Chris Waddle believes England will not get a better chance to win a major tournament following their Euro 2020 final defeat to Italy.

The Three Lions suffered penalty shoot-out heartbreak on Sunday as the Azzurri prevailed 3-2 on spot-kicks at Wembley.

It was an agonising defeat for Gareth Southgate, who had guided England to their first major final in 55 years – and first at the European Championship.

Southgate's side conceded just a single goaleon route to the showpiece, becoming the first nation to begin a Euros campaign with five successive clean sheets along the way.

However, a first trophy since the 1966 World Cup narrowly eluded the Three Lions after Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Buyako Saka all missed from 12 yards out.

Former England winger Waddle was part of Bobby Robson's side that reached the 1990 World Cup semi-finals, before losing to West Germany on penalties.

And the 60-year-old, who along with Stuart Pearce was unsuccessful from the spot in that defeat, thinks his nation will struggle for a better opportunity to end their long wait for major silverware.

Milan will face three of last season's other top-six sides in their opening seven games of the 2021-22 Serie A campaign.

Last season's second-placed finish was the Rossoneri's best in nine years, but it was tinged with disappointment as bitter rivals Inter overtook them to finish at the summit.

Stefano Pioli's men will be looking to go one better this time around and end their 11-season wait for Scudetto glory, though they have been dealt a difficult hand.

Milan take on Sampdoria and Cagliari in their opening two matches, before a tough run that will see them face Lazio, Juventus and Atalanta within their next five games.

The first Derby della Madonnina of the season will take place on matchday 12 in early November, with Milan the designated home team for that showdown with champions Inter.

The reverse fixture in the opening week of February comes straight on the back of a home match against Juventus, who are being coached once again this term by ex-Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri.

Milan face Atalanta in their final home match of 2020-21 before heading to Sassuolo in the concluding round of games.

Milan's Serie A fixtures in full, subject to change:

22/08/2021 - Sampdoria (a)
29/08/2021 - Cagliari (h)
12/09/2021 - Lazio (h)
19/09/2021 - Juventus (a)
22/09/2021 - Venezia (h)
25/09/2021 - Spezia (a)
03/10/2021 - Atalanta (a)
17/10/2021 - Hellas Verona (h)
24/10/2021 - Bologna (a)
27/10/2021 - Torino (h)
31/10/2021 - Roma (a)
07/11/2021 - Inter (h)
21/11/2021 - Fiorentina (a)
28/11/2021 - Sassuolo (h)
01/12/2021 - Genoa (a)
05/12/2021 - Salernitana (h)
12/12/2021 - Udinese (a)
19/12/2021 - Napoli (h)
22/12/2021 - Empoli (a)
06/01/2022 - Roma (h)
09/01/2022 - Venezia (a)
16/01/2022 - Spezia (h)
23/01/2022 - Juventus (h)
06/02/2022 - Inter (a)
13/02/2022 - Sampdoria (h)
20/02/2022 - Salernitana (a)
27/02/2022 - Udinese (h)
06/03/2022 - Napoli (a)
13/03/2022 - Empoli (h)
20/03/2022 - Cagliari (a)
03/04/2022 - Bologna (h)
10/04/2022 - Torino (a)
16/04/2022 - Genoa (h)
24/04/2022 - Lazio (a)
01/05/2022 - Fiorentina (h)
08/05/2022 - Hellas Verona (a)
15/05/2022 - Atalanta (h)
22/05/2022 - Sassuolo (a)

Maro Itoje is looking forward to the competition Alun Wyn Jones will provide when he returns to the British and Irish Lions squad.

Jones, who was initially named as the tour captain, suffered a dislocated shoulder in a pre-tour match against Japan and was expected to miss the series against South Africa.

However, the most-capped player of all time will be back in contention for the Lions when their three-Test series against the Springboks starts on July 24.

England lock Itoje played and impressed on Wednesday, as the Lions failed to battle back against a South Africa A team littered with 2019 Rugby World Cup winners, suffering their first defeat in eight games in the process.

Though he will be competing with Jones for a place in Warren Gatland's team, Itoje is relishing the prospect of playing alongside the Wales star.

"He's a man of immeasurable experience, he is the most capped player in the history of rugby. He is going to add his experience, add his clout and add his edge," Itoje told Sky Sports.

"To be honest, I want the competition, I want the best team available and I want to compete. Those kind of decisions are not up to me, they're up to the man who gets paid the big bucks, Warren, so I'll leave that to him."

The Lions went down 17-13 in Cape Town, with their points tally their fewest in a match since a 12-3 win against the Crusaders in the 2017 tour of New Zealand.

Gatland's team came into the game having scored 50 points or more in three successive games – the first time they had managed such a run in their history. In fact, only on three previous tours have they scored a half-century of points in more than three games (1959, 1974, 1997).

Despite Wednesday's loss, Gatland is still confident his team can go on to defeat the world champions, who have played just one Test since beating England back in 2019.

"They came pretty hard at us in the first half. I was really pleased with the way we got back into the game and how strong we looked in the second half," the former Wales coach told Sky Sports.

"We stayed in the battle. That was the pleasing thing. The guys in the changing room are saying there is no reason why we can't win the series."

Juventus will launch their 2021-22 season and quest to regain the Serie A title away at Udinese on August 22.

The Bianconeri’s run of nine straight Scudetti ended last term as they surrendered the crown to Inter and were forced to settle for a fourth-place finish.

That culminated in the dismissal of Andrea Pirlo, who was replaced at the helm by the returning Massimiliano Allegri.

Allegri, who guided Juve to five successive titles between 2015 and 2019, begins his second reign in charge with a trip to the Dacia Arena to face Udinese, before welcoming Empoli to the Allianz Stadium the following week.

Juventus host Allegri’s former employers Milan on September 19, with the return fixture against the Rossoneri in January.

Before that, they travel to the San Siro to face reigning champions Inter on October 24, before welcoming the Nerazzurri at the start of April for what could be a crucial clash in the title run-in.

Elsewhere, the Bianconeri head to Torino for the season's first instalment of the Derby della Mole on October 3, with the second coming on February 20.

Allegri’s men face a potentially tricky climax to the campaign, hosting Lazio on May 15 before concluding away at Fiorentina the following week.

Inter face a reunion with former boss Jose Mourinho during a potentially tricky run of games from the end of September to early December as Simone Inzaghi's side attempt to retain their Serie A crown.

The Nerazzurri finished top of the pile in Italy last season for the first time in 11 years, though there has since been a change in the dugout as Antonio Conte stepped down and has been replaced by ex-Lazio boss Inzaghi.

Inzaghi's first competitive match in charge will be at home to Genoa on the opening weekend of the season, currently scheduled for the week ending August 22.

Inter have what looks to be a kind start to the campaign on paper, with their first meeting against one of last season's top six coming at home to Atalanta on matchday six at the end of September.

Inzaghi will travel to Lazio, whom he was in charge of for five years before departing for Inter in June, on matchday eight and will welcome his former employers to San Siro at the start of 2022.

The first Mourinho meeting comes late in year. He won the treble with Inter in 2009-10, and the Nerazzurri travel to Roma on December 5.

Roma then visit San Siro for the reverse fixture in April.

In terms of other headline fixtures, the Scudetto holders face rivals and last season's runners-up Milan in the week ending November 7 and again in the first week of February.

That first game with Stefano Pioli's side comes two weeks on from a showdown with Juventus and is followed by the visit of Napoli in their next match, albeit with an international break sandwiched between.

Inter conclude their campaign with a home match against Sampdoria in the week ending May 22.

Speaking after the 2021-22 fixture list was released on Wednesday, Inzaghi told his new club's official website: "We're working to make sure we're ready for our opening Serie A game.

"It's going to be an interesting, exciting match against Genoa. We'll be playing our first one at home and we want to get off on the right foot.

"In any case for now we're just focusing on preparing as best we possibly can while waiting for the players involved in the Euros and Copa America to return."

Inter's Serie A fixtures in full, subject to change:

22/08/2021 - Genoa (h)
29/08/2021 - Hellas Verona (a)
12/09/2021 - Sampdoria (a)
19/09/2021 - Bologna (h)
22/09/2021 - Fiorentina (a)
26/09/2021 - Atalanta (h)
03/10/2021- Sassuolo (a)
17/10/2021 - Lazio (a)
24/10/2021 - Juventus (h)
27/10/2021 - Empoli (a)
31/10/2021 - Udinese (h)
07/11/2021 - Milan (a)
21/11/2021 - Napoli (h)
28/11/2021 - Venezia (a)
01/12/2021 - Spezia (h)
05/12/2021 - Roma (a)
12/12/2021 - Cagliari (h)
19/12/2021 - Salernitana (a)
22/12/2021 - Torino (h)
06/01/2022 - Bologna (a)
09/01/2022 - Lazio (h)
16/01/2022 - Atalanta (a)
23/01/2022 - Venezia (h)
06/02/2022 - Milan (h)
13/02/2022 - Napoli (h)
20/02/2022 - Sassuolo (h)
27/02/2022 - Genoa (a)
06/03/2022 - Salernitana (h)
13/03/2022 - Torino (a)
20/03/2022 - Fiorentina (h)
03/04/2022 - Juventus (a)
10/04/2022 - Hellas Verona (h)
16/04/2022 - Spezia (a)
24/04/2022 - Roma (h)
01/05/2022 - Udinese (a)
08/05/2022 - Empoli (h)
15/05/2022 - Cagliari (a)
22/05/2022 - Sampdoria (h)

The British and Irish Lions suffered their first defeat of their tour of South Africa, going down 17-13 to a Springboks 'A' side in Cape Town.

Like in Saturday's win over the Sharks, Warren Gatland's team were defensively vulnerable in the first half on Wednesday and were duly punished by a South Africa A team littered with 2019 Rugby World Cup winners.

Indeed, two of those world champions scored South Africa A's tries, with Sbu Nkosi and Lukhanyo Am going over.

Wyn Jones' score early in the second half brought the Lions back into it, but they were unable to stop a seven-match unbeaten streak – their longest such run since a trail of 10 wins across the 1989 and 1993 tours – coming to an end.

South Africa A started as they meant to go on in the first half – Nkosi seeing what seemed a certain try denied by Anthony Watson, though Morne Steyn, who converted the decisive points in the Lions' 2009 series against the Springboks, then nosed the home team ahead with a penalty.

Nkosi got his try in the 12th minute, however, with the wing bursting down the field to dive over in the corner after Eben Etzebeth charged down Owen Farrell's kick.

Steyn added the extras and, after Farrell had hit a three-pointer for the tourists, the 37-year-old was on point with the boot again in the 33rd minute, this time converting Am's try.

Yellow cards for Faf de Klerk and Marco van Staden reduced South Africa A to 13 men before the interval, and the Lions made their numerical advantage count when Wyn Jones barged over four minutes after the restart.

It was Jones' last act, with the Wales international taken off as a precaution – Gatland having already lost Liam Williams to a head injury in the first half.

Farrell hit another penalty to further reduce the deficit, though Louis Rees-Zammit saw a try disallowed by TMO and then Steyn's perfect record was dashed when he punted a long-range effort wide.

Steyn also squandered a drop-goal attempt late on, yet the Lions failed to make him pay as they were dealt a first setback of their 2021 tour.

STEYN BACK WITH A BANG AS LIONS SUFFER RARE CAPE TOWN DEFEAT

Though his kicking was off in the second half, Steyn was clinical in the opening 40 minutes. His Springboks debut came against the Lions back in 2009 as he played in all three Tests, scoring 19 points and not missing a single place kick (seven of seven) during the series.

This was the first time the Lions have played at Cape Town Stadium, which was built for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, although they will be back for the first Test. It was only their second defeat in the city from their past 11 appearances there – that previous loss having come back in 1980.

CAPTAIN'S RETURN A BOOST

The Lions laboured against the Sharks on Saturday and, against a Test-standard side this time around, their vulnerabilities were exposed again in the first half. Even though they missed only five tackles, their fewest in a match since also missing five against the Brumbies in 2013 – another game in which they lost – they were too often caught out by the pace of their opposition.

Gatland's team improved after the break, but the remarkable return of Alun Wyn Jones cannot come soon enough. International rugby's most-capped player will be on his way to South Africa on Thursday, with Ireland's Ronan Kelleher also flying out.

Jones will be in contention for the first Test on July 24, while Josh Adams – who has impressed on the tour so far – will likely return for the Stormers game on Saturday, after missing Wednesday's outing to watch the birth of his first child on a video call.

Nina Stojanovic was the highest seed to bow out in round two of the Prague Open on Wednesday, losing in three sets to Grace Min.

The seventh seed – ranked 90th in the world – gave former Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber a scare on her SW19 debut at the end of last month before eventually going down 6-4 6-3.

However, despite 10 aces, the Serbian was unable to build on that momentum in the Czech capital, losing 3-6 6-1 6-4 against world number 181 Min.

Min had not won a WTA Tour main-draw match since January 2020.

Serie A winners Inter will begin their title defence with a home match against Genoa.

Fixtures for the 2021-22 season were announced on Wednesday, with the side now coached by Simone Inzaghi given a San Siro opener.

That means city rivals Milan, who were runners-up last year, will begin with an away contest against Sampdoria in the week ending August 22.

Juventus, meanwhile, will start their bid to regain the Scudetto under Massimiliano Allegri with an away fixture against Udinese.

The Old Lady host Empoli in week two before a crunch clash away to Napoli on matchday three.

A tricky start continues for Allegri as he will then face former club Milan, with Juve at home for that huge clash on matchday four.

Inzaghi will take on former club Lazio for the first time on week eight, a week before the first Derby d'Italia against Juve the following matchday, week ending October 24.

The first Milan derby has provisionally been scheduled for the weekend of November 7, which is week 12 of the campaign.

Inter play Milan for the second time on February 6 with their second contest against Juve coming towards the end of the season on April 3.

Should the title race go down to the last day of the season, Inter end their league campaign at home to Sampdoria, while Juve travel to Fiorentina and Milan face Sassuolo.

Serie A week one fixtures:

Bologna v Salernitana
Cagliari v Spezia
Empoli v Lazio
Verona v Sassuolo
Inter v Genoa
Napoli v Venezia
Roma v Fiorentina
Sampdoria v Milan
Torino v Atalanta
Udinese v Juventus

Stefanos Tsitsipas made a winning return to action as he reached the Hamburg European Open quarter-finals with victory over Dominik Koepfer in straight sets.

Having lost a five-set epic against Novak Djokovic in the French Open final, Tsitsipas crashed out in the first round of Wimbledon against Frances Tiafoe.

The Greek welcomed a return to the clay courts in Hamburg, though, as he saw off a battling Koepfer 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 in a productive workout lasting one hour and 44 minutes on Wednesday.

Tsitsipas dropped serve in the first game of the match but immediately struck back and was not broken again in the contest.

He forced plenty of break opportunities – 14 in total – and converted three over the course of the match which proved enough for victory at the ATP 500 event.

Four set points came and went for Tsitsipas as Koepfer served it out at 6-5 to force a tie-break in the opener, but it mattered little when the world number four won four consecutive points to clinch the breaker.

Koepfer led 3-2 in the second set but two consecutive breaks from Tsitsipas ended the contest and ensured he booked a tie against Filip Krajinovic in the last eight.

Sixth seed Krajinovic beat a German opponent to disappoint the home fans for a second straight day, though he needed a deciding set before seeing off veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-5 4-6 6-3.

In the Nordea Open, held in Bastad, fourth seed John Millman was a casualty as he went down in three sets to big-serving qualifier Arthur Rinderknech, who had 12 aces.

There was no such drama for second seed Cristian Garín, though, as he saw off Pedro Martinez 6-3 6-3, dropping serve just once.

Jadon Sancho has broken his silence following the Euro 2020 final penalty miss that saw him become the subject of racist abuse.

The England winger was introduced in the final moments of extra time against Italy on Sunday with the game level at 1-1.

Sancho and fellow substitute Marcus Rashford were seemingly introduced with a shoot-out in mind and both were included among England's first five takers.

But after Rashford hit the post with the third kick, cancelling out the Three Lions' early advantage, Sancho's spot-kick was saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma.

The Italy goalkeeper also denied Bukayo Saka to complete a 3-2 Azzurri win and condemn England to another shoot-out failure – their seventh in nine attempts at major tournaments.

Racist abuse was directed at the three England players on social media in the aftermath, prompting a strong reaction from their team-mates, Gareth Southgate and the Football Association.

Rashford addressed the support he received from fans after a mural depicting the Manchester United forward, which was vandalised after the match, was covered in messages from well-wishers.

Sancho – reported to be undergoing a medical at United after a move from Borussia Dortmund was agreed – and Saka had not posted publicly until Wednesday, however.

Unlike Rashford, who acknowledged "something didn't feel quite right", Sancho said he felt confident from 12 yards. He has scored all three attempts for Dortmund (excluding shoot-outs).

But the 21-year-old sought to address what went wrong in a lengthy Instagram post and then turned his attention to the vile abuse.

"I've had a couple of days to reflect on Sunday's final and still feel a mix of emotions," Sancho wrote.

"I would like to say sorry to all my team-mates, coaching staff and most of all the fans who I let down. This is by far the worst feeling I've felt in my career.

"It's hard to even put into words the real feeling, but there were so many positives to take away from this tournament though the defeat will hurt for a long time.

"My first thought before going into any football match is always: 'How can I help my team? How am I going to assist? How am I going to score? How am I going to create chances?'

"And that's exactly what I wanted to do with that penalty, help the team.

"I was ready and confident to take it, these are the moments you dream of as a kid, it is why I play football. These are the pressured situations you want to be under as a footballer.

"I've scored penalties before at club level, I've practiced them countless times for both club and country, so I picked my corner but it just wasn't meant to be this time.

"We all had the same ambitions and objectives. We wanted to bring the trophy home.

"This has been one of the most enjoyable camps I've been part of in my career so far, the togetherness of the team has been unmatched, a real family on and off the pitch.

"I'm not going pretend that I didn't see the racial abuse that me and my brothers Marcus and Bukayo received after the game, but sadly it's nothing new.

"As a society we need to do better, and hold these people accountable.

"Hate will never win. To all the young people who have received similar abuse, hold your heads up high and keep chasing the dream.

"I am proud of this England team and how we have united the whole nation in what has been a difficult 18 months for so many people.

"Much as we wanted to win the tournament, we will build and learn from this experience going forward.

"I want to say a massive thank you for all the positive messages and love and support that far outweighed the negative.

"It's been an honour as always representing England and wearing the Three Lions shirt, and I have no doubt we'll be back even stronger! Stay safe and see you soon."

It's a fact that 'free' transfers in football are, all things considered, quite expensive. Wages, signing fees, agent demands and general costs make any such deal have a sizeable imprint on a club's balance sheet.

Still, Paris Saint-Germain's signing of Gianluigi Donnarumma for a big fat zero in transfer fees sounds like a sensational piece of business – particularly after his Euro 2020 heroics.

The Italy goalkeeper has left Milan, his boyhood club, to join Mauricio Pochettino's side where he hopes to be able to challenge for the biggest club trophies, most obviously the Champions League.

Certainly, Donnarumma is right to aspire to the top prizes. This is a player who made 200 appearances for the Rossoneri by the age of just 21 years and 146 days, who was valued at €170million by agent Mino Raiola when he was just 16.

PSG have secured a bargain, for sure – but is it one they really needed? Incumbent number one Keylor Navas certainly did not seem to think so when he posted to Instagram "gift your absence to those who do not value your presence" shortly after the Donnarumma rumours first emerged.

As Opta data shows, Navas, a four-time Champions League winner, may well have a point.

First, it's important to stress once again that Donnarumma is an excellent signing. PSG are recruiting a highly experienced yet young goalkeeper without paying a transfer fee; a goalkeeper whose market value is only likely to increase over the coming decade – indeed, it has in the past week alone – should Les Parisiens decide to cash in at any point.

However, it's also true that, if the short-term goal is simply to improve the first XI with a view to winning the Champions League, replacing Navas with Donnarumma may not be a fool-proof move.

In 2020-21, Donnarumma kept 14 clean sheets in 37 matches in all competitions. Navas also managed 14 shut-outs, having played in eight fewer games. The Costa Rican conceded only 18 goals in those matches, whereas Donnarumma let in 38.

Donnarumma produced more saves (92) than Navas (74), but the older man's save percentage was far higher: 80.43 per cent, compared to 70.08. In fact, Navas boasted the highest save percentage of any keeper in Europe's top-five leagues last term who started at least 10 matches, a fraction above Atletico Madrid's Jan Oblak (80 per cent). Donnarumma came 25th in those rankings.

Navas' distribution was better, too: his passing accuracy (85.65) was better than that of Donnarumma (77.04), with only three regular keepers in Europe's top-five leagues posting better numbers. Donnarumma did at least surpass Navas for keeper sweepings, which are defined as any time a keeper anticipates danger and rushes off their line to try either to cut out an attacking pass (in a race with the opposition player) or to close down an opposition player: he completed nine of nine such 'sweepings', with Navas on five out of five.

Going further and looking at expected goals on target – a way of building on expected goals that takes into account the quality of the attempt on goal – we can highlight how well these keepers have done to keep high-quality shots on target from going in. This is done by subtracting goals conceded (excluding own goals) from xGOT conceded, giving us 'goals prevented'. And it's another big tick for Navas.

In Ligue 1 last term, if we exclude penalties and own goals, Navas let in 17 goals from an xGOT conceded total of 24.1, giving him a figure of 7.1 goals prevented. In other words, he would reasonably have been expected to concede roughly seven more goals based on the quality of shots on target he faced. Meanwhile, Donnarumma conceded 35 from an xGOT of 34.1, giving him a goals prevented figure of -0.9 – not terrible, but nothing to shout about.

Last season's figures were not isolated, either. If you look back over Donnarumma's 215 club appearances since his Milan debut on October 25, 2015, Navas' consistency as a shot-stopper is superior.

Donnarumma conceded 227 goals for Milan (excluding own goals) in all competitions from an xGOT figure of 244.4, giving him a goals prevented tally of 17.4. That's a strong return – better, for instance, than Manchester United's David de Gea (16.6) and Liverpool's Alisson (16.1) – but, again, it's lower than that of Navas (20.3).

For balance, both of them are a long way behind the top performer in this metric over that time frame. That man, unsurprisingly, is Jan Oblak of Atletico Madrid, with a quite remarkable goals prevented figure of 44.5.

It's as yet unclear what Navas' plans will be now that Donnarumma has moved to Parc des Princes, but a keeper with his pedigree and medal collection is unlikely to settle for a back-up role. And nor should he: Donnarumma might be PSG's future, but Navas does not deserve to be dispensed with in the present.

Patrik Schick's sensational long-range strike for the Czech Republic against Scotland has been voted Euro 2020's Goal of the Tournament.

The Bayer Leverkusen forward scored twice in the 2-0 win at Hampden Park on matchday one in the group stage, the second of those goals from just inside the Scotland half.

The goal was measured at 49.7 yards, making it the furthest distance a goal has been scored at the European Championship since such data was first recorded in 1980.

Schick spotted opposition goalkeeper David Marshall off his line and left the back-pedalling Scotsman red faced to overtake Torsten Frings' previous record of 38.6 yards for Germany against the Netherlands at Euro 2004.

Speaking after the match on June 14, Schick confirmed he had spotted Marshall off his line earlier in the contest and decided to have a go from range.

"I knew he liked to stay very high, so when the ball came, I quickly checked where he was standing, and it was a nice goal," he told BBC Sport. 

"I saw the keeper off his line. I checked already in the first half and thought maybe this situation will come."

The goal was voted the best from a shortlist of 10 compiled by UEFA's Technical Observer team, with nearly 800,000 votes being cast by the public.

Schick finished level with Cristiano Ronaldo as Euro 2020's top scorer with five goals in five games, but the Portugal superstar was awarded the Golden Boot as he also had one assist.

The 25-year-old's return of 81 minutes per goal was the third best of any player to have scored more than once in the tournament, behind Denmark's Kasper Dolberg (75.33) and Ronaldo (72).

Tadej Pogacar took another giant leap towards defending his Tour de France title with victory up the Col du Portet on stage 17.

The UAE Team Emirates rider benefited from excellent work by his team-mates on the brutal 178.4 kilometre route, which started in Muret.

Rafal Majka in particular was worthy of great praise in aiding the cause of Pogacar, setting the Slovenian up brilliantly to push for the stage win on the final hors categorie climb.

Anthony Perez, the lone man remaining from the breakaway, was reeled in on the last of the three ascents with 8.5km remaining.

It was Pogacar, Jumbo-Visma's Jonas Vingegaard and Richard Carapaz of INEOS Grenadiers, who emerged as the frontrunners for the stage.

Despite dealing with gradients of 13 per cent, Pogacar always looked comfortable and there was never any doubt he would respond when Carapaz attacked 1.5km from a finish 2,215km above sea level, the highest of this year's Tour de France.

There was an element of surprise to that move, Carapaz having done little to help Pogacar and Vingegaard manage the climb while looking on the verge of being dropped.

But Pogacar called his bluff and it was he who clearly had the most left in the tank, surging clear in the final 200 metres to claim his second stage win of this year's Tour.

His lead at the top of the general classification stands at five minutes and 39 seconds from Vingegaard with three stages left before the final processional ride to the Champs-Elysees on Sunday.

STAGE RESULT

1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 5:03:31
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) +0:03
3. Richard Carapaz (INEOS Grenadiers) +0:04
4. David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) +:1:19
5. Ben O'Connor (AG2R Citroen Team) +1:26

CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS

General Classification

1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 71:26:27
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) +5:39
3. Richard Carapaz (INEOS Grenadiers) +5:43

Points Classification

1. Mark Cavendish (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) 287
2. Michael Matthews (Team BikeExchange) 251
3. Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain Victorious) 201

King of the Mountains

1. Wouter Poels (Bahrain Victorious) 78
2. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 67
3. Nairo Quintana (Arkea-Samsic) 66

What's next?

Does Pogacar have enough left in his legs for another hors categorie finish. The penultimate and final ascents are on the 129.7km ride from Pau to Luz Ardiden are each HC climbs as the Tour sees it's final mountain stage of 2021.

Given his lead in the GC, Pogacar does not need to make such an effort, but he might have the appetite for another win to emphasise his dominance on stage 18.