'Harder, the better' - Jonas Vingegaard ready for attacks at 'every moment' in Tadej Pogacar duel at Tour de France

Jonas Vingegaard is bracing for attacks at «every moment» as he looks to hold off Tadej Pogacar at the Tour de France. Another team masterclass from Jumbo-Visma allowed their leader to follow Pogacar's offensives on Stage 16 as the Slovenian looked to narrow Vingegaard's general classification lead. Ad/> The defending champion attacked thrice on the first major climb of the day, briefly catching his rival off-guard with his third move on the descent, but Vingegaard was able to recover and lock in the familiar position on Pogacar's back wheel.

Tour de FranceTour de France Stage 17: Route map, how to watch as Pogacar plots takedown11 HOURS AGO Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates colleague Rafal Majka thinned out the GC group on the sharp slopes of the Mur de Peguere, but an untimely mechanical allowed Jumbo-Visma to again take control, with Sepp Kuss dragging Vingegaard up the hill and Pogacar unable to attack the American's fast tempo. Any thought of another attack on the descent was negated by the presence up the road of two more Jumbo-Visma riders, with Nathan van Hooydonck and Wout van Aert treading water after exiting the day's breakaway to ensure their leader retained his 2'22" advantage at the top of the standings. /> Pogacar has vowed to attack wherever he can in the mountains and Vingegaard knows he must be wary ahead of the first proper Pyrenean test on Stage 17, which ends with a Category 1 climb to Peyragudes.

«I'm just trying to do my best every day,» Vingegaard said. «I know Tadej will attack me, so every day is about trying to follow him and not leaving any gaps to him. Of course, there's also a lot of other riders I have to follow if they attack.