The Japan Times - Bastille Day stage could spark fireworks in Tour de France duel

Dane Vingegaard holds a slender 17 seconds lead over the fiery Slovenian Pogacar, who laid the foundation stone for his stealth Tour de France win at the same scene in 2020.

So far on this 110th edition of the world's greatest bike race the pair have traded tit-for-tat hits with the struggle finely balanced as the peloton heads towards the Alps.

Vingegaard fired first taking a 53 second lead over the Team UAE rider, who has however fired back twice to reduce the deficit.

Friday's Bastille Day stage is something of an aperitif with just one real difficulty, the final climb of the Col du Grand Colombier, ahead of harder looking stages on Sunday and next week.

But the route planners of what has been a sizzling edition of the Tour so far, feel fireworks are likely.

"This will be high level stuff," said chief race designer Thierry Gouvenou.

"There's a good chance this ascent will be fast, very fast."

"Consider it on a par with July the 14th itself, it should be explosive. Its a steep climb with nothing tough before it, meaning many riders will have the energy to have a go," he explained.

The last French winner on July 14 was back in 2017 when Warren Barguil won at Foix and Gouvenou said he believed "many French riders will go for it".

Vingegaard said Thursday he was already happy to be wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey.

"If you'd told me a few weeks ago I would already be in the lead at this point I wouldn't have listened," said the Jumbo leader who came second to Pogacar in 2021 before winning his war of attrition last year.

"Tomorrow will be a decisive day," Vingegaard predicted.

His rival knows this already, when in 2020 defending champion Egan Bernal lost around seven minutes ending the day crushed as the action exploded in all directions.

That climb of the Colombier was won by Pogacar as he began to claw away at another Jumbo man Primoz Roglic, who also ended up crushed on a stage 20 mountain.

"I remember it well," Pogacar said Thursday, adding "I'm going to enjoy it tomorrow".

Before getting to the mountain the 13th stage embarks from Chatillon and runs through a magnificent lake region at Dombes, home to around 2500 bird species.

Whoever amongst the pair has the wings to win the stage atop the final 17.5km climb at over seven percent gradient, nobody can believe they have won just yet.

Two blockbuster stages await at the start of next week.

First comes an individual time-trial, where Pogacar and Vingegaard are usually quite matched.

Only this time it comes directly ahead of what appears to be one of the toughest of all the stage, the 17th stage climb to Col de la Loze near Courchevel after a series of testing mountains ascents.

K.Tanaka--JT