It didn’t take long for Tadej Pogačar to dash the hopes of anyone wanting to see a Paris-Nice show-down between him and 2022 Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard. Biding his time in the early flat stages, Pogačar shifted into high gear as soon as the race hit the hills and rode comfortably away from the competition. In the end, only David Gaudu, who finished 2nd overall @53 seconds, was able to put up any kind of challenge. Current TdF champ Jonas Vingegaard rounded out the podium in third @ 1:39 but was unable to match the efforts of Pogačar and Gaudu in the final kilometers of the climbs.
It wasn’t such a surprise that Pogačar dominated this edition of Paris-Nice. After all, he was in top form and came to Nice ready to race. The surprise was the display he put on as he sailed across the finish line in Nice with his arms extended motioning to the fans for applause and took a bow. A playful gesture? An early throwing down of the gauntlet to Vingegaard? Or something else? Whatever it was, it was a odd, and it made many wonder what might be going on with the Slovenian wunderkind. No act is without intent – or consequence – and Pogačar’s actions are no exception. The Tour de France is still 15 weeks away and much can change. The only certainty is that Pogačar will have to line up in July next to Vingegaard, who not only won last year’s Tour de France – but won it by a margin of 2’43”.
Paris-Nice 2023
Photo credits: © A.S.O./Aurelien Vialatte
