David Langenbein and Felix Schröder, dpa
This time, cycling superstar Tadej Pogacar celebrated his 22nd stage victory in the Tour de France with his arms spread wide. And as a reward, he also claimed the Yellow Jersey from his great rival Jonas Vingegaard. “Halfway through the race, we decided that a stage win was possible,” he said. “I’m very happy that we’ve started the Tour like this.” On the final climb to Les Angles, the 27-year-old won the sprint from a large group, relegating Vingegaard to second place.
The day before, last year’s winner had let his key domestique, Isaac del Toro, take the win; this time, del Toro led out the sprint for him at the end of the 195.9-kilometre stage. “Thanks to Isaac, I had a bit of extra power today. He gave more than a hundred per cent today – as did the whole team, in fact,” said the four-time Tour winner, delighted. Pogacar now leads the general classification. His Danish rival follows less than a second behind.
Germany’s hope, Florian Lipowitz, finished seventh in the stage, four seconds behind, and is also in seventh place in the overall standings. “It was a really tough day; the start was incredibly fast. And I struggled a bit with the heat too. But the team did a brilliant job with the ice and water,” Lipowitz told ARD.
His team-mate Remco Evenepoel crossed the finish line just behind Lipowitz and is third in the overall standings. Red Bull team manager Ralph Denk was pleased: “The stage isn’t in the high mountains, but in the low mountain range. But it’s been very, very hot. The pace in the peloton was absolutely gruelling. I’m glad they finished the stage so well.”
Despite the appeal: fans on the final climbs
The riders had to tackle four mountain climbs and 3,850 metres of elevation gain on the first mountain stage, the second-longest of the tour. The final climb, however, was only 1.7 kilometres long. A breakaway group led the race for a long time, but in the end only Alex Baudin remained. The Frenchman was caught around twelve kilometres from the finish. Pogacar’s team did the leading work in the peloton.
Due to a forest fire in the region, the organisers and the authorities had urged fans not to come to the final section of the route in France. The fire service and other emergency services needed to be able to concentrate fully on fighting the fire. The usual advertising convoy did not take part either. Nevertheless, there were still large numbers of spectators at the final two climbs. However, there was no curfew for local residents.
With temperatures around 30 degrees, the race was frantic on the flat sections at the start. Many riders tried to break away on the second-longest stage of the tour, including the German Georg Zimmermann. The peloton then let a large group led by Mads Pedersen pull away, but kept the gap under control.
Norwegian fans celebrating a football victory
Whilst still in Spain, the riders faced their first Category 1 climb of the tour at the Col de Toses. Before the riders passed through, Norwegian fans performed the rowing choreography there – the very same move their compatriots had made popular during the World Cup.
The group broke up on the climb. Six professionals were at the front. Baudin took the points. In the peloton, Nils Politt from Pogacar’s team had a problem with his bike, but was able to carry on and used the opportunity to fetch fresh water bottles for his teammates.
A stage under exceptional circumstances
Then the race headed to France for the first time this year, where the stage had to be altered due to the forest fire. “We ask the public not to gather either near the race route or at the finish line,” Tour director Christian Prudhomme had appealed the evening before. He thanked those who had intended to come to the route “in advance for their understanding and forbearance.” Anyone breaching the rules faced a fine.
Almost 4,600 hectares have already been engulfed by the fire, which broke out in a remote mountain range around 70 kilometres from Les Angles. 10,000 people have been evacuated. A firefighter and a local resident have been seriously injured. The fire has been fanned by wind, intense heat and, above all, exceptionally dry air.
The fourth stage could present an opportunity for breakaway riders or hardy sprinters. The 181.9-kilometre route between Carcassonne and Foix is undulating, but contains no mountain climbs in the top two categories. However, the riders must be prepared for intense heat. Temperatures in excess of 40 degrees are possible.
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