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Friday, July 18, 2025
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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia
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Bill and Carol McGann's book The Story of the Tour de France, Vol 2: 1976 - 2018 is available in print, Kindle eBook & Audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.
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We posted the race organizer's stage 12 report with the results.
Here's the stage 12 report from stage winner and new GC leader Tadej Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates-XRG:
Producing one of the finest displays of his career, Tadej Pogačar put his rivals to the sword on the Hautacam, winning stage 12 of the Tour de France and reclaiming the Yellow Jersey. Putting more than two minutes into the next-best rider, Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), Pogačar now leads the Tour de France by three and a half minutes.
Tadej Pogacar wins at Hautacam. ASO photo
On the first summit finish of the race, Pogačar and his UAE Team Emirates-XRG colleagues produced a vintage show of teamwork, with every rider stepping up to the mark to help the Slovenian pick up his 20th stage victory at the Tour de France. In doing so, the Emirati squad put their rivals on the back foot and ensured that Pogačar is now the man to beat heading into the final nine stages.
With his all-conquering efforts on Hautacam, Pogačar made history by becoming the first reigning world champion to win a Tour de France summit finish since the great Bernard Hinault in 1981.
Coming less than 24 hours after the tragic death of the promising Hagens Berman Jayco rider, Samuele Privitera, Pogačar dedicated his victory to the young Italian who sadly passed away after a crash at the Valle d’Aosta.
Pogačar: “I think this stage can go for Samuele, and to all his family. It was really sad. It was the first thing I read this morning.
“I was thinking about him in the last kilometre and how tough this sport can be.”
Having watched his teammates step up to the mark on the first true day in the mountains at this year’s Tour, the world champion also reserved credit for those who had helped him to a third stage victory of this year’s race.
Pogačar [Cont]: “I knew from the first time I rode Hautacam in a recon, that it was a super nice climb. I was always looking forward to riding this climb and then it came in the 2022 Tour de France. There, I was trying with my head through the wall to get back the Yellow Jersey, but Jumbo-Visma was too strong back then.
“I almost forgot about this, I was just looking forward to today. But all the people were telling me that this was revenge time, and then when we approached the bottom of the climb, it was the reverse story of a few years ago. One Belgian guy was again on the front, Tim [Wellens], and our team was in the front, I am super happy to take time and to win on this climb.
“For sure, you don’t know how the body reacts after the crash [of stage 11]. It was not too bad. I feel my hip only when I do acrobatics, but here I am just riding the bike so there’s not a lot of flexing.
“We did a super job. The team rode super well, chapeau also to Ben Healy and EF. They were trying to defend the [Yellow] Jersey, they show a really big spirit and also Uno-X, they fight for their own GC so it was a hard day for everybody. In the end, we were super strong, we had this stage in mind for a long time and we did it.”
Stage 12 offered UAE Team Emirates-XRG the chance to stamp its authority on the race, and it did so in style. From the gun, the Belgian national champion Tim Wellens was on the hunt for a spot in the breakaway, and when a 51-rider move went clear after 20km of racing, the 34-year-old was present.
With Wellens representing the Emirati squad up front, Nils Politt quickly went to work in the peloton, swapping turns with Kasper Asgreen (EF Education-EasyPost) and Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) to keep the break at no more than arm’s length. It was clear from this point on that Pogačar fancied his chances at a third stage win.
As the break stood at a little under two minutes ahead of the peloton, Visma-Lease a Bike tried their hand on the Col du Soulor. With Jonas Vingegaard the closest competitor to Pogačar in the general classification, the Dutch squad evidently wanted to make life difficult for the Slovenian, who was riding into the unknown after his stage 11 crash.
Between Tiesj Benoot and Victor Campenaerts, Visma-Lease a Bike piled on the pressure, quickly distancing Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) from the peloton, but so too their own teammate Matteo Jorgenson. Given the American’s difficulty, the Dutch squad soon slackened the pace and it was once more down to UAE Team Emirates-XRG to dictate proceedings.
Rallying around their team leader, Adam Yates and Jhonatan Narváez stood by Pogačar’s side, as Wellens took his leave from the breakaway to drop back and help. That moment came with 29km to go, with the Belgian national champion immediately driving the pace of the heavily-reduced group of favourites. In fact, Wellens drove the group onto the lower slopes of the final climb, the revered Hautacam.
Standing at 7.9% for 13.5km, the Hautacam held bad memories for Pogačar, who was taken to task by Vingegaard on the way to the Dane’s first Tour de France victory in 2022. There would be no repeat of this glory for Visma-Lease a Bike, however, who soon found Vingegaard isolated in the company of those from UAE Team Emirates-XRG.
With 12.2km of the day to go, Narváez marched to the front and began to cap off what had proved one of his very best days on a bike. The Ecuadorian champion stomped on his pedals in a relentless show of force, before being given the go-ahead by Yates to deliver one final punch.
Heading a little under 12km to go, Narváez roared out of his saddle and emptied himself. Soon, only Pogačar and Vingegaard remained on the wheel, before the Slovenian snatched his opportunity to attack. With a few turns of his pedals, Pogačar rid himself of Vingegaard’s company and although the gap between the pair stood at just 10 seconds for perhaps a kilometre or two, it soon began to widen.
Refusing to ease before the line, Pogačar eventually extended his advantage to more than two minutes over the two-time Tour de France champion, as the Dane valiantly fought to limit the deficit. It was to be Pogačar’s day this time around on Hautacam, with the Slovenian paying back his teammates for their tremendous support earlier in the stage.
With the victory, Pogačar rode his way back into the Yellow Jersey, which he now holds with a 3:31 advantage over Vingegaard, and reclaimed the lead of the King of the Mountains classification. His superiority was confirmed on the first summit finish, but many tests stand between the 26-year-old and a fourth Tour de France title in Paris.
First up, Pogačar and the Tour peloton will be pitted against one another in a mountain time trial on Friday afternoon, with stage 13 featuring a 10.9km course up the historic Peyragudes. It will no doubt provide more defining drama in the general classification battle.
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Here's the Tour report from second-place Jonas Vingegaard's Team Visma | Lease a Bike:
Jonas Vingegaard finished second in the first mountain stage of the Tour de France. Team Visma | Lease a Bike animated the twelfth stage early on, but on the final climb to Hautacam, they had no answer to stage winner Tadej Pogacar.
The first mountain stage in the French Pyrenees began with a long, flat run-in. A large breakaway, including Tiesj Benoot, was gradually whittled down on the Col du Soulor. The race came to life on this climb thanks to the yellow-black formation. Team Visma | Lease a Bike took control at the front of the group of favorites, forcing yellow jersey wearer Ben Healy to drop early. Matteo Jorgenson and Remco Evenepoel also struggled, but managed to rejoin the group a bit later.
As the reduced group approached Hautacam, they chased down Bruno Armirail, who was still off the front from the breakaway. As soon as the final climb began, Pogacar launched an immediate attack. Vingegaard tried to follow, but couldn’t hold the Slovenian’s wheel for long. Jorgenson, Sepp Kuss, and Simon Yates had already been distanced earlier. Pogacar rode away unchallenged to take the stage win. Vingegaard eventually conceded just over two minutes and now faces a significant deficit in the general classification.
Jonas Vingegaard on the Hautacam climb. Sirotti photo
“Our plan was to make the race as hard as possible today. We did that, but unfortunately, Matteo had to drop early”, Head of Racing Grischa Niermann says. “After that, we eased the pace a bit, but the goal was still for Jonas to attack on Hautacam. There, Pogacar was clearly the strongest.”
Niermann continues: “Of course, we've ended up with a big gap in the general classification, but we’re still in second place. Tomorrow we’ll give it our best in the time trial and then see what’s possible. We remain combative.” Friday’s time trial is the second this Tour de France. After a few flat kilometers, it finishes with an eight-kilometre climb to Peyragudes.
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Here's the stage 12 report from fifth-place Oscar Onley's Team Picnic-PostNL:
Stage 12 of the Tour de France saw the first main mountain-top finish of the race with the famous climb of Hautacam. From the start there was a big battle for the breakaway but Team Picnic PostNL’s main focus of the stage was to look after Oscar Onley and bring him into the climbs in the latter part of the day in the best possible shape.
A large group of 50 plus riders went clear, but the team remained calm and within the bunch, fetching bottles and keeping each other fueled and cool in the hot temperatures. On the climb of Col du Soulor, the breakaway fell apart as the stronger climbers pushed on, while the same thing happened in the peloton which began to thin out. Onley had Frank van den Broek and Warren Barguil with him, until the tempo increased even further and there was only a reduced GC group of around 15 riders.
The pace slowed a little over the top of the ascent and some riders caught up on the descent, but that didn’t last long as heading on the valley roads an infernal tempo was set. This continued onto the lower slopes of the Hautacam; which almost resembled a sprint lead-out before Pogacar launched what would be his stage winning attack. Riding a measured climb, Onley ended up in a group of four but as they progressed up the ascent, things became cagey. Following an attack from Lipowitz, Onley managed to bridge to his wheel but the German kicked once more and Onley had to ride at his own tempo. Eventually joining up with Halland Johannessen, the duo rode to the line where they sprinted it out; with Onley taking a strong fifth place on the stage. It’s a result that moves him and Team Picnic PostNL up to sixth place on the GC.
Oscar Onley on the Hautacam climb. Sirotti photo
Speaking after he had caught his breath, Onley said: “I feel pretty tired. It was hard all day but the guys looked after me as best they could. I felt good but maybe I just went a bit over my limit about halfway up, but it was still a pretty good day. It’s difficult when there are two guys there from the same team, so I had to try and get away from at least one of them if I could. I was quite surprised on the first climb when I saw a few others dropping, but I guess they probably suffered in the heat. I think the team managed that part pretty well for us today. If I can recover well then I’ll give it a good shot tomorrow in the TT.”
Team Picnic PostNL coach Matt Winston added: “The whole team tactic today was about looking after Oscar and the guys did a really nice job. We came onto the climb in good shape. He got everything out of himself on the Hautacam and couldn’t have done anymore. It became quite tactical and cagey at a point. Oscar followed Lipowitz and maybe went a bit into the red a bit there but when you’re 22-years-old doing your first Tour de France where you’re going as hard as you can every stage so far, then it was a really respectable performance. I think we can be really happy with the fifth place. We’re still in a good position on the GC which is nice at this stage of the race so we will see how tomorrow’s time trial goes. It was really warm again today so I think we maybe saw that have a bit of an effect today, and I’m sure a few of those guys who lost a bit of time today will bounce back in the coming stages.”
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And here's the stage 12 report from Remco Evenepoel's Team Soudal Quick-Step:
The first mountain day of this edition came in the Pyrenees with one of the hardest summit finishes France has to offer, the Hautacam (13.5km, 7.8%), which featured at the end of a fast and incredibly hot stage that took its toll on many riders.
Col de Soulor was the first difficulty of stage 12, and there, some eight kilometers from the top, Remco Evenepoel was dropped. The former World Champion didn’t panic, and with the help of an incredible Ilan Van Wilder, he managed to make up ground on his way to the summit of this ascent. On the descent and the short flat section leading to the next climb – Col des Bordères, a rather short but steep one – Evenepoel continued to use his remarkable time trial skills to inch his way back before cresting remarkably erasing a 1:15 deficit in the space of just 20 kilometers to rejoin the other favorites in the valley before Hautacam.
Remco Evenpoel on the Hautacam climb. Sirotti photo
This beast of a climb, which made only its seventh appearance at the Tour de France, was where the favorites group split again, this time for good, leaving every man for himself out there. It was a tough day of racing, but Remco fought hard and showed the mental of a great champion, never giving up, braving the heat and continuing to push himself on the grueling gradients of the Hautacam until the finish, where he concluded seventh behind stage winner Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) for his fourth top ten at this edition.
“I didn’t have the best legs and feeling today. The pace was hard the entire day and I lost contact with the others, but I was lucky to have Ilan by my side and he was of great help, followed by Max, who took over after dropping back from the break, that’s why I want to say a big thank you to my team for their support.”
“It was hard and I suffered, but I gave my best, kept fighting and clawed my way back to the front. Then, on the last ascent, I climbed at my own pace and I’m glad I could remain on the overall podium after this brutal stage. Now I hope to put these bad feelings behind me and do a good time trial on Friday, as it’s going to be an important day for the general classification, and then I will just continue to take it day by day”, an upbeat Remco said after the stage.
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