Tadej Pogacar still had every chance of winning his third overall title up to the queen stage of the Tour de France. However, an early crash and a phenomenal performance by his rival Jonas Vingegaard put an end to the Slovenian’s dream.

What a triumph for Jonas Vingegaard: On the queen stage of the Tour de France over 165.7 kilometers from Saint Gervais to Courchevel in the French Alps, of all places, the Dane outclassed his rival Tadej Pogacar and thus secured his title defense early.

After Vingegaard’s amazing performance, the stage win by Austrian Felix Gall was almost a minor matter. He escaped from a breakaway group and crossed the finish line solo in the posh ski resort of Courchevel. The stage covered 5400 meters in altitude and four mountains, including the 2,400-meter-high Col de la Loze with gradients of up to 24 percent.

Pogacar crashed early, lost the connection 15 kilometers from the finish and struggled through the finish line more than five minutes behind the day’s fourth-place finisher Vingegaard. Over the team radio, Pogacar said, “I’m out. I’m dead.”

In the overall standings, the Slovenian is now already 7:35 minutes behind the Dane, whose overall victory can only be jeopardized by a crash in the final four stages.

Vingegaard nevertheless expressed Nordic restraint: “To have over seven minutes is great, of course. But Pogacar never gives up. I’m sure he will try something.”

However, there is unlikely to be much more than a stage win on Saturday’s Vosges stage for three-time Tour winner Pogacar this year.