Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar are locked in an intense race to claim the yellow jersey, and at present, the former holds it by just 17 seconds after Stage 11 had concluded.
The defending champion from last year’s event has been holding his own and keeping his distance from the UAE Team Emirates competitor over the last since Stage 6, when the Dane took overall control of the yellow jersey.
The Slovenian has been consistent in his quest for the iconic jersey throughout the event, but has yet to take the lead or possession of the famous shirt. Nonetheless, it does appear that he is closing the gap on his rival and the man that ended his previous dominance of the title.
How has the Tour de France 2023 gone so far for Vingegaard and Pogacar?
Starting with Vingegaard, it could be argued that the 2023 Tour de France could not have gone too much better to this point. Admittedly, the 26-year-old did have a tough start to his title defence, as he finished the first stage in ninth place, before climbing to sixth after claiming five bonus seconds in Stage 2. He would remain in sixth until the conclusion of Stage 5, where he would climb up to second.
The Dane then pushed on with his quest to hold on to his crown as he has led every stage between 6 and 11, keeping the likes of Pogacar and the rest of the field at bay. Of course, there is still plenty of cycling to go, but he is looking good at this moment.
Pogacar – Vingegaard’s main rival – has had his own battles in the early stages of this year’s Tour de France, but it appears that he is finally starting to hot up and find his rhythm on the course. The Slovenian finished Stage 1 in third before climbing to second and just six seconds behind Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates teammate) by the end of Stage 2. Since then, the 24-year-old has been in that position for all bar one of the stages since then and looks to be closing the gap on the yellow jersey holder.
This is something that has been noticed by many, with some feeling that he will be able to overcome the leader and take the lead when it matters, thus being crowned the winner at the end of the event. If we look at the 2023 Tour de France odds available on the online betting site Unibet, we can see that Pogacar is the favorite with an odds of 1,90, whereas Vingegaard’s value is at 2,00.
It is not a surprise to see that these two men are among the favorites to win the event, as they have been the main winners over the last couple of years. In 2021, Pogacar was the yellow jersey winner, while Vingegaard finished second overall, while these positions were reversed in the edition that took place last year. Many are expecting the same one-two this year, and with both having a top spring, both are performing as well as expected thus far.
What continues to lie ahead for Vingegaard and Pogacar?
Avid watchers of the 2023 Tour de France will know that there are still a total of 10 stages left to complete in this year’s edition, forming a total of 21. This means that there is still a lot of racing to be left to take place throughout the country. There are numerous challenges that pose tricky obstacles, with a plethora of mountain stages. Pogacar won Stage 6 which is classified as a mountain stage, and with many of them still to be completed, this is why there are some that believe the Slovenian is the favorite to go on and win.
Nonetheless, Vingegaard should not be ruled out by any means at this stage. He is the overall leader and does have the added motivation behind him of being the current champion. If he continues to perform as well as he has, it could be another victory for the Jumbo-Visma team this year, and perhaps their time to dominate the competition.