Stage Report: After a game of cat and mouse between Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and Richard Carapaz (INEOS Grenadiers), the yellow jersey despatched his closest rivals in the last metres for the stage win on the Col du Portet. Vingegaard was second and now has 4 seconds on Carapaz on the overall standings.
*** The full ‘PEZ Stage Report’ very soon. ***
Stage win for the yellow jersey – Tadej Pogačar
Tadej Pogačar won the Queen stage 17 to the Col du Portet. After an exciting battle with Jonas Vingegaard and Richard Carapaz on the final climb, the yellow jersey wearer jumped the other podium rider to crossed the line first.
– The final kilometre of Stage 17 and read our full report and pics below:-
Stage 17 profile
Tour boss Christian Prudhomme describes stage 17: “The Tour resumes from the bottom of the Pyrenees to face them differently with this stage that has two faces, with a big chain ring on over 100 kilometres before taking on three major obstacles in a row: Peyresourde, Val Louron-Azet and to finish off, the 16-km climb at an average gradient close to 9% of the unforgiving Col du Portet. Big efforts required for what promises to be quite a show.”
The jerseys at the start of possibly the hardest stage of the 2021 Tour de France
The sunflowers are back
A Wanty rider, it must be a break – Danny Van Poppel
90 kilometres to the big climbs
Tadej Pogačar looked calm before the climbing started
Chris Froome not looking so good
Tough stage finish ahead
Mark Cavendish should be in the time limit today
Postelberger maybe wanted to emulate his BORA-hansgrohe teammates with a stage win, but it wasn’t to be
The top men were keeping their powder dry for the finalé
The battle for the KOM was on between Wout Poels and Nairo Quintana, the Colombian was first to crack
Brandon McNulty and Davide Formolo rode themselves to a standstill for Tadej Pogačar on the Col du Portet
Wout van Art worked hard for Jonas Vingegaard to the start of the last climb
The 2021 Tour podium
In a league of his own – Tadej Pogačar
It was a hard last metres
Stage winner, overall leader and best young rider, Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates): “It has been very hard to defend the yellow jersey every single day. We couldn’t fight for the stage win because almost every day was good for the breakaway [to make it to the finish], so we couldn’t do much. Today it was a good stage to control from the beginning, more like a 50/50 between the breakaway and the bunch. In the end, everyone in my team felt good and we managed to bring it back. I tried to get the stage win… and it turned out well. [When I attacked, Richard] Carapaz, [Jonas] Vingegaard and I went clear, but only Jonas and I cooperated to put some distance between us and the rest of the GC favorites. At some point, Jonas came by and told me that he thought Carapaz was bluffing. I knew it also: that’s tactics in pro cycling. When Carapaz attacked, I was very driven to catch him and hold his wheel. I just sprinted out on the last 150 meters. It has been a fantastic day. To win in the yellow jersey is something I can’t describe.”
Ben o’Connor fought hard for his 5th place on the stage and overall
Tour de France Stage 17 Result:
1. Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates in 5:03:31
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Jumbo-Visma at 0:03
3. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) INEOS Grenadiers at 0:04
4. David Gaudu (Fra) Groupama-FDJ at 1:19
5. Ben O’Connor (Aus) AG2R Citroën at 1:26
6. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) BORA-hansgrohe at 1:40
7. Pello Bilbao (Spa) Bahrain Victorious at 1:44
8. Sergio Higuita (Col) EF Education-Nippo at 1:49
9. Rigoberto Urán (Col) EF Education-Nippo
10. Dylan Teuns (Bel) Bahrain Victorious
11. Enric Mas Nicolau (Spa) Movistar at 2:27
12. Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech at 2:53
13. Guillaume Martin (Fra) Cofidis at 3:39
14. Louis Meintjes (RSA) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux at 3:41
15. Ruben Guerreiro (Por) EF Education-Nippo at 3:55
16. Esteban Chaves Rubio (Col) BikeExchange at 4:46
17. Mattia Cattaneo (Ita) Deceuninck – Quick-Step
18. Wout Poels (Ned) Bahrain Victorious at 5:26
19. Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas (Spa) INEOS Grenadiers at 6:38
20. Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo at 7:27
21. Xandro Meurisse (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix at 7:35
22. Sepp Kuss (USA) Jumbo-Visma at 8:08
23. Quentin Pacher (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM at 8:26
24. Aurélien Paret Peintre (Fra) AG2R Citroën at 9:28
25. Rafal Majka (Pol) UAE Team Emirates at 9:33.
Tour de France Overall After Stage 17:
1. Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates in 71:26:27
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Jumbo-Visma at 5:39
3. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) INEOS Grenadiers at 5:43
4. Rigoberto Urán (Col) EF Education-Nippo at 7:17
5. Ben O’Connor (Aus) AG2R Citroën at 7:34
6. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) BORA-hansgrohe at 8:06
7. Enric Mas (Spa) Movistar at 9:48
8. Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech at 10:04
9. Guillaume Martin (Fra) Cofidis at 11:51
10. Pello Bilbao (Spa) Bahrain Victorious at 12:53
11. David Gaudu (Fra) Groupama-FDJ at 15:42
12. Mattia Cattaneo (Ita) Deceuninck – Quick-Step at 19:41
13. Esteban Chaves Rubio (Col) BikeExchange at 28:42
14. Aurélien Paret Peintre (Fra) AG2R Citroën at 31:48
15. Louis Meintjes (RSA) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux at 34:02
16. Wout Poels (Ned) Bahrain Victorious at 44:18
17. Dylan Teuns (Bel) Bahrain Victorious at 46:08
18. Ruben Guerreiro (Por) EF Education-Nippo at 49:01
19. Sergio Henao Montoya (Col) Qhubeka-NextHash at 50:07
20. Wout Van Aert (Bel) Jumbo-Visma at 51:22
21. Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo at 55:49
22. Sergio Higuita Garcia (Col) EF Education-Nippo at 1:02:18
23. Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas (Spa) INEOS Grenadiers at 1:03:24
24. Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar at 1:03:34
25. Franck Bonnamour (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM at 1:14:07.