Even before the first mountainous stages of the Tour, Primoz Roglic, who finished second last year, suffered another setback. But for first runner Matthew van der Poel, things weren’t any better.
Two old rivals running together: Matthew van der Poel in the yellow jersey and Wout van Aert.
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Mathieu van der Poel continues to shine in the yellow jersey, and Primoz Roglic, who suffered serious injuries from a fall, eventually ran out of steam. Even before entering the Alps, the stars of the 108th Tour de France presented a scene in which Roglic was the biggest loser. Last year’s runners-up lost nearly four minutes to defending champion Tadig Bojacar en route to Le Creusot. Matej Muhorek won the day as a soloist.
Van der Poel, as part of a splinter group, was fourth enough in the 249.1km section to successfully defend the famous Maillot Jaune. The Dutchman beats Belgian Wout van Aert by 30 seconds and is 1:49 minutes ahead of Dane Kasper Asgreen. Pogacar is now fifth, 3:43 minutes behind the cross-country world champion, but the Slovenian’s time comes in the mountains.
Roglic must bury all hopes
In fact, his compatriot Roglic wanted to attack there, but on Friday had to demolish Signal d’Uchon, which has been classified as a Class II climb. The 31-year-old fell poorly in the third stage, bruised coccyx and severe abrasions. Roglic had already lost time in the Pogacar in the Trial of Time, and now he must bury all hopes of an all-out victory.
Before the first tests in the mountains, the peloton had prepared to break up in Bourgogne to be the hour. Attacks ensued immediately after the start, and Van der Poel, Van Aert and Julian Alaphilippe found themselves in a splinter group. It was risky for the UAE Pogacar team, especially since Alaphilippe also has strong mountaineering skills. The world champion was arrested, and another group of nearly 30 drivers formed with Van der Paul, Van Art and Mark Cavendish after 45 minutes of the race.
Carabaz attack is not rewarded
This group left the United Arab Emirates, the maximum advance was about eight minutes. The group’s attacks began fifty kilometers before the end, one of which Mohoric successfully used. On the field, things were slow until Signal d’Uchon, when Richard Carabaz attacked. The climbing specialist from Team Ineos wanted to put Pogacar under extra pressure in front of the mountains, but was caught again shortly before the finish line.
The stage that ended north of Lyon was just the start of the weekend. On Saturday, you must climb three times of the first category before descending to the destination at Le Grand-Bornand. German fans still have fond memories of the winter sports resort, as Linus Gerdmann won there in 2007 and took over the yellow jersey.
The first mountain access is on the program at Tignes on Sunday. Since only three stages will end when passing this tour, strong climbers will have to look for their chance here. This time the weather forecast also fit. Two years ago, the Tignes stage was canceled due to a landslide after a storm.
Seventh stage, Verizon / France – Le Croseau / France (249.10 km):
1. Matej Mohoric (Slovenia) – Victorious Bahrain 5:28:20 hours; 2. Jasper Steuven (Belgium) – Trek – Segafredo + 1:20 min; 3. Magnus Cort Nielsen (Denmark) – EF Education-Nippo + 1:40; 4 – Matteo van der Poel (Netherlands) – Alpecin-Fenix company; 5 – Kasper Asgren (Denmark) – Dekonink Quick Step; 6. Frank Bonamore (France) – B&B Hotels p/b KTM; 7 – Patrick Konrad (Austria) – Bora Hansgrohe; 8 – Wute Van Aert (Belgium) – Jumbo-Visma; 9 – Brent van Muer (Belgium) – Lotto – Soudal + 1:44; 10. Dorian Godon (France) – AG2R Citroën Team + 2:45; … 35. Emmanuel Buchmann (Lukau / Austria) – Bora Hansgrohe + 5:15
Overall ranking of the individual, status after the seventh stage:
1. Matteo van der Poel (Netherlands) – Alpecin-Fenix 25:39:17 h; 2. Wout van Aert (Belgium) – Jumbo-Visma + 30 seconds; 3. Kasper Asgreen (Denmark) – Deceuninck-Quick-Step + 1:49 min. 4. Matej Muhoric (Slovenia) – Bahrain victorious + 3:01; 5. Tadej Pojacar (Slovenia) – UAE + 3:43; 6. Vincenzo Nibali (Italy) – Trek – Segafredo + 4:12; 7 – Julien Alfelipe (France) – Deceuninck-Quick-Step + 4:23; 8. Alexei Lutsenko (Kazakhstan) – Astana Premier Tech + 4:56; 9. Pierre Roger Latour (France) – TotalEnergies + 5:03; 10. Rigoberto Oran Oran (Colombia) – EF Education-Nippo + 5:04
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