Jonas Vingegaard’s Tour de France campaign came to an abrupt end on Sunday when the two-time champion misjudged a right-hand bend and slid out 22 kilometres from the finish. The Dane, who had begun the day second overall, rose with his right arm cradled in a sling and was led to an ambulance, his race over. The crash also brought down several others, among them UAE Emirates teammates Isaac Del Toro and Felix Grossschartner, though both remounted. German-language outlets described the incident as a dramatic caesura, while British and French reports captured the stunned silence that descended before the final climb.

The fight for the stage win resumed at relentless pace on the ascent to Plateau de Solaison. Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe) tracked Tadej Pogacar and the recovering Del Toro, then launched a searing sprint with 300 metres remaining to seize his first victory of this Tour. Del Toro, a Mexican domestique whom Pogacar had tried to lead out, could not answer and crossed third, six seconds down. Latin American media celebrated Del Toro’s ascent: the 22-year-old also inherited the white jersey of best young rider from France’s Paul Seixas.

Pogacar’s second place preserved his stranglehold on the maillot jaune. The Slovenian now leads Evenepoel by five minutes, with Del Toro a further 58 seconds adrift in third. German press noted that Florian Lipowitz, despite losing contact on the final climb, advanced to fifth overall, 6:48 behind Pogacar. The reshuffled order reflects the sudden removal of the one rival who had consistently troubled the leader: Vingegaard had been just 4:30 back before his fall.

Pogacar, whose duel with the Dane stretches back to 2021, struck an elegiac note. “It’s really sad to see that Jonas is out,” he told British broadcaster Eurosport. “We became good rivals, respected rivals, even friends.” Both riders had undergone late-night doping controls that disturbed their sleep; Pogacar mused whether that may have affected concentration but refused to assign blame. European reporting picked up the detail, framing it as a side-note to a harrowing day.

After Monday’s rest day the Tour resumes with an individual time trial beside Lake Geneva, a discipline that heavily favours Evenepoel. With Vingegaard absent, the Belgian is the strongest remaining challenger, though the five-minute gap to Pogacar looks imposing. The Alps later in the week, however, will provide the final verdict on the podium order.