Pogacar into yellow as Evenepoel wins Tour de France time trial
World and Olympic champion Evenepoel completed the course in 36min 42sec at a blistering average speed of 54 km/h.
He finished 16 seconds quicker than Pogacar with the Italian Edoardo Affini 33sec off the stage lead in third.
Pogacar now leads the general classification with a 42sec advantage over Evenepoel who collected his second stage win on the Tour de France, having triumphed in the time trial in Gevrey-Chambertin last year on his debut in the Grande Boucle.
'I knew I had a good chance but, of course, the legs still have to be there and everything has to go to plan,' said Evenepoel whose Soudal Quick-Step team-mate Tim Merlier won stage 3 two days ago.
'In the end I think it was pretty good. I didn't really feel like I could go any faster, so I think in general I'm happy with the result.
'It's a second stage win for our team, it's super nice.'
Two-time winner Jonas Vingegaard, who began the day just 8sec behind the yellow jersey Van der Poel, had a poor day as the Dane could only finish 13th in the stage -- 1min 21sec behind Evenepoel -- to slip to 1min 13sec behind Pogacar in the new standings.
He drops to fourth overall with local rider Kevin Vauquelin moving up to third after a hugely-impressive ride that saw him finish fifth on the day.
'I'm over the moon, really,' said an emotional Vauquelin.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Tribune
a day ago
- Daily Tribune
Milan wins baking Tour de France eighth stage in mass sprint
AFP | Laval Jonathan Milan won stage eight of the Tour de France in a mass bunch sprint yesterday ahead of Wout van Aert and Kaden Groves. On a day for pure sprinters and with no change at the top of the overall rankings, LidlTrek's Milan was the first Italian to win a stage on the Tour since Vincenzo Nibali in the Alps in 2019. Pure sprinter Milan, 24, took over the top of the sprint points rankings and had been wearing the green tunic in place of Tadej Pogacar, who had earned the sprint and the overall leader's yellow jersey by winning stage seven. Three-time former champion Pogacar retained the overall lead with Remco Evenepoel and Kevin Vauquelin rounding out the top three, with no change in the top ten as the peloton kept its powder dry. The remaining 177 riders from the original 184 rolled through the Brittany countryside with the harvest ongoing a month early and colossal crowds on the roadside. Under clear blue skies and 31 degrees Celsius (88 degrees Fahrenheit) heat there was little inspiration in the peloton to breakaway until late in the day. French duo Mathieu Burgaudeau and Matteo Vercher attacked from 70km and the pair were only reeled in on the edge of finish town Laval after enthusiastic support on this Tour, which is based entirely on French soil but with no home winner yet. Stage nine on Sunday heads south from Chinon to Chateauroux and is another flat affair with the focus on keeping hydrated in the heat and staying in the saddle. But on France's national holiday on Monday there are eight classified climbs and many more besides in a stage loaded with opportunities.
Daily Tribune
2 days ago
- Daily Tribune
Swiatek and Anisimova chase history
Iga Swiatek and Amanda Anisimova clash in the Wimbledon final on Saturday with only one thing certain -- there will be an eighth consecutive first-time winner of the women's tournament. Swiatek and Anisimova will both be making their first appearance in the Wimbledon final after unexpected runs to the showpiece occasion. No player has retained the crown since the now-retired Serena Williams won her seventh and final title at the All England Club in 2016. Aryna Sabalenka started as the hot favourite after reaching the past three Grand Slam finals but faltered in a gripping semi-final against American 13th seed Anisimova. Poland's Swiatek is seeded eighth at Wimbledon following a disappointing first half of the season, though she is back up to fourth in the rankings after reaching the final of the grasscourt Bad Homburg tournament. That run, together with her surge through the draw at All England Club, suggests the 24-year-old is cured of her grass-court allergy. Initially she went under the radar at Wimbledon, with the focus on Sabalenka and French Open champion Coco Gauff, but she kept winning while the top seeds tumbled, dropping just one set on route to the final. Swiatek, who had never been past the Wimbledon lasteight before this year, brushed aside former Olympic champion Belinda Bencic 6-2, 6-0 in Thursday's semi-final. Four of her five Grand Slam titles have come on the clay of Roland Garros and she won the 2022 US Open on hard courts. But she is finally showing an affinity with the lawns of Wimbledon, a development that has shocked even her. 'Honestly, I never even dreamed that it's going to be possible for me to play in the final,' Swiatek said. 'So I'm just super- excited and proud of myself and, I don't know, tennis keeps surprising me.
Daily Tribune
2 days ago
- Daily Tribune
India's Chopra wants coach Zelezny's big-stage mindset
India's Olympic javelin gold medallist Neeraj Chopra said yesterday he hoped his coaching switch continues to pay off as he aims to retain his world title. Chopra joined Czech javelin legend Jan Zelezny's coaching group ahead of the 2025 season and last weekend won the inaugural edition of the Neeraj Chopra Classic in Bengaluru, stretching his streak of top-two finishes to 25 events. 'He always performed in big tournaments and I am trying to pick his mindset of a bigstage performer and that will help me,' Chopra told reporters yesterday at an event organised by one of his sponsors near New Delhi. 'The main target this year is the Tokyo World Championships and we are working towards it.' The World Championships are in September. The 27-year-old Chopra won an Olympic gold in Tokyo in 2021 and silver in Paris last year. He took the last world title in Budapest in 2023. Zelezny won four Olympic medals, three of them gold, and three world titles in a career that lasted more than 20 years. 'I am happy to work with him because he has been a consistent performer,' Chopra said. 'He is a very good coach. He has been a good athlete and is very helpful as a person.' Chopra passed 90 metres for the first time when he threw 90.23m in the Doha Diamond League meeting in May - only to finish second to German Julian Weber. Zelezny 'is working on my technique', Chopra said, adding that he was taking time to adapt. 'In training it is good but I have still not been able to grasp and implement his styles on competition days. I get mixed with the old and the new styles, but hopefully I will get the hang of it and it will bear results.' Chopra's success, his boyish looks and his mop of hair have made him a sex symbol in India. His 2021 victory was India's first Olympic track and field gold. He said he hopes to start a dynasty.
