After splitting from the lead group, Vauquelin won his maiden Grand Tour stage and became the second French winner of the 2024 race, riding for Arkea-B&B Hotels.
Pogacar of UAE-Team Emirates overtook his chief challenger and previous year’s victor, Jonas Vingegaard, when he surged ahead on the last climb of the 199.2km stage to Bologna, Italy.
Pogacar and Visma-Lease a Bike’s Dane Vingegaard crossed the finish line together, but Pogacar’s better stage result earned him the yellow jersey.
When asked if he would have preferred to win the stage, Pogacar replied, “No, because the breakaway was too strong.”
This is what happened in the end when we just let natural selection take its course. We chose to remain more composed and peaceful because going for the stage victory might have undoubtedly backfired, but in the end, I tried pushing myself.
Pogacar and Vingegaard, who have combined to win the last four La Grande Boucle races, had the same overall time as Richard Carapaz of Ecuador and Remco Evenepoel of Soudal-Quick Step in Belgium.
Perhaps the biggest loser of the day was Primoz Roglic, who crossed the finish line in a 19-man group of general classification contenders and gave lost 21 seconds to Pogacar and Vingegaard.
