Tour de France - Pogacar minimally demonstrates power - Carapaz wins stage
Before the upcoming Alpine challenges, the favorites for victory in the 111th Tour de France took no break. Tadej Pogacar attacked his rival Jonas Vingegaard approximately five kilometers before the finish line in the winter sports resort of Superdévoluy, but the Danish title defender was able to counterattack initially. Then, the two-time Tour winner sprinted again and finished a few seconds before Vingegaard. It was a mini power demonstration. Both gave a preview of the upcoming tough mountain stages. Olympic champion Richard Carapaz took the stage win.
Exceptional rider Pogacar is still leading comfortably with a 3:11 minute advantage over Vingegaard. Belgian time trial world champion Remco Evenepoel finished ahead of the two other favorites and gained some time. He is 5:09 minutes behind Pogacar in third place.
Carapaz wins on Stage 17
After the grueling 177.8 kilometers between Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux and the winter sports resort of Superdévoluy, Ecuadorian Carapaz set himself apart as the solo winner on the 17th Stage, ahead of the British rider Simon Yates and the Spaniard Enric Mas. The remaining seven German riders played no role among the leading riders.
For Carapaz, it is his first Tour stage win of his career. He has achieved stage victories only at the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España. In 2019, he even won the Giro. The climber was particularly pleased, as the winner of the gold medal from Tokyo (2021) was not nominated by his national federation for the upcoming Paris Games. Jhonatan Narvaez will participate instead.
Phil Bauhaus did not experience Carapaz's victory as part of the peloton. The cyclist said a day after his second place in Nîmes "Au Revoir". Like last year, the 30-year-old sprinter ended the French Round Race prematurely. The day before, he had confirmed that he would stay until Nice.
"Leaving home is never easy. He and the team have put in a lot of effort and have decided that it is the best decision", said Nikias Arndt, Bauhaus's teammate at ARD. A day before the hilly stage on Wednesday, the sprinters had their last chance for a stage win at the Tour.
Girmay in the intermediate sprint before Phiipsen
Finally, the overall classification riders and sprinters took center stage on the individual stages. The traditional breakaway groups had it tough in the final part of the race. The upcoming mountain stage with 2850 meters of altitude gain in the Alps officially welcomed the breakaways. At the end, there were three climbing categorized mountains scheduled.
However, the focus was on the sprinters around Jasper Philipsen and the Eritrean sprinter Biniam Girmay in the first part of the race. After Girmay's crash the day before, Philipsen shortened the gap to the leader of the green jersey by winning the stage.
At the intermediate sprint, approximately 64 kilometers before the finish, Girmay crossed the line ahead of Philipsen. Until the last stage in Nice, there are still three remaining intermediate sprints for the fast riders.
Once again, the breakaways are in demand on Thursday. At five smaller climbs on Stage 18 between Gap and Barcelonnette, the cyclists must cover 179.5 kilometers. On Friday and Saturday, there are each two hard Alpine stages scheduled. On Sunday, the French Round Race ends with an individual time trial in Nice.
- Biniam Girmay showed his sprinting skills in the intermediate sprint before Philipsen during the stage, securing a small advantage.
- In the ongoing Tour de France, Biniam Girmay is a notable contender among the sprinters, competing against Jasper Philipsen and others.
- The 18th Stage of the Tour de France, featuring five smaller climbs in France, will provide another opportunity for breaks and sprints, with professionals like Girmay and Philipsen in the mix.
- Biniam Girmay's performance in the Tour de France has garnered attention, as he competes against other international cyclists like Remco Evenepoel and Tadej Pogacar.
- The historic French Alps serve as the backdrop for the final challenging stages of the Tour de France, with Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel leading the favorites, closely followed by Biniam Girmay in the sprint category.
- Cycling enthusiasts from around the world, including Germany, have been following the Tour de France closely, eagerly witnessing the performances of elite riders like Pogacar, Evenepoel, and Girmay in the challenging French Alps.
