Defending champion Tadej Pogačar won the first mountain stage of the Tour de France and secured the yellow jersey after his second triumph in a row.
The Slovenian cyclist beat Jonas Vingegaard, who finished second overall in last year’s Tour, in a dramatic finish to the Plain of beautiful girls. After today’s seventh day, Pogačar already has a lead of 35 seconds.
Although the Dane attacked first at the end of the 176 km long stage, Pogačar outsprinted him. His compatriot and Vingegaard’s colleague from the Jumbo-Visma team Primož Roglič arrived 12 seconds later. Fourth was the exhausted German hero of the day, Lennard Kämna, whose almost day-long escape ended just one hundred meters before the finish line.
“It was very difficult. Especially at the end, when Jonas attacked. I had to work really hard. Every second bonus is good, but it still doesn’t have to mean anything, because we are still in the first third of the race,” said Pogačar, king of the last two editions of the Tour de France . The twenty-three-year-old Slovene celebrated his stage laurel on the “Old Lady” for the eighth time.
Saturday’s hilly stage will lead in Switzerland, and the peloton will thus reach the fourth country this year after the opening in Denmark and the stages in France and briefly in Belgium. The start is in Dole and after 186 km the cyclists will arrive in Lausanne.
Tour de France cycling stage race – 7th stage (Tomblaine – Planche des Belles Filles):
1. Pogačar (Slovenia/SAE Team Emirates) 3:58:40, 2. Vingegaard (Dan./Jumbo-Visma) same time, 3. Roglič (Slovenia/Jumbo-Visma) -12, 4. Kämna (German ./Bora-hansgrohe), 5. Thomas (Brit./Ineos Grenadiers) both -14, 6. Gaudu (Fr./Groupama-FDJ) -19, 7. Mas (Sp./Movistar), 8. Bardet (Fr ./DSM) both -21, 9. A. Yates (Brit./Ineos Grenadiers) -29, 10. Kuss (USA/Jumbo-Visma) -41.
Current order: 1. Pogačar 24:43:14, 2. Vingegaard -35, 3. Thomas -1:10, 4. A. Yates -1:18, 5. Gaudu -1:31, 6. Bardet -1: 32, 7. Pidcock (Brit./Ineos Grenadiers) -1:35, 8. Powless (USA/EF Education-EasyPost) -1:37, 9. Mas -1:43, 10. Martínez (Col./Ineos Grenadiers ) -1:55.
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