“When those two passed me, I felt like I wasn’t in the same sport as them,” Tobias Halland Johannesen (Uno X-Mobility) said of being passed. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) and Jonas Wingegaard (Visma Riis-a-Bike) battled on the final climb for the win of Stage 15. Tour de France During the withdrawal.
The Tour’s two best climbers, led by Visma’s Matteo Jorgenson, came into the final climb of Plateau de Beille 2 minutes 35 seconds behind the group of five who had emerged from the day’s break at the front: Johannessen, Jay Hindley (Red Bull Bora-Hansgrohe), Enric Mas (Movistar), Laurens de Plus (Ineos Grenadiers) and Richard Carapaz (EF Education Easypost).
But after tackling the hellish 15.8km beast of the Pyrenees, Stage winner Pogacar At the finish line Olympic champion Carapaz was 5 minutes 41 seconds behind the race leader, with Johannesen even further back at 6 minutes 27 seconds behind.
Pogačar’s advantage was so great that, despite finishing third on the day and third overall, Remco Evenepoel He had already started warming down on his TT bike when (Soudal-QuickStep) crossed the finish line.
“I knew Pogacar and Wingegaard would catch me on the final climb. All that was left to do was to win the breakaway and I think it was Carapaz who did it,” said Johannesen, defeated but in awe of the duo who have won the past four Tour de France.
“For me, when those two passed me, I felt like I wasn’t in the same sport as them. They’re so good, you want to hate them, but they’re cool people and they make cycling so fun to watch, so it’s a bit tough.” [They are] On another level.”
The Norwegian is used to being beaten by Pogacar and Vingegaard and missed out on his first Tour stage win behind the superstars when the Slovenian won Stage 6 of the 2023 Tour at Cauterets-Cambasque.
Johannesen’s inclusion was a big one, as he was part of a number of moves along the hellish 197.7km route with almost 5000m of elevation gain, but he felt he lost energy after missing a key turnoff at Col de Agnes with 73km to go.
“It was good to be in the breakaway, that was the first finish. Then Red Bull Bora-Hansgrohe had a few guys who took the opportunity to split the group before the final climb. I was a bit annoyed to get caught up behind, but I was able to use my aggressiveness to catch up with the group and fight for the win,” said the young Norwegian, acknowledging that it was a tactical battle up to the Plateau de Beille where victory was known to be impossible.
“Some people were a bit angry, but our chances of winning were gone and we entered a tactical phase. We just had to attack and be the last guy to get caught.”
“For me, after I caught up with the leaders, my legs weren’t feeling too good so I knew it was all over. In the end it was nothing but that’s life.”
Johannesen is on his second rest day after two consecutive gruelling days of racing in the Pyrenees, and all eyes are now on his teammate as he attempts to secure a first victory for Uno-X-Mobility in the final six stages.
“Sleep as much as I want, have some cake and coffee, don’t think about cycling for a day and then get back to work,” he said of his plans for Monday.
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