“When those two guys passed by, it felt like I’m not doing the same sport as them,” said Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno X-Mobility) describing how he was passed by Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) on the final climb after they had fought in the breakaway for victory in Stage 15 of the Tour de France.
The Tour’s top two climbers were led up the final climb to the Plateau de Beille by Visma’s Matteo Jorgenson, 2:35 behind the five-man group that remained from the day’s breakaway, which included Johannessen, Jai Hindley (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Enric Mas (Movistar), Laurens De Plus (Ineos Grenadiers) and Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost).
After the confrontation with the hellish 15.8-kilometre Pyrenean monster, Olympic champion Carapaz was closest to stage winner Pogačar at the finish. He was 5:41 behind the race leader. Johannesen was even further behind at the finish, namely 6:27.
Pogačar’s lead was so big that when third-placed and overall runner-up Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) crossed the line, he was already warming down on his time trial bike.
“We realised that Pogačar and Vingegaard would finish on the last climb, then it was just about winning the breakaway, but I think Carapaz did that,” said Johannessen, defeated but in awe of the men who have won the last four Tours de France together.
“For me, when those two guys passed, it was like I don’t play the same sport as them. They’re way too good and you want to hate them, but they’re cool guys and it’s fun to watch cycling, so it’s a bit difficult. [They are] on another level.”
The Norwegian is no stranger to being outpaced by Pogačar and Vingegaard, having missed out on his first Tour stage win, behind only the superstars, on stage six of the 2023 Tour, when the Slovenian won in Cauterets-Cambasque.
It was a big day for Johannessen, who made one of many attempts to climb the hellish 197.7km route, with almost 5,000m of elevation gain. However, he felt he was losing energy after missing a key split on the Col d’Agnes with 73km to go.
“It was good for me to be in the breakaway, that was the first goal. Then Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe had a few guys and they saw an opportunity on one of the last climbs to split the group. I got caught at the back, so I was a bit pissed off, but I used that aggression to bridge the group and be able to fight for the win,” said the young Norwegian before admitting that the tactical battle up to the Plateau de Beille was played out because they knew victory was gone.
“Some got a little angry, but the chance of victory was gone. Then came the tactical phase, where you just had to attack and be the last to be caught.
“For me, the legs weren’t optimal after climbing to the front group, so I knew it was over. In the end it was nothing, but that’s life.”
Johannessen will now prepare for the second rest day after two monstrous days in the Pyrenees. Everyone is now busy hunting for a first victory for Uno-X Mobility, together with his teammates, in the last six stages.
“Sleep as long as I want, then have some cake and coffee, don’t think about cycling for a day and then go back to work,” he said of his plans for Monday.
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