Chapter 382 191: The Final Highlight of the Tour de France and the Awaited Answer

The hot-tempered Van Aert, in particular, started throwing his water bottles the moment he got back to the team bus after the race.

As a team that had been dead set on overturning the general classification on the Baiye Plateau climb, it was undoubtedly a huge failure. Not only had Pogačar extended his lead over Vingegaard by more than another minute, but Vingegaard hadn't even managed to beat the second-place rider, Huang Chong.

Although their team would never verbally admit defeat, let alone give up on the Tour de France.

But everyone on the team understood the reality. Their leader was more than two minutes behind Pogačar in the general classification, and with Pogačar's form being terrifyingly good this year, reversing such a large time gap was basically impossible.

So, on the second week's rest day, Vismar's team manager, Pulver, sought out Vingegaard, who was in the middle of his recovery, and spoke to him bluntly:

"Jonas, our team's results in the Tour de France so far have not been as ideal as we'd hoped.

And your position in the general classification looks quite precarious at the moment.

Although we have a gap of nearly two minutes on Remco, who is currently fourth in the GC, that time difference isn't completely safe.

As the defending champions, finishing with only a third place is obviously not good enough.

So, in the final week of the race, we must make some slight tactical adjustments."

Vingegaard was not a self-centered person, but that didn't mean he couldn't read between the lines of what the team manager was saying.

As a rider for a professional team, and especially as its sole Core Commander, the pressure he had to bear was undoubtedly immense.

There was pressure from the team, as well as from shareholders and sponsors.

Although no one could guarantee they'd always win the title, second place was always better than third.

In a race like the Tour de France, moving up even a single spot in the general classification is a reflection of the strength of both the rider and the team.

Otherwise, the leaders of other teams wouldn't fight so desperately just for a spot in the top ten of the general classification.

He replied succinctly:

"I understand. I'll watch the gaps to both Tadej and Huang Chong."

...

「Quick Step Team.」

As the superstar prodigy in whom the team had placed high hopes, Evenepoel hadn't come away from this Tour de France completely empty-handed.

He had, after all, secured a stage victory in the Stage 7 ITT.

Although the top three riders had continuously widened his time gap in the general classification during the second week's three mountain stages, and his performance on the long, steep climbs showed an utter lack of resistance, his team wasn't ready to give up.

The Best Young Rider's White Jersey and a spot on the podium had been their goals from the very start, so they definitely had to keep fighting.

Furthermore, with two riders in the top ten of the general classification after Stage 15, their results weren't bad at all; in fact, they were quite respectable.

It was just that their most important goal now seemed to be drifting further and further away.

There was no point in chasing Pogačar's time, of course.

A deficit of over four minutes was impossible to reverse.

But they had to give it their all to overtake Vingegaard and Huang Chong, who were ahead of him.

Whether they could succeed, however, would depend on their own leader's performance during the final week.

"Remco, there's only one week of the race left. We have to focus on the time gap to the Red Bull Bora rider.

Although he managed to stay with Jonas on the Baiye Plateau, we all believe it will be difficult for him to replicate such a stunning performance in the upcoming mountain stages.

Plus, their team's domestiques haven't been performing up to expectations in this Tour de France.

So, our plan for the last two mountain stages is to have Landa get into the breakaway, so he'll be up the road to support you.

You need to be ready to attack and do everything you can to reverse the standings.

This is our last chance!"

Evenepoel also had a fiery temper, but team orders were paramount. He couldn't argue, so he simply replied:

"I'll ride as hard as I can."

...

「July 16th.」

The third week of the Tour de France began as scheduled.

Huang Chong, still in the White Jersey, had no idea he had become the primary strategic target for both the Vismar and Quick Step teams.

If he knew that these two powerhouse teams had shifted their focus for the final week entirely to usurping his second-place GC spot and his White Jersey, his scalp would surely tingle with dread.

However, the general classification contenders weren't expected to make any moves in the first three stages of the third week.

Stage 16 was a flat stage. While it had some climbs, the terrain was relatively flat overall, making it the sprinters' last dance at this year's Tour de France.

Stages 17 and 18 were hilly stages with less difficult climbs, designed for breakaway specialists.

No matter how hard the GC contenders pushed, they wouldn't be able to shake the other riders.

Of course, for Huang Chong, getting through these three stages would be anything but pleasant.

Because stages that didn't involve a GC battle were a pure drain on his stamina.

This would only make it harder for him to defend his second-place spot in the general classification during the final three stages.

Stage 16 ran 188.6 km from Gruissan to the finish line in Nîmes.

Although the stage only had a single Fourth Category Climb and he could draft in the peloton, the pace of the Tour de France was still relentless.

Over four hours of exertion would inevitably take a physical toll after the race.