Wellens gets day off Pogacar duty to complete Grand Tour sweep

Tim Wellens completed his set of Grand Tour stage victories with a sparkling solo win Carcassonne on stage 15 of the Tour de France. The Belgian champion’s primary role at this Tour is to ride in support of yellow jersey Tadej Pogačar, but he seized the chance that fell his way after infiltrating the break of the day.

“I had the opportunity, I took it and I had the legs to finish it off,” Wellens said afterwards. “But of course, I would trade my victory directly for yellow in Paris with Tadej.”

It was yet another rapid day on the Tour, despite the rugged terrain, and there was considerable tension early in the stage when a crash split the peloton. The race eventually settled into something approaching a pattern and Wellens found himself in a sizeable front group. From there, his race nous and sheer strength did the rest.

“It’s a very special victory,” Wellens said. “Everybody knows the Tour de France, everybody wants to ride the Tour de France but not many people win at the Tour de France. It’s a very beautiful victory for me.”

Wellens was able to save himself early turns on the front given that his primary role was to police the move on behalf of Pogačar, but he became more active once it became clear that the escapees would fight out the stage win. He tracked the moves on the Pas du Sant, and then he attacked alone near the top of the Col de Fontbruno, soloing clear to an empathic win.

“I felt super good today before the stage,” Wellens said. “Nils [Politt] and me were laughing before the stage about going in the break. Suddenly, there was a big crash, and I hope everything is ok in the crash. Tadej said we would try to block and wait, but riders kept on attacking. Then I followed a move and I was in the breakaway.

“On the climb, it exploded again, and on the last climb of the day, I felt really good and I saw the others felt really good, but I knew I had to go solo at the top of the climb. I found my moment and I had the legs to go to the end.”

Wellens would cruise clear to win by 1:28 from Victor Campenaerts (Visma | Lease a Bike), and he had time to slow down and savour his victory in the finishing straight, even if he forgot a key part of his celebration amid the commotion.

“I knew I was going to be in a very beautiful list by completing my trilogy,” said Wellens, who won stages on the Giro d’Italia in 2016 and 2018 and two stages on the 2020 Vuelta a España.

“I knew I had to enjoy my moment, and I wanted a big gap to maybe put my bike in the air at the finish – but I was so happy I forgot to do it.”

Wellens’ leader Pogačar retains a buffer of 4:13 over Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) as the Tour breaks for its second rest day. From Tuesday, the Belgian will be back on duty for Pogačar, but on Sunday, the deluxe domestique enjoyed his day in the sun.

“It’s very special because if one rider deserves a victory in the Tour de France, it’s Tim Wellens,” said UAE manager Mauro Gianetti. “He’s so dedicated to the team and to Tadej. He’s always close to him.”