but had finished second on three straight stages. The Belgian superstar left nothing to chance on Stage 4. After a relatively quiet stage, his Jumbo-Visma team laid down a blistering pace leading into the day’s final climb, the short and not-particularly steep Côte du Cap Blanc-Nez, at 10.8km to go. Van Aert's average speed over the final 20km was a time-trial like 52.2kph.

The pack seemed unprepared for such a strong, team-wide move, and a small group briefly went clear with van Aert, teammate Jonas Vingegaard, and Ineos Grenadiers’s Adam Yates. The bulk of the pack came back together shortly over the summit, but van Aert took advantage of the chaos to keep the tempo high, and the expert time-trialist quickly got a gap of almost 30 seconds on a demoralized, disorganized chase. By steadily accruing time bonuses, van Aert has stretched his lead out to 25 seconds over second place. And with the next two stages—Wednesday’s cobbled affair and Thursday’s punchy uphill finish in Longwy—suiting his talents, he could add to both his lead and career stage win totals.

Jumbo’s attack showed the team’s aggression and discipline, as the move was almost perfectly executed and caught not just van Aert's rival sprinters, but many GC hopefuls, by surprise. Although the race came back together before the finish, what was maybe most notable was that Vingegaard was part of the small first group over the climb, while teammate and co-leader Primož Roglič wasn’t.

Maybe Roglič (correctly) bet the race would come back together and it wasn’t a wise use of strength. But after he seemed slightly less fit on climbs than Vingegaard at June’s Criterium du Dauphiné, the fact that he wasn’t present at a crucial moment will do little to settle the debate about which rider is the team’s best shot at yellow. Elsewhere, Ineos was clearly the most watchful of the GC teams, with Yates, Geraint Thomas, and Dani Martinez attentive at the front. There’s a lot of race left in the Tour but we may look back on today’s events as a predictor of what was to come.

Stage 3 Winner - Dylan Groenewegen

Belgium’s Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) remained the new overall leader of the 2022 Tour de France after finishing second on Stage 3 in Sønderborg. The 27-year-old actually extended his lead by earning a 6-second time bonus on the finish line. The Netherland’s Dylan Groenewegen (Team BikeExchange-Jayco) won the stage, his first Tour stage win since 2019.

The Tour now takes a day off to travel back to France, with van Aert leading the Tour’s General Classification by 7 seconds over Belgium’s Yves Lampaert (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) and 14 seconds over Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates). The next three stages suit the Belgian’s talents, so there’s a good chance that he’ll hold the Tour’s yellow jersey for a few more days.

Who’s really winning the Tour?

A relatively peaceful stage was interrupted by a large crash with about 10km to-go, emphasizing how important it is to stay as close to the front as possible at the end of these early stages.

Luckily, most of the Tour’s GC contenders managed to avoid losing time, with the exception of Colombia’s Rigoberto Uran (EF Education-EasyPost), who was held up by a crash for the second day in row and this time was unable to rejoin the leaders. The 35-year-old lost 39 seconds by the finish, a tough blow to his chances of scoring a high finish in Paris.

Stage 2 Winner - Fabio Jakobsen

Belgium’s Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) is the new overall leader of the 2022 Tour de France. The 27-year-old finished on Stage 2 in Nyborg and earned a 6-second time bonus for his efforts, enough to take the yellow jersey from his compatriot Yves Lampaert (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl), who entered the day in yellow after winning Stage 1. Van Aert will start Sunday’s Stage 3 with a 1-second lead over Lampaert, and an 8-second lead over Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates).

But all was not lost for Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl as Dutch sprinter Fabio Jakobsen won the stage. Riding his first Tour de France, the 25-year-old rewarded the faith his team displayed by bringing him to the Tour over Great Britain’s Mark Cavendish, who won four stages last year and remains one win away from becoming the winningest rider in Tour history. (He currently shares the honor with Belgian legend Eddy Merckx.)

A lot of bullets were dodged on Stage 2 as the strong winds that were expected to blow apart the race had little impact, most likely because the Great Belt Bridge was so wide that the peloton could spread itself across the road, offering shelter to everyone who needed it.

There were crashes, though. EF Education-EasyPost’s Rigoberto Urán went down just before the peloton turned onto the Great Belt Bridge, but thanks to a little help from his teammates, the Colombian was able to rejoin the peloton. Lampaert was brought down by a crash as well, but the peloton seemed to slow a bit, perhaps out of deference to the Belgian’s yellow crash.

A larger crash cut-off about two thirds of the peloton as it raced toward the finish line, but it happened inside the final 3km, which meant no one lost time on the Tour’s General Classification. That’s why Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), who finished the stage almost three minutes after Jakobsen, still sits third overall.

So in the end, while the yellow jersey changed hands, the race to win the Tour was unaffected. And considering how crazy the opening stages of the Tour de France can be, that’s a win for everyone.

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• Moscow Travel and City Excursions

Our 20 Best Moscow Day Tours of 2022

See all that Moscow has to offer by choosing one or more of our incredible Moscow day tours. Visit Red Square , St. Basil’s , the Kremlin or perhaps a vodka museum and the fantastic Moscow metro system , we have it all. Our expert, informative and fun guides will help you get to know Europe’s largest city. Please click on the day tour details to learn more or contact us for more information about our Moscow tours using the form at the side of the page.  You can also schedule a call with one of our Russian travel specialists to learn more.

Head to the heart of Moscow with a professional guide on a 4-hour private walk through the city center. See Tverskaya and Old Arbat streets, Theatre Square with the world-famous Bolshoi Theatre, and the former KGB headquarters...

• Schedule Daily 09:00 - 20:00
• Languages English-speaking guide is guaranteed. Other languages are on request.
• Walking tours Transportation is not included
• PRIVATE TOUR This is a private tour, there won't be other people in your group

Panoramic City Tour. This Moscow tour is a great start to your trip and the best way to get acquainted with many of the city’s major highlights. Our professional guide will escort you on a route that includes Vorobyevi...

• Schedule Daily 09:00 - 18:00
• Tours by car Transportation by private car/minivan is included

This tour offers a detailed look into the history and present-day life of the Jewish community of Moscow. On the tour, you will visit sites connected with the cultural and religious life of different Jewish families, as well...

• Schedule Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday 11:00 - 20:00 Friday 10:00 - 14:00 Saturday not available

The tour begins with a drive or walk down Tverskaya Street – a Soviet masterpiece. In the years of Soviet power, Tverskaya began to undergo a transformation: it was widened to two and a half times its original size,...

This is a very interesting and insightful tour. You will visit places connected with Stalin’s terror - a time of great repression and fear. You will be shown monuments to the victims of the repression. You will then...

You will be told of the street’s interesting history and view the street’s artisan culture. You will also have the opportunity to view and purchase souvenirs from the street’s many craftsmen....

The Kremlin is truly a fascinating structure, at the same time it is an ancient tower, the city’s former military fortification, a palace, an armory, the sovereign treasury and the workplace of the Russian President....

• Schedule Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday 10:00 - 17:00 Thursday not available

This world-famous gallery contains masterpieces of Russian art beginning in the 10th century up until today. You will view exquisite Russian icons and paintings from the 18th and 19th century including works by Rublyov, Karavak,...

• Schedule Monday not available Tuesday, Wednesday, Sunday 10:00 - 17:00 Thursday, Friday, Saturday 10:00 - 20:00

Tour of the Novodevichy Monastery. Founded in 1524 by Grand Prince VasiliIoanovich, the original convent was enclosed by fortified walls and contained 12 towers. The structure served as a convent for women of noble birth...

• Schedule Daily 09:00 - 17:00

The Moscow Metro is one of the largest and most grandly built metro systems in the world. It was meant to be a showcase of the Soviet Union’s achievements for both the Russians themselves and for visitors from abroad....

• Schedule Daily 10:00 - 17:00

The history of Kolomenskoye stretches back for centuries. In 1380, Dmitri Donskoi’s army passed through Kolomenskoye on their way to the Kulikovo battlefield, and it was here that Donskoi celebrated his victory over...

• Schedule Monday not available Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday 10:00 - 17:00 Saturday 11:00 - 18:00

Considered by some to be the Russian Vatican, Sergiev Posad is the temporary residence of the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Trinity St. Sergius Monastery (Lavra) was built in the first half of the 1340s by...

The Tsaritsyno Estate is located in the southern part of Moscow. The estate was constructed for Catherine the Great by the Russian architects Bazhenov and Kazakov in a romantic gothic style. The complex includes a landscape...

• Schedule Monday not available Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 11:00 - 17:00 Saturday 11:00 - 19:00 Sunday 11:00 - 18:00

The Kuskovo Estate often called the Moscow Versailles due to its perfectly preserved French park, is an example of an 18th century, luxurious Moscow summer residence. Its history dates back to 1715, when the village of Kuskovo...

• Schedule Monday, Tuesday not available Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday 10:00 - 18:00

Vodka is an important component of Russian life, an element of national identity and everyday culture. We invite you to visit the Vodka Museum and feel the atmosphere of long-gone centuries. You will get to know the story...

• Schedule Daily 10:00 - 19:00

Take this opportunity to learn more about the Russian writer Lev Tolstoy. During the visit to the museum you will see part of a vast collection of exhibits connected to Tolstoy and his family including books and personal...

• Schedule Monday not available Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday 10:00 - 17:00 Thursday 12:00 - 19:00

This apartment museum located close to Patriarch Ponds became the prototype of the "bad apartment" described in the novel "The Master and Margarita." Currently the museum's collection includes more than three thousand...

• Schedule Monday not available Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday 12:00 - 19:00 Thursday 14:00 - 21:00

Express to Russia specializes in Moscow city excursions, an essential part of your Moscow travel itinerary. We offer a large variety of day excursions throughout Moscow and its suburbs. From  Red Square  and the  Kremlin  to a city tour of Moscow’s  Old Arbat Street  or the  Moscow metro , an excursion specializing in Stalin and the KGB and much more. No travel to Moscow is complete without taking a few of our day tours that most meet your interest in Russia.

Moscow City Tours

Our Moscow day excursions can be organized on foot or with transport. All of our excursions are led by an experienced guide, specializing in the subject matter of the tour. Excursions are privately run and can be booked for 1 traveler all the way up to large groups of travelers. We run our Moscow city tours in every season. This is because travel to Moscow is excellent in any season. In the summer take a stroll through  Gorky Park  or take a riverboat tour along the Moskva River. In the winter, see Moscow’s winter wonderland of ice and snow and then settle in for a cozy lunch or dinner with a hot bowl of borsht. In winter, spring and fall, you can beat the crowds at all of Moscow’s main attractions and museums. Regardless of when you come, Express to Russia will make sure that your trip is one of your best vacations ever.

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9 Things to See in Moscow's Red Square

 Sir Francis Canker/Getty Images

In most cases, you'll be entering Red Square from the north, passing landmarks such as the Bolshoi Theatre and Duma parliament building as you make your way southward. Although you don't necessarily have to pass through the Voskresensky (or Resurrection in English) Gates in order to gain access to the square these days, they definitely provide a sense of arrival, to say nothing of the way their left arch frame's St. Basil's Cathedral if you look from just the right angle.

An interesting fact is that while a gate of some kind has stood here since the mid-16th century, the one you currently see wasn't built until 1994, having been destroyed in 1931 so that tanks could enter and exit Red Square during military parades.

St. Basil's Cathedral

TripSavvy / Christopher Larson 

Few sights are as iconic not only of Moscow and Red Square but indeed of Russia than St. Basil's Cathedral, whose colorful, onion-shaped domes are a symbol of the country around the world. Officially known as the Cathedral of Vasily the Blessed, this church has stood since 1561, which is quite miraculous when you consider all the turbulent history that has transpired since then.

Among other things, religion was severely prohibited during the Soviet period , which led some to believe that this emblem of the Russian Orthodox church might not withstand the tenure of the USSR. 

An interesting fact is that St. Basil's is the so-called "Kilometer Zero" of Russia; all of Moscow's main roads (which can take you anywhere in Russia) begin at the exits to Red Square. In this way, St. Basil's iconic status also has an extremely tangible element.

The Kremlin

TripSavvy / Christopher Larson

When you think of The Kremlin, it's unlikely that positive images enter your mind. The fact that simply saying the word "Kremlin" is too vague a descriptor (most Russian cities have their own Kremlin complexes; you should say "Moscow Kremlin") notwithstanding, this misunderstood place is incredibly beautiful, even if you don't like the policy that comes out of it.

Senate Square

In spite of its name, which refers to the role the building that rises above the square played during Imperial Russia, Senate Square is actually home to Russia's presidential administration, currently helmed by Vladimir Putin. In order to see where Russia's legislature operates from, walk just outside Red Square to the Duma parliament building.

Dormition Cathedral

Dating back to the year 1479, the gold-domed Dormition Cathedral pays homage to an Orthodox religious feast that commemorates the death of the Virgin Mary . As is the case with St. Basil's, it is curious that such a conspicuously religious structure was able to survive through the Soviet period.

Armoury Chamber

Though it takes its name from the fact that it housed Russia's royal arsenal when it was built in the 16th century, the most notable resident of the Kremlin's Armoury Chamber today is the Russian Diamond Fund.

Notable Kremlin Towers

Robert Schrader

The interior of the Moscow Kremlin is more beautiful and inviting than you'd expect, but the walls and towers that rise around it better live up to the intimidation with which the complex is associated. 

Borovitskaya Tower

Named to commemorate the dense forest that once stood atop the mount where it's built, this tower is extremely picturesque. Built in the late 15th century, it's visible from most places in the square, and also as you walk along the Moskva River.

Nikolskaya Tower

Also built in the year 1491, this tower currently suffered destruction at the hands of Napoleon's army in the 19th century. What you see now is the result of an 1816 re-design and renovation, though artillery fire during the Russian Revolution also caused superficial damage to the tower, named to honor St. Nikolas of Mozhaysk , so it's difficult to know which elements of it are original.

Spasskaya Tower

Known in English as the "Savior's Tower," this iconic, star-topped tower is perhaps the best-known of all the Kremlin's towers. Built in 1491 like the other two towers on this list, it's certainly the most photographed. As a result of its proximity to St. Basil's, it often makes its way into tourists' pictures.

Mausoleum of Lenin

Just as it's strange to learn how many religious monuments survived through the Soviet period, it's a bit odd to think that Lenin's preserved body still sits in a mausoleum just beneath the walls of the Kremlin on Red Square, given the lack of consensus about the ultimate impact of his Revolution, even in Russia.

It's not guaranteed that you'll be able to see the body (which, believe it or not, seems to be improving with age ) when you go, and if you do you will likely have to wait in line, but even strolling past the outside of the Lenin Mausoleum, flanked by stone-faced guards that almost look like statues, illuminates the gravity of his body still being here.

GUM Shopping Center

You might cringe, at least initially, when you realize that one of the most iconic stops on a tour of Red Square is a department store—until you see said department store, that is. Built in 1893 and known during Soviet times as the State Department Store, GUM  ( Glávnyj Universáľnyj Magazín​ or Main Universal Store in English) hearkens back to the grandeur of the late 19th century, both seen from the outside (especially, when lit up at night) and the interior, which might have you feeling like you're further west in Europe.

A trip inside GUM is a particularly good idea during winter, when frigid temperatures outside will have you savoring the heat, the quality of souvenirs, confections and other goods sold inside notwithstanding. Also, make sure not to confuse GUM with CDM, which sits near the Bolshoi Theatre, even though both are stunning and iconic in their own right.

State Historical Museum

The Russian State Historical Museum is located near Voskresensky Gates, though you should wait until after you've seen the first few attractions of Red Square and the Kremlin to head back there and go inside. To be sure, as you pass by its facade (whose late-19th century grandeur somewhat obscures that fact that it's currently a museum accessible to the public) you might not even think to try and gain entry.

Once inside the museum, you can plan to spend at least a couple of hours, given that artifacts here date back to the very beginning of the Russian state in the ninth century. As is the case with GUM, this will be a particularly alluring prospect if you visit in winter, when Moscow is arguably at its most beautiful, but certainly at its least tolerable. 

Minin-Pozharsky Monument

It's somewhat easy to disregard this monument, which pays homage to the two Russian princes who ended the so-called "Time of Troubles" in the mid-16th century, during which Polish-Lithuanian forces occupied Russia, among other awful things including a famine. That's because the statue currently sits just at the base of St. Basil's Cathedral, which makes it very difficult to photograph or even see without being overwhelmed by that much more famous edifice.

Though the statue originally sat at the very center of Red Square, it came to be an obstacle to the movement of tanks during the Soviet period, much like the Voskresensky Gates. As a result, authorities moved it during that time, and it's stayed where you currently find it ever since.

Kazan Cathedral

Taken by itself, the smokey-pink Kazan Cathedral is an architectural marvel; originally built in the 17th century, the church you find here today, located just north of the GUM department store, dates back only to 1993.

Unfortunately, since it sits not only in the shadow of GUM, but also in the shadow St. Basil's and the Towers of the Kremlin, it's easy to miss entirely if you aren't looking. As a result, you might wait until you've seen just about everything else in Red Square before coming here to take photos, and to appreciate the understated beauty of this oft-overlooked cathedral.

Moskva River

As you head south from St. Basil's Cathedral to exit Red Square, make sure to walk onto Bolshoy Moskvoretskiy Bridge, which crosses the Moskva River. If you look due north, you can get an excellent shot of the church framed, on the left, by the towers of the Kremlin. Directing your gaze a bit to the west allows you to see the skyscrapers of Moscow City as they rise above the Kremlin's walls.

Walking westward along the riverbank is also a worthwhile excursion, for the views it provides of Red Square and the Kremlin, as well as the fact that doing so takes you to other iconic Moscow attractions, including Gorky Park and the Pushkin Museum. The views you enjoy from the river and the bridge are particularly stunning at night, though you should make sure you bring a tripod if you want to get a clear picture, given how strong winds over and near the river can be.

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Tour de France 2022: Cort keeps mountain jersey

Magnus Cort takes no KOM points in the 6th stage of the Tour, but he keeps the polka dots. ( Slideshow route/profile )

KOM competition stage 6

1. Magnus Cort 11 2. Wout van Aert 2 3. Alexis Vuillermoz 2 4. Quinn Simmons 1 5. Jakob Fuglsang 1 6. David Gaudu 1

(Simmons started the stage with a 1 KOM point penalty)

Côte de Mazures – 2 kilometres at 7.6% – at kilometre 87.2 – category 3

1. Quinn Simmons 2 2. Jakob Fuglsang 1

Côte de Montigny-sur-Chiers – 1.6 kilometres at 4.4% – at kilometre 205.0 – category 4

1. Wout van Aert 1

Côte de Pulventeux – 800 metres at 12.3% – at kilometre 214.6 – category 3

1. Alexis Vuillermoz 2 2. David Gaudu 1

Another interesting read: points competition stage 6.

Tour de France 2022 stage 6: routes & profiles

Click on the images to zoom