When Diego Maradona scored the goal of the century against England in the 1986 World Cup, the dazzling magic of the moment was happily sealed forever in the immortal words shouted by radio commentator Victor Hugo Morales: "Cosmic Kite, what planet you from which planet do you come?"

To evoke extraterrestrial life in soccer is to pay a heartfelt compliment, but in the Tour de France, the same metaphor takes on a very different connotation. The headline on the front page of L'Équipe on Wednesday morning was not one that praised Jonas Vingegaard's sincerity: "From another planet."

Vingegaard was in the time trial of stage 16 in Combrue when Jumbo Visma's 1:38 ahead of Tadey Pogachar (UAE Team Emirates), and came very close to winning the overall. Also, Lance Armstrong's Tour victory in Sestriere in 1999 was described in the same way as on the first page of L'Équipe magazine.

On Wednesday afternoon, Vingegaard put another chilling display of strength on the Pass de la Rosé, putting the maillot jaune beyond the reach of Pogachar or anyone else.

Vingegaard launched his onslaught upstream on the Col de la Rose shortly after Pogachar began flagging about 8km from the summit. Whatever the other planet, Vingegaard appeared to be racing a very different race than anyone else on the road to Courchevel.

Vingegaard finished in fourth place. He was 1:52 behind Felix Gall (AG2R Citroen), who had escaped earlier in the race, but was about 2 minutes ahead of Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) and 6 minutes ahead of Pogachar. In the overall standings, Vingegaard is 7:35 ahead of Pogachar and more than 10 minutes ahead of the others. Time difference from other centuries

Over the weekend, Vingegaard told reporters that given the history of doping in the sport, he "can understand" why his extremely high level of performance in this Tour was greeted with skepticism. Wednesday evening in Courchevel, Wingegaard was asked what he and his Jumbo-Visma team could do to allay the suspicions that such a standout performance inevitably creates.

"For my part, I don't know what more I can say," Vingegaard said. 'I understand that in cycling it's hard to credit what happened in the past. But I think everyone is different now than they were 20 years ago. And I can say with all my heart that I don't take anything. I wouldn't give anything to my own daughter, and I would never give her any drugs of any kind."

On Wednesday morning, both Jumbo Visma, led by Vingegaard, and UAE Team Emirates, led by Pogachar, were selected for additional doping testing, with riders' blood tested one hour before the start in Saint Gervais. At the post-stage press conference, Vingegaard was asked what he thought about the use of performance-enhancing drugs, which have not yet been banned.

"I have never heard of such substances, so I don't know exactly how they work or what they are. I have never taken it or heard of it."

Throughout the Tour, Vingegaard repeatedly suggested that races are decided by minutes, not seconds. While that prediction seemed fanciful when he and Pogachar were battling over bonus seconds in the Alps over the weekend, the impressive events of the past two days proved his prediction correct.

"It's because we believe in our strength and ability," Vingegaard said of his prediction. Either that, or Taddeji will be very strong for a time, and will make a difference to me." If you are always on the attack, you make yourself vulnerable.

From the beginning, Vingegaard seemed to be bought on endurance, and the Jumbo-Visma team placed particular emphasis on the first two stages after the second rest day. Defending champion Vingegaard confessed to being overwhelmed by the Tour's route when it was announced in October, but Jumbo-Visma management quickly made the 2,300-meter-high Rosé Pass the centerpiece of Vingegaard's strategy to beat Pogachar.

"We work according to a plan. It's usually the performance team that plans my qualities. Vingegaard said, "We're not going to change the plan, even with yesterday's results. Yesterday's result didn't change the plan. We didn't change our plan after yesterday's result because we thought it was the best plan. As I said before, I really believe in the plan we have. [Perhaps Vingegaard's advantage was most clearly demonstrated when he was forced to pause near the top of the Roset when his bike broke down, blocking traffic ahead of him. Unlike the controversy created by the bike blocking Pogachar's bonus sprint on Saturday's Col de Joux Plane, this episode was a mere footnote to his exhibition.

"I don't know exactly what happened. All I know is that I couldn't pass many cars in front of me," Vingegaard said.

It hardly mattered. Even if Vingegaard insists that it did.

"I'm very relieved to be over seven minutes ahead. Pogachar never gives up."