Opinion: Indefatigable Wout van Aert must make Tadej Pogacar go green with envy after latest Tour de France blitz

When did you last see the defending champion being dropped by the green jersey on the final hors categorie climb of the Tour? Never. Well, not until this Thursday’s Stage 18 to Hautacam, when the runaway leader of the so-called sprinters’ classification hammered the final nail into Tadej Pogacar’s coffin before propelling his team-mate Jonas Vingegaard to a maiden stage win in the yellow jersey, all but securing the overall win for the Dane in the process.

Ad/> That final pull by Van Aert as the elastic snapped for Pogacar only tells half the story. For Van Aert did not even wait a second before attacking from the gun of the decisive stage in the Pyrenees – going clear with 143 kilometres remaining.

Cycling'This is just a stepping stone' — Froome backed for Tour return after untimely exitAN HOUR AGO You could almost imagine what went through the heads of the other prospective breakaway contenders as they saw Van Aert go up the road with Neilson Powless – only for the man in EF Education-EasyPost’s garish pink kit to return minutes later with his tail firmly between his legs: “Not again!” Vingegaard on verge of Tour title after blowing away Pogacar on incredible day Rigoberto Uran probably had a few more choice words for Van Aert when, on the first climb of the day, the Col d’Aubisque, and the green jersey present and correct in the break, the man who had only just earlier won the intermediate sprint at Laruns proceeded to distance most of the escapees, including the Colombian climber, a veteran bridesmaid from three Grand Tours during his long career. If those 20 points in the sprint stretched Van Aert’s already unassailable lead in the points classification, it did not spark the beginning of the end for the Belgian’s