A day after his stunning collapse and surrender of the yellow jersey on the Col de Granon, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) recovered for the second bumper climbing day through the Alps, taking the fight to new race leader Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) on Alpe d'Huez.
The Slovenian shockingly cracked on the final climb of stage 11 of the Tour de France, 90 minutes west down the valley road from Alpe d'Huez, losing 2:51 to Vingegaard to put him over two minutes down in the general classification.
On the evidence on Thursday's stage 12, however, Pogačar's jour sans on Granon seems to be a one-off rather than a sign of a total downturn in form to come. He tried two big attacks towards the top of Alpe d'Huez, the final test on a day which saw the race head back over the Galibier and then onto the Croix de Fer.
The first attack came at just over 3km to go, with the second coming not long after. Vingegaard matched both, though, while fourth-placed Geraint Thomas also got back on before the new podium trio finished together high atop Huez.
"I tried a couple of times, but Jonas was following," Pogačar said after the stage. "He was super strong. But I think today was a good day for me to get my first motivational boost back after yesterday. I think the Tour is far from finished.
"I will try until Paris, and I will give everything I can," he added, signalling that the fight will continue into the Pyrenees and to the final time trial in Rocamadour.
Pogačar remains behind Vingegaard, 2:22 down, but has moved up into second place overall after previous second place Romain Bardet dropped from the elite GC group with 5km left to run.
The white jersey holder said that the support of his UAE Team Emirates squad also boosted his confidence out on the road, with the temperature soaring up to the high 30s Celsius during the afternoon.
"I felt good today," he said. "I raced it much better than yesterday. The team was really good today. They brought me so much ice and so much water that I didn't even feel the 40 degrees. It gives me a boost of confidence."
On stage 11, the collective strength of Primož Roglič, Sepp Kuss, Wout van Aert, and Steven Kruijswijk helped Vingegaard accomplish his mission of breaking Pogačar, and the team were once again in control on stage 12, with Kuss notably pulling hard in the final kilometres of Alpe d'Huez and even making his way back to help out after Pogačar's first attack.
Pogačar was also asked whether Vingegaard's Jumbo-Visma team was too strong for him, in a reversal of questions previously put to his rivals about his own strength.
"I don't think so," Pogačar replied. "They're really strong but at the end you see how it is.
"Jonas is one of the best climbers, but I can match him, and I think maybe also I try to attack him someday better than today, but we'll see. They are strong, but they are not unbeatable."
