What have we just witnessed? That question was on many people's lips following Jonas Vingegaard's dominant display in the stage 16 time trial. While the Twitteratti may come to one conclusion, throwing the dummy out of the pram isn't an option for the top WorldTour teams. With Jumbo having two riders on the time trial podium and an utterly dominant display from Jonas Vingegaard throughout July, you can be sure the Team UAEs, Ineos Grenadiers, and the rest are already reviewing and assessing how they can close the gap before next July.
Much has been made of the 5% gap between the previously inseparable Vingegaard and Pogačar. With such domination, it's only right and natural the watching public ask some difficult questions. Especially when the guy at 5% was himself head and shoulders above the rest of the competition. We won't address the physiological side of that question here; instead, we'll delve into the technical and equipment aspects that could explain some of that gap in performances.
More importantly, bearing in mind the 2024 Tour de France will finish with a similar 35 km hilly time trial around Nice, how do Pogačar, UAE, and everyone else close that gap before next July? Having had five days for that time trial performance to sink in and spent countless hours on the phone and recording podcasts since, here is some of our conclusions.
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