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Arensman wins toughest stage as Pogacar stretches lead

Arensman wins toughest stage as Pogacar stretches lead

Yahoo6 days ago
Dutch rider Thymen Arensman won the Tour de France's toughest stage after a long solo effort over mammoth climbs but Tadej Pogacar increased his overall lead on Saturday.
Arensman, who rides for Ineos-Grenadiers, posted the biggest victory of his career. After crossing the finish line in the deep fog enveloping the ski resort of Superbagneres, Arensman lay exhausted on the road with his head in his hands.
He went solo with 37km left from a breakaway, and quickly opened a comfortable lead. He started the final ascent to Superbagneres, which is more than 12km long, on his own and resisted the return of the main contenders.
It was Arensman's second Grand Tour stage win, having previously won a stage at the 2022 Spanish Vuelta.
As Arensman posed no threat to the overall standings, Pogacar and his teammates controlled the race from the back. The yellow jersey holder and his main challenger, Jonas Vingegaard, trailed by around three minutes with 8km remaining.
Vingegaard tried a move with 4km left but Pogacar responded with ease. The two rivals then watched each other closely and Arensman crossed first at the summit, more than one minute ahead of the duo.
Having won the previous two stages in the Pyrenees, Pogacar settled for second place. He accelerated in the final section to gain more time on Vingegaard, who completed the podium.
🏆 Such a brilliant way to claim you first Tour de France stage win! Congrats @ThymenArensman!🏆 Une première victoire d'étape sur le Tour de France décroché avec la manière ! Un grand bravo @ThymenArensman!#TDF2025 pic.twitter.com/pzSHWlE3vb
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 19, 2025
Overall, Pogacar increased his lead over Vingegaard to 4 minutes, 13 seconds, with Florian Lipowitz in third place, 7:53 off the pace after Remco Evenepoel abandoned his race.
Evenepoel, who was third overall, struggled early on as the peloton faced another day of suffering on climbs that are part of the Tour's lore such as the Col du Tourmalet, the Col d'Aspin, Col de Peyresourde and Superbagneres.
The Olympic champion was dropped on the ascent of the Tourmalet. Evenepoel won the opening time trial but suffered in the Pyrenees.
After struggling during Friday's uphill race against the clock to Peyragudes, he managed to keep his third place in the general classification.
Ben O'Connor was the highest finishing Australian rider, in 16th place, with Callum Scotson 19th. O'Connor is in 12th position overall.
Riders will leave the high mountains on Sunday's stage during a 169km ride from Muret to the medieval city of Carcassonne.
The race finishes next weekend in Paris.
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Cattle cull forces change to Tour de France stage route
Cattle cull forces change to Tour de France stage route

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timean hour ago

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Cattle cull forces change to Tour de France stage route

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Why Oscar Onley could be the Tour de France's most surprising podium finisher for years
Why Oscar Onley could be the Tour de France's most surprising podium finisher for years

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time3 hours ago

  • New York Times

Why Oscar Onley could be the Tour de France's most surprising podium finisher for years

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Tour de France announces route change to Stage 19 to avoid herd of diseased cows
Tour de France announces route change to Stage 19 to avoid herd of diseased cows

Yahoo

time9 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Tour de France announces route change to Stage 19 to avoid herd of diseased cows

The Tour de France is taking a short detour on Friday, as the competition enters its third to last day. In an unusual move, the organization announced Thursday that the route for Friday's Stage 19 will follow an altered route in order to avoid a herd of diseased cattle. The Tour de France clarified in the announcement that as a result of the illness (an outbreak of contagious nodular dermatitis), the farmers will have to cull the herd to stop the spread of disease. The choice to move the route is done both to help the race move more smoothly and also, per the Tour, "in light of the distress experienced by the affected farmers." The herd is located in the Col des Saisies, a mountain pass that is normally part of the route from Albertville to La Plagne, two mountain towns in western France. Stage 19 is the sixth and final mountain stage of the 23-day race. The changed route, which bypasses the Col des Saisies, shortens the route significantly, from 129.9 kilometers to 95 kilometers. Cyclists will still start in Albertville, and will travel seven kilometers before peeling off to rejoin the original route near Beaufort. The race will begin at 2:30 p.m. local time, one hour later than originally scheduled. Stage 18, another mountainous stage in the French Alps, took riders from Vif to Courchevel on Thursdays. Australian Ben O'Connor finished first in Thursday with a time of 05:03:47. After 18 stages, Slovenian rider Tadej Pogacar currently leads all riders with a time of 66:55:42. After Friday's shortened Stage 19, the race will take two more stages. First, Stage 20 will take riders from Nantua to Pontarlier in a hilly race. Then, on Sunday, the cyclists will conclude with a flat race from Mantes-La-Ville to Paris, with the iconic ending at the Champs-Élysées.

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