Vingegaard Dethrones Pogačar with Historic Col du Granon Victory in Stage 11
The 2022 Tour de France will forever be remembered for the moment Jonas Vingegaard shattered Tadej Pogačar's dominance on the Col du Granon, one of the most significant upheavals in recent Grand Tour history. In a single, cataclysmic stage—Stage 11—the Danish climber attacked with 4 kilometres remaining on the mighty 11.28-kilometre climb and simply dropped the man who had seemed invincible just hours before. Vingegaard's 59-second stage victory over Nairo Quintana and his subsequent takeover of the yellow jersey marked a turning point so dramatic that the remainder of the race became mere formality. Pogačar, the two-time defending champion, would not wear yellow again.
For ten stages, Pogačar had controlled the race with an iron grip. The Slovenian had won the opening time trial, managed the intermediate stages with tactical perfection, and seemed set to claim an unprecedented third consecutive title. Yet the mountains of the Alps are unforgiving, and when Vingegaard struck at the Granon, Pogačar's physical reserves proved insufficient to match the acceleration. As the Danish rider powered clear, the defending champion cracked spectacularly, finishing the stage in seventh place, over three minutes adrift. Geraint Thomas and Adam Yates also climbed past Pogačar before the finish line, underlining how completely he had been deposed in that single devastating sequence.
The Col du Granon itself deserves recognition as the decisive battleground. This fearsome climb, gaining 779 metres over just 9.2 per cent average gradient, had been carefully placed by race organizers as the penultimate categorized climb before the finish atop the Telegraphe. Vingegaard, however, demonstrated that he needed no mountain finish to unleash his devastating climbing powers. His attack was perfectly timed, and it broke not just Pogačar but the entire edifice upon which the 2022 Tour had been constructed.
Geraint Thomas, the 2018 champion, emerged as the secondary beneficiary of this shift in the race hierarchy. The Ineos Grenadiers leader, who had been a distant third prior to Stage 11, seized the opportunity to close to within touching distance of the podium. His third-place finish demonstrated that while Vingegaard was the dominant force, Thomas had engineered a climb to the podium through intelligent racing and capitalizing on rivals' misfortunes. It was vindication for a rider whose 2022 campaign had seemed to be fading before the critical mountain stages.
In the Pyrenees and the final stages, Vingegaard continued to demonstrate his superiority, controlling every threat and managing the race with absolute precision. His Jumbo-Visma team displayed exceptional tactical acumen, never allowing a rival to gain ground without immediate response. By the time the race reached Paris, Vingegaard's margin had grown to such an extent that the yellow jersey was never seriously threatened.
Simon Meier, the young Swiss climber, claimed fourth place overall, demonstrating the remarkable depth of climbing talent that emerged in 2022. Yet the podium—Vingegaard, Pogačar, and Thomas—told the real story: the ascendancy of a new champion, the fall of a dominant figure, and the resurgence of a proven Tour winner. Vingegaard's first Tour victory came not through incremental gains but through a seismic shift on one Alpine climb.
This race marked a generational moment in professional cycling. Vingegaard had declared himself not merely a contender but the Tour's most formidable climber, capable of winning the race's most prestigious prize. Pogačar, though stunned, remained undeterred; within two years, he would return to win the Tour again. But in 2022, on the Col du Granon, it was Vingegaard's moment, and he seized it with both hands.