Jul 21, 2023 at 5:09 PMUpdate: 14 minutes ago
Matej Mohoric won a spectacular stage in the Tour de France on Friday. The Slovenian pushed his wheel over the finish line in the nineteenth stage just before Kasper Asgreen, who just missed out on his second stage victory in a row.
The stage from Moirans-en-Montagne to Poligny was very much like a spring classic. It was waiting for a successful flight, which only took shape after about 60 kilometers. Mathieu van der Poel initially missed the boat, but was able to join a large group a little later.
In the final Asgreen, Mohoric and Ben O’Connor drove away and so Van der Poel had to chase again. He was joined by a group of eight riders, but the three in the lead kept spinning well. In the sprint, Mohoric was just faster than Asgreen, who was the best the day before.
For Mohoric it is his third stage victory in the Tour de France. The 28-year-old Slovenian previously won two stages in the 2021 Tour. It is the third stage victory for Bahrain Victorious in this Tour. Previously, Pello Bilbao won the tenth stage and Wout Poels won the fifteenth stage.
The Tour continues on Saturday with the penultimate stage, which crosses the Vosges mountains. It is a tough mountain stage, which could have been memorable if Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard had been closer together in the standings. The Dane now has 7.35 minutes ahead of the Slovenian. The Tour de France traditionally ends in Paris on Sunday.
The photo finish in pictures. Photo: Tour de France
Van der Poel falls short in pursuit
After almost three weeks with stage victories for sprinters or climbers, the ‘classic’ riders had circled the nineteenth stage with a thick felt-tip pen. One of them was Van der Poel, who had initially missed the boat after a spectacular opening phase with several escape attempts.
After an intermediate sprint at about 80 kilometers from the finish, Van der Poel managed to join the eight front runners with a group of almost thirty men. In addition to Van der Poel, this large group also included Dylan Groenewegen and Lars van den Berg.
At the moment of the amalgamation, Victor Campenaerts and Simon Clarke jumped away. They stayed in the lead until the final climb, the Côte d’Ivory, 28 kilometers from the end. There they were outrun by Mohoric, Asgreen and O’Connor.
The three in the lead worked flawlessly together, so that the chasing group containing Van der Poel could not come back. The Dutchman then dropped back to start the sprint ahead of Jasper Philipsen, who finished fourth and is mathematically certain of the points jersey.
For example, Van der Poel was again important for teammate Philipsen, who earlier this Tour with the help of the Dutchman already won four stages. On a personal level, it is not the best Tour for the Dutchman. He struggled with coughing fits for days and seems to end this round without a stage win.
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2023-07-21 16:25:58
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