Their jerseys flashed once more at the front of the group in the final kilometers of the next memorable day at the 110th Tour de France. There was Emanuel Buchmann, with the black, red and gold stripes on his chest that distinguish him as the German road cycling champion, and he was now pushing the pace to the limit in the field of pursuers. Behind him Jai Hindley, his teammate and captain of Bora-Hansgrohe in the overall leader’s yellow jersey. So they rushed into the last ascent, through the spa town of Cauterets, known for its hot springs, although this last stage of the sixth stage of the tour was not like a wellness program either.
And even if Buchmann and Hindley were formally among the defeated of the day in the end, they were allowed to feel like winners, at least a little bit.
Those two days in the Pyrenees, stages five and six of the Tour, had roiled the rankings like a hurricane the sea, and thus about as much as the Tour organizers might have hoped. Defending champion Jonas Vingegaard took over the yellow jersey from Hindley in Cauterets-Cambasque on Thursday, but the 50 seconds he’d earned the day before with a surprise attack on his great rival Tadej Pogacar promptly returned Pogacar with an equally fierce attack on Thursday by half to melt.
Behind them was a race for third place in the standings – with currently the best hand for Jai Hindley, the Australian from the German Bora team. His stage win on Wednesday in Laruns had also given him the lead in the overall standings, and even though he dropped out of the top position again the day after, he landed softly: behind the two grandmasters, in third place in the overall standings, the one at the end of them Tour will probably amount to a small, unofficial overall victory.
Victory on points: Tadej Pogacar is only just behind yellow card holder Jakob Vingegaard in the overall classification.
(Photo: Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AP)
Hindley and his colleagues laid the foundation for this on Wednesday, when the peloton entered the Pyrenees for the first time. The Australian, Buchmann and Patrick Konrad pushed their way into a large breakaway early on and maintained their lead over the peloton before Hindley broke away from all remaining competitors on the last, difficult climb up the Col de Marie Blanque. After 163 kilometers in Laruns he finished 32 seconds ahead of a group around Vingegaard and Buchmann. The 30-year-old Ravensburger, who was fourth overall on the tour four years ago, had not only been at his captain’s side all day, he had also climbed to fourth place in the daily and overall rankings. “It wasn’t actually planned at all,” said Buchmann. They hadn’t expected that with Bora: that UAE Emirates and Jumbo-Visma, the teams of the two big favorites Pogacar and Vingegaard, would let someone like Hindley and his helper go so far.
Vingegaard’s attacks lack sharpness on Thursday
But because that’s the way it was, they pedaled to what is probably the most successful day of their team, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary at the Tour this year – and has been trying for a while to assert itself at the top of the grand tour classifications. Just like in 2022, when Hindley won the Giro d’Italia on his side on the final weekend.
The Australian felt on Thursday that such a coup on the tour is accompanied by even more painful duties. Konrad, Buchmann, Bob Jungels, Nils Politt, Marco Haller, they all worked hard in the peloton to keep the breakaway group from escaping too far. At the latest on the ascent to the Tourmalet you could see that this is not the natural habitat of the heavier riders like Haller and Politt, they looked a bit like bulls in a racehorse derby. Hindley and Buchmann were then alone on the climb quite early. Capturing yellow is one thing, defending it, for days, is another entirely.
At the Tourmalet, a copy of the previous day seemed to develop rapidly. Jumbo-Visma pulled the group of favorites apart, Hindley and Buchmann also fell out, soon only Vingegaard and Pogacar were left. But this time Pogacar survived his rival’s start – unlike the day before, when the Slovenian immediately lost contact with the Dane at the Col de Marie Blanque. Pogacar, according to the reading at the time, had apparently lost a little more substance than expected in his fall before the tour. “You really have Pogacar on the hook, don’t let go now,” creaked the team radio from Jumbo, which they show for the first time on the tour this year.
“I really had deja vu,” Pogacar admitted on Thursday. “I thought, if things go like this again today, we can pack our bags here.” But Vingegaard’s second attack, on the last climb up to Cauterets-Cambasque, was also lacking in sharpness, the Dane’s face was slowly showing exhaustion. And Pogacar, endowed with excellent racing instincts, seemed to sense it. His start shortly before the finish was like a club blow from which Vingegaard never recovered. When he crossed the finish line, just over 20 seconds behind stage winner Pogacar, he got off his bike – and looked nothing like the new yellow jersey wearer. More like a boxer saved from being knocked out by the gong.
“I wouldn’t call it revenge for yesterday,” Pogacar later said, “but of course I was very worried after Jonas’ performance. Now, of course, I feel a lot better.” And Vingegaard, who as usual dryly conceded that this time Pogacar was “simply stronger” and he would rather have two minutes as a credit, not 25 seconds. A continuation will probably follow on the new stage, on Sunday up to the Puy de Dome.
And otherwise? Emanuel Buchmann, who worked a lot in the wind on Thursday, fell back as expected on the last climb and also dropped out of the top ten in the overall ranking. But that was enough to lift Hindley to third place and keep it in the minds of observers after his coup on Wednesday. “I’m left-handed, from Perth, Western Australia,” was how the 27-year-old introduced himself after his triumph. “I love riding my road bike. I like avocado on toast and a flat white, just the standard stuff.” If this tour continues like this, he will have to reveal a little more about himself.