Pogacar narrowly avoids crash at Stage 20 finish
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Pogacar leads peloton into Paris for Tour de France climax
Tadej Pogacar leads the Tour de France into Paris on Sunday on the cusp of a fourth title after a dominant 21-day romp over the peaks and plains of France. The final day normally culminates with a parade into the French capital and a sprint on the famed Champs-Elysees avenue. But for the first time organisers are sending the race through the narrow cobbled lanes of the north Parisian neighbourhood of Montmartre, in a nod to the route used to much fanfare for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The detour could well provoke a long-range attack and champion-in-waiting Pogacar said he may target the stage win from there. "We'll see what happens and how the legs are," the Slovenian said after Saturday's stage. The 21st and final stage, a 132km ride from Mantes-la-Ville to the Champs-Elysees, features three ascents of Montmartre where droves of fans are expected to crown a vintage edition of the sport's most prestigious cycling stage race. Barring a final-day fall, the top three places on this Tour were fixed on two ascents to Alpine ski resorts, where Pogacar shook off any final resistance from Danish rival Jonas Vingegaard, who put up a brave challenge before fading to second for Team Visma. But this Tour has not just been about the rivalry between Pogacar, a Tour winner in 2020, 2021 and 2024, and Vingegaard, victor in 2022 and 2023. - Emerging stars - A barnstorming first week of racing unveiled a raft of emerging stars. Florian Lipowitz, 24, sits in third place to put Germany back on the map as Red Bull's arrival in the world of professional cycling immediately impacted the Tour. Lipowitz was given a run for his money by 22-year-old Scot Oscar Onley, whose steady ride propelled him to fourth overall. Five of his Picnic–PostNL teammates hail from the same youth team. Ireland's Ben Healy bagged a stage win and a two-day stint in the yellow jersey. A heroic near miss on Mont Ventoux should be enough to earn Healy the publicly voted-for prize for combativity. The return of Dave Brailsford from Manchester United to Ineos Grenadiers was overshadowed by Italian powerhouse Filippo Ganna falling early on stage one and being withdrawn due to concussion. Having previously masterminded seven Tour de France wins, Brailsford dug in and the team's Dutch climber Thymen Arensman pulled off heists in the Pyrenees and the Alps with well-executed attacks. Another Dutch rider, Mathieu van der Poel, lit up the first week, sealing a stage two win and twice wearing the yellow jersey. France's sole and unexpected stage win came on the lunar-like summit of Mont Ventoux thanks to Valentin Paret-Peintre. The 2025 Tour, however, will be remembered mainly for Pogacar's all-round dominance. He won stages on rolling runs in the north and west at Rouen and the Mur de Bretagne in the first week, then on the mountain slopes of the Pyrenees on the Hautacam and Peyragudes in week two. As the Tour entered its end game Pogacar unexpectedly switched his attacking default setting to nurse his lead through the Alps. Vingegaard had two off days, first on a long time trial and secondly at the Hautacam slog. It was enough for Pogacar to assert himself and never look back. dmc/lp/mw
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Tour de France stage 21: Race nears iconic Champs-Elysees finish but late Montmartre climbs could disrupt sprinters
The finishing line of the Tour de France is in sight and after three gruelling weeks - more so than normal - Tadej Pogacar is now just a few hours away from claiming his fourth Tour trophy as his Hall of Fame-level career continues. He and Jonas Vingegaard will finish one and two on the podium for the fifth straight Tour, having split the last six between them, while Pogacar will also take home the King of the Mountains jersey and four stage wins. And that number could rise to five on a tricky, punchy final day, a far cry from the usual procession into Paris and frenzied sprint finish - although that could still happen on the revamped stage 21. Florian Lipowitz, the German former biathlete riding his debut Tour, has sewn up the best young rider's white jersey and third spot on the podium, taking the place Remco Evenepoel occupied in both classifications last year. And Britain has a new general classification contender for the future in the form of unassuming 22-year-old climber Oscar Onley, who proved one of very few riders who could stick with Pogacar and Vingegaard on the toughest slopes of this monumentally difficult Tour, and will finish fourth in Paris on just his second appearance at the race. Meanwhile sprinter Jonathan Milan is set to take home the green points jersey after a battle with Pogacar himself for ownership of that classification - and could add glory on the Champs-Elysees to his two stage wins too. The enormous levels of fatigue in the peloton have been evident for the last few days after five HC finishes, tough outings in the Pyrenees and the Alps, and a first week of racing that essentially felt like a whole week of one-day Classics. Even Pogacar has cut a downbeat figure, saying he 'can't wait for the Tour to be over'. Kaden Groves won the most recent Classic, on stage 20, a hilly, punchy day out in the Jura hills marred by crashes and torrential downpour, with the Australian completing the set of Grand Tour victories with his maiden Tour de France win in Pontarlier. He went solo 16km from the line after he, Frank van den Broek, and Briton Jake Stewart avoided a crash that either took out or held up much of the day's breakaway, and profited from his two companions' inability to work together, letting him storm away to the line. 'Today we weren't sure whether to go for the stage or wait for tomorrow but when the rain falls I have a super feeling normally in the cold weather,' an emotional Groves said. 'It's my first ever solo win and it's a Tour stage so it's pretty incredible. 'There's so much pressure at the Tour. Having won in the Giro and won in the Vuelta all I ever get asked is if am I good enough to win in the Tour and now I've shown them.' Groves could well take two wins in succession, as one of the punchier riders most likely to survive the redesigned stage 21. Rather than a pan-flat stage ending in an inevitable bunch sprint, this year's route is very different: two categorised climbs will add to the fatigue in the legs after the rollout from Mantes-la-Ville before the race enters Paris: the Cote de Bazemont (1.7km at 7%) and the Cote du Pave des Gardes (700m at 9.7%). Then the usual circuits crossing the finish line on the Champs-Elysees are interspersed with more category-four climbs, up the short but steep Cote de la Butte Montmartre (1.1km at an average of 5.9%). The decision has been made to add the climb after its popularity in the Olympic Games road race route last summer, but the three climbs in quick succession may put paid to any sprinters' chances, and the battle for positioning on the narrow, cobbled roads could catch out the general classification hopefuls too, setting up an even more nerve-wracking and frantic finale than normal. Route map and profile Start time The final stage of the Tour de France has a later start time than usual: 4.10pm local time (3.10pm BST), with an expected finish time of around 7.25pm local time (6.25pm BST). Prediction Normally a sprint finish would be nailed-on for stage 21 of the Tour de France, but this edition of the race has a huge question mark over it. The final climb of Montmartre comes just 6km from the finish and the accumulated fatigue of three difficult weeks of racing, plus three sharp climbs in quick succession, may be enough to kill off the sprinters. But after the final ascent there's a flat run-in to the traditional finish line on the Champs-Elysees, so it's entirely possible the race may come back together for a bunch sprint. If a reduced group makes it over the final climb, the punchier fast men like Kaden Groves will have an advantage; Wout van Aert hasn't looked near his best this Tour, but should be let off the Visma-Lease a Bike leash on the final stage and could still pick up a result (probably second place, if his season so far is anything to go by). But if all the sprinters' teams work together and come over the Montmartre together, Tim Merlier has had the beating of everyone on the stages he's been able to contest. But if the GC teams win the battle for positioning on the narrow cobbled climb of Montmartre, could Tadej Pogacar top off his magnificent Tour with one more stage win, on the race's most iconic finish line of all? I wouldn't rule him out...
2 hours ago
Cycling great Vos wins 1st stage of women's Tour de France with brilliant late attack
PLUMELEC, France -- Cycling great Marianne Vos won the opening stage of the women's Tour de France with a brilliant late attack on Saturday. The 38-year-old Dutchwoman overtook her Visma–Lease a Bike teammate Pauline Ferrand-Prévot approaching the line, and then held off Mauritian rider Kim Le Court in the closing meters of a grueling uphill finish. Ferrand-Prévot looked set to win the stage, but the Frenchwoman attacked too early from 600 meters and could not withstand the late surge from Vos, who punched the air with her left fist as she crossed the line. Moments later, Vos hugged an exhausted-looking Ferrand-Prévot, the Paris-Roubaix winner. 'I didn't now if Pauline was still hanging in the finish, but in the end I sprinted a bit with Kim,' Vos said, praising her teammate's effort. 'I'm really grateful to the team and to Pauline.' The hilly 78.8-kilometer (48.9-mile) route from Vannes to Plumelec in Brittany featured two small climbs and was completed in 1 hour, 53 minutes, 3 seconds by Vos — a multiple world champion, a former Olympic road race champion and a silver medalist at last year's Paris Games. Former Olympic time-trial silver medalist Marlen Reusser was one of 10 riders to crash some 30 kilometers from the end. She continued for a while but was clearly struggling and had to abandon the stage. Sunday's second stage from the port city of Brest to Quimper stays in Brittany and is slightly more hilly and longer at 110.4 kilometers. The nine-stage race, which ends Aug. 3, began a day before the end of the men's Tour, set to be won for a fourth time by Slovenian star Tadej Pogačar by a comfortable margin. The women's race could be far closer. Last year provided the smallest winning margin in the history of the women's and men's races, with Polish rider Kasia Niewiadoma beating 2023 champion Demi Vollering by four seconds, and Pauliena Rooijakkers only 10 seconds off the pace in third place. ___
