Tadej Pogacar won the queen stage of the Tour of Catalonia. It was his third stage victory in the race.
Even though one stage of the Tour of Catalonia remains, any suspense regarding the overall victory has now definitively vanished.
Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates) has been completely dominant throughout the week, and on Saturday, he emphatically highlighted the power dynamics in the mountainous stage race.
In what was anticipated as the queen stage, the Slovenian delivered another royal performance, once again crushing the rest of the field with a solo demonstration.
This victory marked his third stage win in the race, and he heads into the final stage with a lead of about three and a half minutes.
The spectacle began 29 kilometers from the finish line on the penultimate climb of the stage. Pogacar stood up in the saddle and sped away from a group of favorites, who had long resigned themselves to competing for second place.
Behind him, Quick-Step’s Mikel Landa, as in previous stages, appeared to be the field’s second-best climber.
He created a gap from the other pursuers and was soon joined by Egan Bernal (Ineos), the former Tour de France winner, who seems to be in much better shape than last year.
The duo cooperated up the final climb, and Bernal suddenly saw a chance for a podium spot as Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora) struggled behind.
However, they saw no more of Pogacar. The Slovenian won with a 57-second margin over Bernal and Landa. Landa is second overall, while Bernal moved up to third in the overall standings.
In Sunday’s final stage, riders will cover 145 kilometers in and around Barcelona. The stage ends with several ascents of the Montjuic mountain.
