Tour de France 2025: Pogacar exits Alps with Tour stranglehold as Arensman takes Stag 19e
Arensman crossed the finish line in the rain two seconds ahead of title contender Jonas Vingegaard and his great rival Pogacar.
However barring a collapse UAE Team Emirates rider Pogacar should claim his fourth Tour de France title aged just 26 years in Paris on Sunday.
The Slovenian exits the Alps with a lead of four minutes and twenty-four seconds on second-placed Vingegaard with just two stages remaining.
German breakout star Florian Lipowitz strengthened his hold on third place and top spot in the under-25's section on his debut Tour de France as he tracked the title rivals all the way to the summit finish.
For Arensman and Ineos this was a symbolic victory as the British team begin their revival with the return to the helm of Dave Brailsford.
Arensman slumped to the ground in tears at La Plagne as he just held on with a white-knuckle struggle over the final kilometres.
He previously won Stage 14 at another ski resort, at altitude in the Pyrenees at Superbagneres.
This final mountain stage was shortened overnight due to an outbreak of a cattle infection along the route, reduced to just 93km, which ran to a rowdy finish at 2,050m altitude.
The stage however was largely uncontested in comparison to Thursday's epic cat-and-mouse between Pogacar and Vingegaard, who attacked the champion 71km from the finish line without ever dislodging him.
Stage 20 on Saturday is a hilly run through the Jura, while Sunday's run to the Champs Elysees also features a potentially chaotic run up the cobbled lanes of Montmartre.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Etihad
an hour ago
- Al Etihad
Tadej Pogačar finishes third on final Tour de France mountain stage
PARIS (AGENCIES) On the final day in the mountains at this year's Tour de France, Tadej Pogačar did not flinch in his defence of the Yellow Jersey. Finishing third across the line at La Plagne, the Slovenian did not even come under attack on the last climb, such was the pace that he set at the front of the favourites' group. Unable to put the UAE Team Emirates-XRG man under pressure on the last summit finish of the race, Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) sprinted around Pogačar for second at the line, with Ineos Grenadiers' Thymen Arensman taking a well-earned victory after his speculative attack from the GC group. The Dutch climber becomes the only rider to take a stage win in both the Pyrenees and the Alps at this year's Tour. Content to set a defensive tempo up the final climb to La Plagne, Pogačar did not chase down Arensman or follow his stage-winning attack. Instead, the 26-year-old sapped the morale of his opponents and crossed the line with his race lead remaining well more than four minutes. Only two stages stand between the world champion and a fourth Tour de France victory. As for Pogačar, the Yellow Jersey took third place on the day and will now turn his attention to the final two stages of this year's race. With an advantage of well over four minutes in the GC, Pogačar can be confident, but as he stated in his post-race interview, this is no time to become complacent. Pogačar said, 'We did a very good job until the last climb, and then some teams and riders think they can sprint the 19km of the climb. The pace was incredibly high at the start, and then I was thinking that maybe Jonas [Vingegaard] would want to win the stage also. But in the end, he was just holding on to my wheel.
The National
2 hours ago
- The National
Tadej Pogacar set to seal fourth Tour de France crown after coming through penultimate stage unscathed
Slovenian superstar Tadej Pogacar has all but secured his fourth Tour de France crown after easing through Saturday's penultimate stage. The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider and reigning champion maintained his advantage over Jonas Vingegaard of four minutes and twenty-four seconds going into Sunday's finish in Paris. However, the final stage is not a processional one, as is usually the case, and could potentially prove problematic towards the end with three consecutive climbs. But, barring any disaster in the French capital, Pogacar will be champion again. After winning the title in 2020, 2021 and 2024, the 26-year-old has dominated this year's race, winning four stages and having kept a grip on the yellow jersey since Stage 13 from which point his lead has never dropped below four minutes. Pogacar was given a pat on the back from Vingegaard as he crossed the line in Pontarlier with the rest of peloton, more than six minutes after stage winner Kaden Groves, with the Dane having been unable to drop his great rival despite numerous attempts in the final week. "It's starting to sink in," said Pogacar. "Tomorrow, all being well, I'll be celebrating with my team. "This has been another level of hard, all the way. I enjoyed it though and I'm really looking forward to the last day tomorrow." Alpecin-Deceuninck rider Groves took the honours claiming his first Tour victory after avoiding a crash on slippery roads before powering to a solo triumph on the 184.2km race from Nantua. Groves's bike-handling skills were on display when he managed to stay up as Spain's Ivan Romeo and France's Romain Gregoire skidded out of control in front of him on a wet descent 21 kilometres from the finish. The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider then attacked from a reduced breakaway bunch and never looked back in the remaining 17 kilometres, bursting into tears in a mix of disbelief and exhaustion after the line. The Australian finished 54 seconds ahead of Frank van den Broek (Picnic PostNL), who was in turn five seconds ahead of his countryman Pascal Eenkhoorn (Soudal Quick-Step). It meant Groves had completed the trilogy of winning a stage on each of the three Grand Tour races with victories in the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana already safely in the bag. Groves seized his opportunity as Alpecin's third man after teammates Jasper Philipsen (who won the opening stage) and Mathieu van der Poel (winner of Stage 2) dropped out of the race. 'There are so many emotions to win here, the team came here with so many different plans with Jasper and Mathieu, and in the end, I get my own opportunities,' said Groves. 'They haven't gone the right way, but today I had super legs and I just suffered to the line and it rewarded me with a Tour stage. 'The team gave me the free role in the last days, especially today we weren't sure whether to go for the stage or save for tomorrow. But when the rain starts to fall, I always have a super feeling normally in the cold weather, and it's like my first-ever time winning solo, and it's a Tour stage, so it's pretty incredible. 'It's not really a childhood dream because I only started cycling quite late, but there's so much pressure at the Tour, and having won at the Giro and the Vuelta, all I ever get asked is 'Am I good enough to win at the Tour?', and now I have shown them.' The final stage is a 132.3km ride from Mantes-la-Jolie to Paris, where the peloton will cycle up the famous Butte Montmartre three times before the final laps on the Champs-Elysees.
Gulf Today
21 hours ago
- Gulf Today
Arensman wins Tour de France 19th stage as UAE Team Emirates XRG's Pogacar retains yellow jersey
Dutch rider Thymen Arensman picked up a second stage win at the Tour de France on Friday, winning stage 19 at La Plagne ski resort as defending champion Tadej Pogacar closed in on a fourth title. Arensman crossed the finish line exhausted but delirious in the heavy rain, two seconds ahead of title contender Jonas Vingegaard and his great rival Pogacar. Barring a collapse, Team UAE rider Pogacar should claim his fourth Tour de France title aged just 26 years in Paris on Sunday. The attack-minded Pogacar explained how he had played it safe with just two days left until the race finish on the Champs Elysees. 'When Arensman attacked I let him go, setting my own rhythm. It was close, I did want to win, but I'm just glad it's over,' Pogacar said. 'It was a good win from Thymen, he deserved it.' The Slovenian exits the Alps with a lead of 4min 24sec on second-placed Vingegaard. Vingegaard for once finished ahead of Pogacar, but this was a fourth second-place finish on this 21-day slog. Pogacar has dominated the 2025 Tour de France, winning stages on rolling runs in the north and west at Rouen and the Mur de Bretagne in the first week, then twice on the mountain slopes of the Pyrenees in week two. As the Tour entered its end game Pogacar unexpectedly simply protected his lead through the Alps rather than go on his trademark all-out attacks. The 2022 and 2023 champion Vingegaard had two off days, first on a time trial and secondly in the Pyrenees, leaving Pogacar to surge into a position of such strength he only needed to follow. German breakout star Florian Lipowitz strengthened his hold on overall third place and top spot in the under-25's section on his debut Tour de France as he tracked the title rivals all the way to the summit finish for an impressive Tour debut with Red Bull Bora. Shortened stage: For Arensman and Ineos this was a symbolic victory as the British team begin their revival with the return to the helm of Dave Brailsford, mastermind of seven wins in his previous stint. Arensman slumped to the ground in tears at La Plagne as he just held on with a white-knuckle struggle over the final kilometres. 'I'm totally destroyed,' said Arensman, who also won stage 14 at Superbagneres in the Pyrenees. Mirroring Ben O'Connor's winning tactic on the thrilling stage 18, climber Arensman attacked at the bottom of the final climb with the title rivals more concerned with tracking each other. But this time the breakaway stage winner had to sweat out the run in with the top trio closing fast. 'It feels like a dream, that's Jonas and Tadej and everyone knows they are the best in the world,' he said. The 25-year-old Ineos man fell over into the barriers exhausted at the line and broke into sobs of relief. This final mountain stage was shortened overnight due to an outbreak of a cattle infection along the route, reduced to just 93km, which ran to a rowdy finish at 2050m altitude. The stage however was largely uncontested in comparison to Thursday's epic cat-and-mouse between Pogacar and Vingegaard, who attacked the champion 71km from the finish line without ever dislodging him. Stage 20 on Saturday is a hilly run through the Jura, while Sunday's run to the French capital also features a potentially chaotic run up the cobbled lanes of Montmartre. Agence France-Presse
