Tadej Pogacar routs rivals in Tour de France time trial

LAVAL, France (AP) — Defending champion Tadej Pogacar powered to victory in Wednesday’s time trial at the Tour de France to assert himself as the odds-on favorite at the three-week race.

Pogacar lagged 39 seconds behind leader Mathieu van der Poel at the start of Stage 5 in the western Mayenne region and erased a big chunk of the deficit to move into second place in the general classification.

The 22-year-old Slovenian mastered the technical 22.7-kilometer (14-mile) loop from Changé to Laval to gain time on all other main contenders in an impressive display of power and technical skills.

Pogacar was 44 seconds faster than last year’s runner-up, Primoz Roglic, while 2018 champion Geraint Thomas dropped 1 minute, 18 seconds. Richard Carapaz, a former Giro champion with big ambition at the Tour this year, was 1:44 off the pace.

“Today was a really good day for me. I didn’t do any mistakes,” Pogacar said.

Van der Poel has limited abilities in high mountains and is not expected to remain in the mix once the race reaches the Alps later this week.

“I won’t keep (the yellow jersey) in the mountains, but I like Tadej, he is a very nice guy and it’s really amazing what he does,” said Van der Poel.

Pogacar unleashed his power on the long stretches of flat roads and did not lose his tempo on the hills scattered along the course.

Riding in an aerodynamic position, Pogacar perfectly negotiated the sharp curves of the technical finale and covered the route in 32 minutes, at an average speed of 51 kph (32 mph).

The UAE Team Emirates rider became the second-youngest winner of the Tour de France last year after snatching the yellow jersey in a high-drama time trial on the eve of the finish in Paris. He became the first rider Wednesday to win two consecutive time trials at the Tour since Bradley Wiggins in 2012.

Van der Poel fought hard in the closing stages and produced his best time trial ever to keep the coveted yellow jersey, crossing the line exhausted with his mouth wide open.

Pogacar was 19 seconds faster than time trial specialist Stefan Kung. Jonas Vingegaard was third, 27 seconds behind.

Overall, Pogacar lags eight seconds behind van der Poel.

Time-trial specialist Tony Martin, a teammate of Roglic at Jumbo-Visma, was among the early starters. Under grey skies but dry roads, the four-time individual time trial world champion played it safe following his big crash earlier in the race and crossed the line in 35 minutes, 33 seconds.

Mikkel Bjerg of Denmark, a rising star in the discipline with three U23 titles in the race against the clock, dramatically improved on Martin’s time with 33:01.

Bjerg finished his run under a slight drizzle and the rain intensified afterward, making the roads slippery for the riders starting out later. American Brandon McNulty was among those and crashed, crossing the finish line lagging well behind and with both legs bloodied.

Times improved once the rain stopped and roads dried out. Kung, a five-time Switzerland champion, stayed for a while in the hot seat and looked dejected when Pogacar crossed the line.

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