Ion Izagirre soloed to victory at the end of an explosive stage 12 of the Tour de France to Belleville-en-Beaujolais.
Eleven days after Victor Lafay ended a 15-year wait for a stage win for the Cofidis team, Izagirre doubled up with a perfectly-timed attack from the breakaway.
The Basque rider, 34, went solo during the final climb, still with 31 kilometres remaining of the 169km stage through wine country from Roanne that was again raced at a ferocious pace.
The much-reduced peloton came in more than four minutes after Izagirre, with Jonas Vingegaard retaining his 17-second lead over Tadej Pogacar as the Alps loom this weekend, but only after putting a big effort in over the first part of the stage which could come with a price to pay in the days ahead.
The stage was always seen as one for the breakaway, but it was a war of attrition from the off as the peloton was quickly whittled down to a few dozen riders by a series of attacks.
With his Jumbo-Visma team-mates Wout Van Aert and and Tiesj Benoot seemingly determined to be in any move, Vingegaard was repeatedly left isolated in the yellow jersey, repeatedly forced to chase down moves as Jai Hindley, third overall, followed the wheels to protect his own position.
It was not until 85 kilometres to go that a 15-strong group got away, but even as a peloton by then reduced to just 39 sat up, their lead never ballooned, the efforts of the first half of the stage perhaps leaving them with little energy left to apply themselves.
Having taken half the stage to form, the break lasted less than 40km as a fighting force. Mathieu Van Der Poel attacked from that front group along with Andrey Amador on the penultimate climb of the Col de la Croix Montmain, soon leaving Amador behind to set out alone with 47km left.
But it was too much for the Dutchman, who was caught midway up the final climb of the Col de la Croix Rosier as the front group swelled to eight.
Izagirre had led the chase, but still had the power left to launch the stage-winning move as he arrived at the line 58 seconds clear Mathieu Burgaudeau and Matteo Jorgenson in second and third.
The Ineos Grenadiers had done much to pace the main contenders in the latter part of the stage, ensuring that Thibaut Pinot’s presence in the breakaway did not threaten Pidcock’s eighth place overall as the Frenchman moved up as far as 10th.
The Tour now heads into the Alps with Friday’s stage a 138km test that ends with the climb of the Grand Colombier.
Jasper Philipsen’s outstanding Tour de France continued on Wednesday as he sprinted to his fourth stage victory on stage 11 in Moulins.
For once Philipsen did not have the best lead-out at the end of a flat stage, but he coolly slotted in behind Dylan Groenewegen and came past the Dutchman in the final 100 metres to extend his sizeable advantage in the points classification.
The sprint finish to the 180km stage from from Clermont-Ferrand meant no change in the fight for the yellow jersey, in which Jonas Vingegaard leads by 17 seconds from Tadej Pogacar.
Philipsen had profited from the huge talents of Alpecin-Deceuninck team-mate Mathieu van der Poel in the previous three flat bunch sprints, but, with his fellow Belgian not a factor in the finale of this one, Philipsen instead surfed the wheels to continue his dominance.
Groenewegen opened up his effort early but had to settle for second as Philipsen came by, with Phil Bauhaus in third a day after his Bahrain-Victorious team-mate Pello Bilbao won stage 10 from a breakaway.
Philipsen has now won all four of the flat bunch sprints in this Tour, having been second to Mads Pedersen on the more challenging uphill sprint into Limoges on stage eight.
“It’s an incredible Tour so far,” said Philipsen. “I can’t realise how good it’s all going, I’m just super proud, really happy with my shape. To get through the final without problems is also a big challenge and we managed to do it already four times in a row so I’m super happy.
“So I can also win without (Mathieu)! But of course he makes it more easy. I had to find my wheel a little but, also finding the space it’s technical and a bit dangerous for crashing. I’m happy I can find a good wheel of Groenewegen and he opened up early so I could go over.
“There are maybe more sprint opportunities, but also there will be guys going for the break, but I’m already so happy to take four and hopefully looking towards Paris I can keep this jersey. I think I made a good gap now (in the points classification) which gives me comfort going into the Alps.”
There was a seven-second gap between the first 17 riders over the line and a second group that included Vingegaard, but with Pogacar in close attendance the gaps at the top of the general classification remained the same.
Jai Hindley remains third, two minutes and 40 seconds down, with Carlos Rodriguez more than four minutes down in fourth. Adam Yates, Simon Yates and Tom Pidcock remain sixth, seventh, and eighth respectively.
Pello Bilbao pointed to the sky in memory of his late team-mate Gino Mader as he celebrated his first career Tour de France stage win in Issoire on Tuesday.
Bilbao triumphed from a breakaway, a first Spanish stage win in five years, sparking emotional scenes less than a month after Mader died following a high-speed crash at the Tour de Suisse.
The pair were close friends, with Mader even having adopted a stray dog from the city of Bilbao and naming him Pello. In his podium interview, the Basque rider said the memory of Mader was “the only reason” for his win.
“It was hard to prepare the last two weeks with him in mind, but staying with my family at home helped me a lot, just to keep calm, be positive and put all my positive energy to try to do something nice in the Tour,” he said.
“I wanted to do it in the first Basque stages, that was so special for me but it was not possible so I just waited for my moment.
“I was maybe thinking my position in the overall was going to be a problem but I decided to a make an all-in move and in the end it was the right movement.
“My first victory in the Tour in 13 years as a pro is such a special moment for me.”
It was also an expensive one. Following Mader’s death, Bilbao had pledged to replicate the Swiss rider’s charitable gesture – donating one euro to environmental causes for every rider he finishes ahead of on each stage, also promising to double the donation if he won a stage.
Bilbao had already run up a bill of more than 1,200 euros in the opening week and will not mind having cost himself much more with a victory which also propelled him up the general classification to fifth, four and a half minutes behind Jonas Vingegaard who still leads by 17 seconds from Tadej Pogacar.
The 167km stage from Vulcania through the Massif Central looked custom-designed for a breakaway as racing resumed in sweltering temperatures after Monday’s rest day, but things were never so simple on a day when the attacks raged from the start to the finish.
Vingegaard and Pogacar were both involved in some of the early moves, splitting the main peloton, before 14 riders eventually got away.
But it was only occasionally a cohesive group. Krists Neilands launched an attack at the foot of the final climb and crested it with an advantage of 30 seconds, but that tumbled on the descent towards town and he was caught by a chasing group of five with three kilometres left.
Bilbao felt confident he was the fastest and let Zimmerman move to the front before launching his sprint with a couple of hundred metres left.
“With cold blood I let Zimmerman make his sprint and I went on the wheel, then it was just full gas for the last 200 metres thinking of nothing,” he said. “I crossed the line and I just put out all the energy inside of me and remembered the reason for this victory, a special one – for Gino.”
The main peloton came to the line a little under three minutes later with no change in the top four in the standings, while Bilbao jumped up six places with Adam Yates, Simon Yates and Tom Pidcock now sixth, seventh and eighth overall respectively.
Mark Cavendish is due to have surgery on his broken right collarbone on Wednesday after being forced out of the Tour by a crash on Saturday.
The 38-year-old has previously announced his intention to retire at the end of the season but has been offered a one-year contract extension by Astana-Qazaqstan.
Tom Pidcock believes he is learning more about himself and his capabilities on a bike as he tests himself in the general classification at the Tour de France.
The 23-year-old Olympic mountain bike champion went into Monday’s rest day seventh overall, five minutes 26 seconds off yellow having picked up time on a number of rivals as he finished fourth amongst the overall contenders after a breakaway triumphed on Sunday’s stage atop the Puy de Dome.
Pidcock, who memorably won the stage on the Alpe d’Huez on his Tour debut last summer, began this year’s race wanting to see if he had the discipline and consistency to stay high on the general classification, not having a bad day across the full three weeks.
As he sat exhausted at the top of the mountain on Sunday he had said he still wanted a stage win “and then I’ll be happy”, but when he spoke on Monday Pidcock was looking at the bigger picture.
“I’m enjoying it,” the Ineos Grenadiers rider said. “I’m getting a bit better. With each test I’m improving and staying near the front, it’s actually motivating me.
“Before if you’d said racing for top 10 I wouldn’t really be so bothered but actually now I’m really enjoying the challenge and each little win.
“I wouldn’t normally have the patience and focus required for three weeks riding the GC, it’s not really in my characteristics but now I’m kind of enjoying it. It’s my first actual time riding with senior pros in a proper stage race like this, it’s all kind of new and I’m enjoying it…
“I’m growing in confidence and just exploring my limits.”
After Michael Woods won from a breakaway, Sunday’s stage saw Tadej Pogacar take eight seconds out of defending champion and race leader Jonas Vingegaard’s advantage in their battle for yellow.
But Simon Yates and Pidcock were the next riders over the line, a result that moved the Yorkshireman up two places from ninth overall.
“Yesterday was a great day and if I can replicate that again, that’s fantastic,” Pidcock said. “The next two weeks now, there are some pretty tough days ahead, back-to-back days and three days in the Alps and it’s going to be a big test.
“Week two into week three is where cracks start to show. My goal is to be consistent. Personally, in my head, it’s becoming more of a challenge and a target to see where I can go on GC because I’m enjoying it.
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“If that means I don’t get a stage win maybe that’s the case but I feel I can learn a lot about myself if I fully commit to the GC now.”
Pidcock has ambitions to one day challenge for yellow himself in the Tour, but for now the former world cyclo-cross champion continues to compete across different disciplines – and will be back on his mountain bike at next month’s world championships in Scotland.
How these next two weeks go will tell Pidcock a lot about what he might be able to do in the future.
“As soon as we finish this race I’m going to be going to try and win the mountain bike worlds, which is not very normal for all the people I’m racing against, it’s a bit strange,” he said when asked if this Tour was making him change the way he thinks about balancing his goals.
“I don’t know. We’ll see in a week’s time.”
Michael Woods charged up the Puy de Dome to beat Matteo Jorgenson to a breakaway victory on stage nine of the Tour de France as Tadej Pogacar clawed back a few more seconds on race leader Jonas Vingegaard.
Woods took almost two minutes out of Jorgenson on the steep gradients of the dormant volcano, making its first appearance in the Tour in 35 years, rounding the American with 450 metres remaining to take his first career Tour de France stage at the age of 36.
More than eight minutes later, the main contenders made it to the summit of this famous climb, with Pogacar using an attack inside the last 1,500 metres to claw back eight seconds on Vingegaard, whose advantage in yellow is down to 17 seconds going into Monday’s rest day.
“It’s not a victory but a small victory,” Pogacar said. “I’m super happy today, it was super nice. It was quite relaxed until the last climb, then I felt my legs immediately were good so I was just waiting for the final 1.5km.
“I just went and when I started with an attack I could see the shadow of (Vingegaard). I could see he was full gas behind me so I pushed more and the gap opened. Then I had to continue all the way to the top.”
Vingegaard fought to limit his losses, but Pogacar’s form will be a concern after he also picked up time with his victory on stage six.
“I guess it will be quite a battle, the next two weeks,” Vingegaard said. “I didn’t have the best day. I think the rest day will do me good.”
After Vingegaard, British duo Simon Yates and Tom Pidcock were the next riders home, with Yates recovering a little of the losses caused by a late crash on Saturday, and Pidcock putting in an encouraging ride that lifted him to seventh overall.
The Olympic mountain bike champion has the goal of testing himself in the general classification this year, taking patience over the three weeks, but the 23-year-old’s comments after the stage suggest he is wrestling with his racer’s instinct.
“Finishing fourth out of the (general classification) riders is great but no one will remember that in a few days,” Pidcock said.
“I want to try and win a stage, I want to try and get my hands in the air and then I’ll be happy but being close on GC makes it tricky to do that.”
Woods and Jorgenson were among 14 riders who went clear early on the 182.5km stage from Saint Leonard de Noblat, the former hometown of the late, great Raymond Poulidor, who got as close as he ever did to winning the Tour on the Puy de Dome in 1964 by cutting his deficit to Jacques Anquetil to 14 seconds.
The narrow road that spirals its way to the summit has plenty of Tour history but none since 1988, for so long deemed too narrow to safely accommodate the modern race.
With fans barred from the final four kilometres it made for a strange but dramatic finale on its return, but one Jorgenson will not remember fondly.
The 24-year-old American broke clear of his fellow escapees with a little under 50km to go, with marked man Woods caught in a group that ended up third on the road.
Jorgenson started the steepest section of the climb, where screaming hoards of fans gave way to silence and suffering, with 80 seconds advantage over three chasing riders, while Woods and company were another 25 seconds back.
But the Canadian went on a charge as the road went up, eating into the gap and catching Jorgenson within the last 500 metres. At the end of his resources, Jorgenson was passed by both Pierre LaTour and Matej Mohoric to end the day fourth as Woods celebrated.
“I’m still having a pinch myself moment,” the Israel-Premier Tech rider said. “I can’t believe I did it. I’m really proud of myself, I’m really proud of my team, it’s special…
“I’m 36, turning 37 this year, I’m not getting any younger. I’ve always talked about winning a stage at the Tour de France and I’ve finally achieved it.”
Canadian Michael Woods charged up the Puy de Dome to beat Matteo Jorgenson to a breakaway victory on stage nine of the Tour de France as Tadej Pogacar clawed back a few more seconds on race leader Jonas Vingegaard.
Woods took almost two minutes out of Jorgenson on the steep gradients of the dormant volcano, making its first appearance in the Tour for 35 years, rounding the American with 450 metres left to take his first career Tour de France stage at the age of 36.
The two were part of a 14-strong group who had gone clear early on the 182.5km stage from Saint Leonard de Noblat, hitting the final climb with an advantage of more than 15 minutes on the peloton.
By the time the main contenders crossed the line, some nine minutes after Woods, Pogacar had put in an attack inside the last 1,500 metres to claw back eight seconds on Vingegaard, whose advantage in yellow is down to 17 seconds going into Monday’s rest day.
British duo Simon Yates and Tom Pidcock were the next riders home, with Yates recovering a little over the losses caused by a late crash on Saturday, and Pidcock putting in an encouraging ride that lifted him to seventh overall as he tests himself in the general classification.
Jorgenson had raced clear of the rest of the breakaway with a little under 50km to go as a series of attacks started. Woods could not follow the move and ended up in a third group on the road, but bided his time.
Jorgenson started the steepest section of the climb, with just over four kilometres with gradients averaging 12 per cent, with 80 seconds over three riders behind and another 25 or so over Woods, but that gradually whittled down.
After Woods passed him, so did Pierre LaTour and Matej Mohoric as Jorgenson came in fourth.
Woods said: “I’m still having a pinch myself moment. I can’t believe I did it. I’m really proud of myself, I’m really proud of my team, it’s special…
“I’m 36, turning 37 this year, I’m not getting any younger. I’ve always talked about winning a stage at the Tour de France and I’ve finally achieved it.”
Behind, Pogacar and Vingegaard kept up a strong pace that gradually dropped rivals one by one. Simon and Adam Yates stuck with them, as did the Ineos Grenadiers pair of Pidcock and Carlos Rodriguez, but when Pogacar put in a dig with 1,500 metres to go, it quickly changed.
Vingegaard briefly followed but when Pogacar looked over his shoulder he saw a short gap opening and redoubled his efforts.
Jai Hindley, third overall, paced his way up after being dropped to minimise his losses and now sits two minutes and 40 seconds off yellow, still more than a minute and a half clear of Rodriguez in the last podium position.
Adam Yates is fifth, four minutes 39 down, just in front of brother Simon and Pidcock in seventh.
“Finishing fourth out of the (general classification) riders is great but no one will remember that in a few days,” said Pidcock.
“I want to try and win a stage, I want to try and get my hands in the air and then I’ll be happy but being close on GC makes it tricky to do that.”
Mark Cavendish’s bid to take a record-breaking 35th Tour de France stage win is over after he was forced to abandon the race following a crash on Saturday.
Less than 24 hours after he came within a few metres of an historic victory in Bordeaux, Cavendish left what he has said will be his final Tour in the back of an ambulance, on his way to hospital in Perigueux with a suspected broken collarbone.
A seemingly innocuous touch of wheels brought an early end to his last appearance in the race he loves, with Cavendish braking to avoid an incident in front but hitting the deck around 60km from the finish of stage eight from Libourne to Limoges, unable to get up as he held his shoulder in agony.
Mads Pedersen took the stage win, powering up the slight rise to the line and holding on to deny the hard-charging Jasper Philipsen a fourth victory of this Tour, but there was only a muted sense of celebration afterwards, with Philipsen paying an eloquent tribute to the master sprinter.
“For me it was a pleasure to be able to race with Mark,” the former world champion said. “I always had a good relationship with him in the peloton. It’s so sad that such a legend has to finish the Tour like this…
“I wish all the best for Mark. Hopefully I can do the last race he’s going to do to honour a legend who stops in cycling.”
Cavendish’s former team-mate Mark Renshaw, brought in by the Astana-Qazaqstan team as a consultant to help a team with little sprinting pedigree prior to Cavendish’s arrival this year, admitted to crying in the team car when he realised it was over for his friend.
Tour director Christian Prudhomme said: “It is an emotional day. He was so sad just after the fall. He is the best sprinter in the history of the Tour de France and he wanted to try to win the 35th stage.
“He was second yesterday and for two or three seconds we thought he would succeed in his goal, and today it’s over. He is sad, we are sad, the Tour de France is sad.”
It means Cavendish, who announced in May that he will retire at the end of the season, will finish his career level with Eddy Merckx on 34 Tour stage wins – barring a decision to keep racing.
Cavendish was agonisingly close to breaking the record on Friday, getting the jump on Philipsen on the sprint to the line in Bordeaux, only for his gears to skip when he was trying to apply full power.
While hugely disappointed, Cavendish afterwards spoke optimistically regarding his form and that of his team, saying “I think so” when asked if he had the shape to win.
It is not just the opportunity of the record that Cavendish – who moved level with Merckx in 2021 – has lost with Saturday’s crash.
His love affair with the Tour began before he won his first stage back in 2008 and he could be seen throughout the opening week taking the opportunity to soak up the admiration of fans at the roadside.
In recent years when it came to finding new teams, and battling illness and depression, Cavendish fought to end his storied career on his terms, and the timing of his retirement announcement in May was made with the Tour in mind.
Whether he had taken a stage win or not, Cavendish would have loved to have ridden into Paris one final time, but that moment is now gone.
As Pedersen celebrated the win, Jonas Vingegaard, Tadej Pogacar and Jai Hindley all finished in the front group to ensure no change at the top of the general classification before Sunday’s stage on the Puy de Dome, but Simon Yates lost 47 seconds after a late crash.
That saw the Lancastrian drop from fourth to sixth overall, with brother Adam up to fifth.
Mark Cavendish’s bid to take a record-breaking 35th Tour de France stage win ended after he was forced to abandon the race following a crash on Saturday.
Less than 24 hours after he came within a few metres of an historic victory in Bordeaux, Cavendish’s outstanding Tour career ended in the back of an ambulance, the anguish on his face clear to see after an innocuous touch of wheels brought an early end to his final appearance in the race he loves.
Cavendish went down hard and held his shoulder after a crash in the peloton around 60km from the finish of stage eight from Libourne to Limoges.
It means Cavendish, who announced in May that he will retire at the end of the season, will finish his career level with Eddy Merckx on 34 Tour stage wins.
Cavendish was agonisingly close to breaking the record on Friday, getting the jump on Jasper Philipsen on the sprint to the line in Bordeaux, only for his gears to jump when he was trying to apply full power.
Cavendish won his first Tour stages back in 2008, taking four in total, and chalked up 20 in his first four participations.
He enjoyed four stage wins in 2021, equalling Merckx’s record with his victory on stage 13 in Carcassonne.
Mark Cavendish hung his head in disappointment after watching Jasper Philipsen blast by him at the last to deny the Manxman a record-breaking Tour de France victory on the line in Bordeaux.
The script seemed perfect for Cavendish to take a 35th career Tour stage win and move clear of Eddy Merckx – 16 years to the day after he made his Tour debut in London in 2007, and in Bordeaux, scene of his 14th win the last time the Tour visited in 2010 and for so long the race’s home of sprinting.
And when he burst down the right-hand side, hugging the barriers, to power into the lead with 200 metres to go it looked like it was going to happen for the 38-year-old, his head down, teeth gritted and legs pumping.
But, with the line in sight, Cavendish’s gears jumped twice and he had to drop back into the saddle, the moment’s pause enough to allow Philipsen to come by and claim a third win from as many sprint stages in this year’s Tour – five from five dating back to last year.
“I was in quite a good position, I looked far back but I was OK in where I wanted to be,” Cavendish said of the twisty run to the long finishing straight. “It was a long straight finish and Cees (Bol) had moved me up with good speed in the last K. I was on the right wheels.
“I kicked a little earlier than I would have liked but still about the same as I did in 2010. But once I kicked, started, the gears jumped from 11 to 12 and I had to sit down, the cadence just whacked up, then it goes back to 11.
“I tried to stand up and it went back to the 12 so I had to sit down, there’s nothing you can do except kind of hope.
“I’m bitterly disappointed, majorly disappointed but we keep on trying. Again we saw an improvement out of the boys so we can be positive.”
Cavendish had stopped for a rear wheel change with around 57km of the stage remaining, a precursor to the mechanical problems that followed. But asked if he could challenge Philipsen on a fully-functioning machine, he said: “I think so.”
The sprint finish to the 170km stage from Mont-de-Marsan meant no major changes at the top of the general classification, in which defending champion Jonas Vingegaard leads from Tadej Pogacar by 25 seconds.
But all eyes had been on the quick men as the race returned to the city which, prior to the Champs-Elysees, was the king of sprinting in the Tour.
And Philipsen is, so far at least, the king of sprinting in this edition, with his Alpecin-Deceuninck lead-out train once again delivering him to the perfect position, navigating what was a very technical final four kilometres disrupted by construction work before the long boulevard finish.
“I think we can’t be proud enough of our team achievement,” the Belgian said. “Without them it would never be possible to get the third stage win already. I’m just really proud of them and how we worked together, how we found each other in the final.
“That leads to success and I’m super happy and proud… I never had to do a big effort before I could launch my sprint and that’s how we win.
“If you told me (three stage wins) one week ago I’d think you were crazy. So far it’s a dream Tour for us and hopefully we can add another one.
“(Cavendish) was really strong. I would also have loved to see him win, I think everybody would, but I’m sure he will keep on trying. He’s up there, in good condition, and it will be hard.”
Jasper Philipsen denied Mark Cavendish a record-breaking Tour de France victory on the line as the Belgian won stage seven on the line in Bordeaux.
Philipsen made it three wins from three sprint stages in a row in this Tour as he came around Cavendish in the final few metres, leaving the Manxman to curse as he rolled in second, still tied with Eddy Merckx on 34 career Tour wins.
The 38-year-old had come from well down in the pack to power his way down the right hand side and up to the front of the race, but Philipsen got onto his wheel and powered by, with Biniam Girmay in third.
The sprint finish to the 170km stage from Mont-de-Marsan meant no major changes at the top of the general classification, in which defending champion Jonas Vingegaard leads from Tadej Pogacar.
But all eyes had been on the sprinters, with Cavendish hoping to make more Tour history 16 years to the day since he made his debut in the race in London on 2007.
The Astana-Qazaqstan rider was several places down in the pack as they negotiated a tight and twisty approach to the long finishing straight but moved up well and looked to have the speed he needed as he found a path down the right hand side to reach the front, only to see Philipsen come past at the last.
Philipsen said: “I think we can’t be proud enough on our team achievement. Without them it would never be possible to get the third stage win already. I’m just really proud of them and how we worked together, how we found each other in the final.
“That leads to success and I’m super happy and proud…I never had to do a big effort before I could launch my sprint and that’s how we win.
“If you told me (three stage wins) one week ago I’d think you were crazy. So far it’s a dream Tour for us and hopefully we can add another one.
“(Cavendish) was really strong. I would also have loved to see him win, I think everybody would, but I’m sure he will keep on trying. He’s up there, in good condition, and it will be hard.”
Jai Hindley ripped up the script for the Tour de France as he took the yellow jersey from Adam Yates with a breakaway victory in the Pyrenees while Jonas Vingegaard left chief rival Tadej Pogacar in his wake when he set off in pursuit.
All the talk in the build-up to this Tour has been on the battle between defending champion Vingegaard and two-time winner Pogacar, but Hindley slipped into a strong breakaway on the road out of Pau and so ensured the general classification had been ripped up 163 kilometres later in Laruns.
The Australian Tour debutant, winner of the 2022 Giro d’Italia, made his own case as a contender ending the day with a 47-second lead over Vingegaard, while Pogacar’s inability to follow the Dane up the final climb might be the answer needed regarding his fitness after a long injury lay-off.
Hindley was scarcely able to believe his luck in having been allowed to join the break and then having the legs to capitalise as he went clear on the Col de Marie Blanque to solo into town, winning by 32 seconds from a group including Vingegaard.
“I’m a bit lost for words to be honest,” the 27-year-old said. “I can’t believe it. I was pretty surprised to find myself in that group.
“I just sort of slipped into it. I was sort of having fun, then looked back and there was no group behind so I thought, ‘I guess we’re in for a bike race’.”
Pogacar won an almost identical stage back in 2020 on his way to his first Tour crown, but this unusually early visit to the mountains just five days into a Tour had a very different ending as he dropped to sixth overall, one minute and 40 seconds down.
Bora-Hansgrohe sports director Rolf Aldag called it an “accident” for Hindley to get into the day’s breakaway, but the mistake belonged to the UAE Team Emirates squad of Pogacar and Yates.
With several teams, including Vingegaard’s Jumbo-Visma, represented up the road, none of their rivals were willing to help them shut the move down, and the break’s advantage quickly ballooned to four minutes as they scaled the Col de Soudet.
Hindley would have been dreaming of taking a significant lead in yellow at that point but inevitably the peloton did begin to close in when the breakaway splintered on the Marie Blanque.
Hindley chose that moment to ride away from Felix Gall and then, as they closed in behind, Vingegaard did the same to Pogacar, putting more than a minute into the Slovenian who is still hampered after breaking his wrist at Liege-Bastogne-Liege in April.
“I just felt good,” Vingegaard said. “I just look at myself and if I feel good then I try to attack. You have to ask Tadej (what happened) but I know he never gives up and it will be a fight all the way to Paris…
“We were also thinking if we should put a guy on the front (to chase the break) but we decided not to. Being in the break takes a lot of energy, but of course we have to look at Jai as well. I think I had a super good day.”
Pogacar tried in vain to chase down Vingegaard on the descent, but waited for a group including Adam and Simon Yates so they could work together to limit their losses.
“It was not so difficult a day but Jonas went so fast on the climb and I lost my legs early,” the 24-year-old said.
“It was a bit hectic over the small climbs. Everybody wanted to go in the break and there was a moment where we could not close the gap immediately and the big group went away…
“I think I know my limits now so the motivation is pretty high and I think we can go day-by-day pretty strong.”
Jai Hindley won stage five of the Tour de France in Laruns to take the yellow jersey from Adam Yates and Jonas Vingegaard rode clear of rival Tadej Pogacar as an early trip to the Pyrenees ripped up the general classification.
Hindley, winner of last year’s Giro d’Italia, marked himself out as a major contender with a breakaway victory but surely more important was the sight of defending champion Vingegaard leaving behind two-time winner Pogacar on the final climb to make his case as the favourite to be in yellow come Paris.
Having gone clear from the last of his fellow escapees on the final climb of the Col de Marie Blanque, Hindley soloed into Laruns to take the win by 32 seconds, with Vingegaard coming home at the back of a four-strong group that was second on the road.
With bonus seconds applied, Hindley now leads overall by 47 seconds from Vingegaard with Giulio Ciccone in third, 63 seconds back.
The Australian may be making his Tour de France debut, but given Hindley has twice stood on the podium of the Giro it was a huge surprise to see how easily he got into the break.
“I’m a bit lost for words to be honest,” the Bora-Hansgrohe rider said. “I can’t believe it. I was pretty surprised to find myself in that group. I just sort of slipped into it. I was sort of having fun, then looked back and there was no group behind so I thought, ‘I guess we’re in for a bike race’.
“The gap grew out initially and I was just trying to maybe get a bit of a buffer on the GC guys and then I started to think about the stage win.”
Pogacar, utterly unable to respond when Vingegaard launched his own move on the Marie Blanque, lost more than a minute to Vingegaard and slipped to sixth, one minute and 40 seconds off yellow. Adam Yates is now fifth and his twin brother Simon seventh.
The first real mountain battle of the Tour turned into a fascinating tactical battle as Hindley slipped into a strong breakaway that got clear during a frantic start to the 163km stage out of Pau.
Pogacar’s UAE Team Emirates were unable to shut it down and got no help from any of their rivals, watching the advantage balloon to four minutes as they climbed the hors categorie Col de Soudet midway through the stage.
Hindley would have been hoping to gain a bigger lead given the time gaps that had been seen, but when Vingegaard made a late dig of his own he quickly distanced Pogacar and kept himself within reach of the yellow jersey.
Jasper Philipsen underlined his status as the in-form sprinter Mark Cavendish must beat at the Tour de France as he made it two wins in as many days with victory on stage four.
Cavendish, seeking a record-breaking 35th career Tour stage win, could not test himself against the Belgian, a moment’s hesitation leaving him boxed in to finish fifth.
But Philipsen was again dominant, holding off a fast-finishing Caleb Ewan as both riders threw their bikes to the line.
The sprint meant no change at the top of the general classification as Adam Yates continues to lead by six seconds from UAE Emirates team-mate Tadej Pogacar and twin brother Simon Yates of Jayco-Alula.
For a second straight day, Mathieu van der Poel provided the perfect lead-out, guiding Philipsen out of a crash-strewn finish on the Circuit de Nogaro.
Cavendish, having seen team-mate Luis Leon Sanchez caught up in one of several late incidents, put his money on former world champion Mads Pedersen as he surfed the wheels but when he tried to join Pedersen’s charge, he was blocked by Dylan Groenewegen and his chance was gone.
“I think everybody who had a plan, every team, it didn’t come to fruition in the final for them,” the Manxman said. “There was no team in control… my boys got me exactly where I wanted to be, we were good there, but for every team it became chaos in the final. The corners got tighter and tighter.
“It was just a mixing pot of riders, there were crashes, I think Luis has gone down so I’m nervous about that. I looked around and the only man who had a lead-out left I could have jumped on was Mads, he had (Jasper) Stuyven so I thought, ‘Bam, get on him’.
“I was just waiting for him to go. It was a headwind so you want to leave it as late as possible and he just didn’t go.
“At one point I thought I should have gone at 350 (metres). I wouldn’t have won, someone would have passed me but I would have given myself a better shot.
“In a headwind there’s not much you can do. I just waited. I gambled on them going and then the gap filled, I’ve seen them all jump.
“I went audibly with a swear word before I even sprinted, I just was making the most of it then, I knew I couldn’t win once they got the jump on me.”
The motor racing circuit provided wide roads but its tight hairpins left only one racing line and several riders later questioned the safety of the route.
Fabio Jakobsen, a contender for the stage win, went down with 1,600 metres to go, the first of three crashes on the circuit.
Cavendish’s team-mate Sanchez, caught in the second, was taken to hospital for checks, Astana-Qazaqstan said.
The late drama was in contrast to the sedate pace for much of the day. The 182km flat stage from Dax failed to draw out a breakaway at the start as the peloton settled in for a slow day, saving their legs for two mountainous days to come before the sprinters get another chance in Bordeaux on Friday.
At least Philipsen, made to wait 20 minutes for confirmation of his win on Monday, could start celebrations immediately this time.
“It was really an easy stage,” he said. “I think everybody wanted to save their legs for the Pyrenees tomorrow and the day after but the final kilometres entering the circuit there were some crashes so I hope everybody is OK and safe.
“It was a hectic final with the turns in the end I lost my team but in the final straight I found Mathieu van der Poel and he did an amazing pull to get me to victory. My legs were cramping and Caleb was coming close.”
Adam Yates beat twin brother Simon to victory on the opening day of the Tour de France to take the yellow jersey and his first Grand Tour stage win in Bilbao.
With their parents out on course, the 30-year-old twins relived the countless times they raced each other on training rides around the roads of Lancashire as youngsters before Adam got the better of Simon on the short rise to the finish.
The pair, riding for rival teams, went clear from a select group at the top of the Cote de Pike, 10km from the finish of a testing 182km stage around the Basque Country, as Adam’s UAE Emirates team-mate Tadej Pogacar and his main rival, defending champion Jonas Vingegaard, eyed each other up.
The twins opened up a 20-second gap on the chasing group as they descended into Bilbao before, as Jayco-Alula’s Simon said he began to suffer with cramp, Adam opened up several bike lengths to take the win.
Back in 2011, Andy Schleck took a stage win on the Galibier ahead of brother Frank but that was by a margin of more than two minutes. Here there were only four seconds as Simon watched Adam raise his arms in celebration.
“Honestly, I don’t even know what to say,” Adam said. “We tried to set the climb up for Tadej, he attacked but then it was a headwind on the descent. My brother came across to me and we started to work together.
“At first I didn’t know if I should work with him, I asked on the radio and they said, ‘Go for it’. I’m speechless. I knew he was going good, I speak to him every day. My brother and I are close and to share this experience with him is really nice.”
Adam is back in yellow after enjoying four days as leader in 2020. Simon is a two-time stage winner in the Tour but the 2018 Vuelta a Espana winner has never worn the leader’s jersey in cycling’s biggest race.
“I’m pleased for him of course, his first Grand Tour stage so I’m ecstatic for him but I also wanted to win,” Simon said. “We’re quite competitive…I have a fantastic relationships with my brother. I’m really happy for him but I’ll stick it to him in the coming days.”
This undulating stage through the Basque Country, one of the most difficult opening stages to a Tour in recent history, left itself open to a host of possibilities. Everyone from the general classification contenders to Classics specialists to strong sprinters had been tipped for victory.
It came down to the GC riders on the decisive final climb, with Pogacar and Vingegaard to the fore towards the summit before the Yates twins went away.
Pogacar has played up the doubts about his fitness given he has raced only once – winning last weekend’s Slovenian national road race – since breaking his wrist in April, but the road provided a more definitive answer as he set the fastest time up the Pike.
“I’m really happy with the performance,” said Pogacar, who led home a chasing group 12 seconds after Yates. “I think the engine started running today. The final climb was super happy but I was satisfied with the shape.”
With bonus seconds applied, Adam leads by eight seconds from Simon, with Pogacar 18 seconds down in third. Vingegaard is among a host of riders a further four seconds back.
Adam Yates started the day dismissing suggestions he was co-leader alongside Pogacar given the questions over the latter’s wrist, but whatever happens over the next three weeks Yates has already had a race to remember.
“Really I just want to keep my feet on the ground,” he said. “We’re here for Tadej, he’s the boss, he’s shown before he’s the best in the world and over the next few weeks I’m sure he’s going to show that again.”
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