In a sizzling showdown on the Mur de Bretagne, 26-year-old Slovenian champ Tadej Pogacar unleashed a trademark acceleration to win stage seven of the Tour de France and retake the yellow jersey. With the thermometer hitting 30°C in Brittany, Pogacar's Team UAE plan unfolded perfectly on the 2km climb averaging 6% gradient.
Jonas Vingegaard of Visma stuck to Pogacar's wheel all the way to the line, taking second place. Britain's Oscar Onley rounded out the podium in third after a nine-rider crash shook up the finale.
At his 19th career stage win, Pogacar picked up 10 bonus seconds – four more than Vingegaard – shrinking the gap in the general classification to an advantage of just two seconds. "It was super hot today, and super fast but we had a plan and we stuck to it," said Pogacar.
Belgian powerhouse Remco Evenepoel moved up to second overall, 54 seconds behind, after finishing sixth and claiming two bonus seconds. "The Tour de France isn't over yet," said Evenepoel, who earlier recovered time in the stage five individual time trial.
French starlet Kevin Vauquelin continues to shine in third, 1 minute 11 seconds adrift, backed by roaring crowds and a giant hot-air balloon bearing his face. Two-time champ Vingegaard sits fourth at 1 minute 17 seconds, while overnight leader Mathieu van der Poel drops to fifth at 1 minute 29 seconds after fading on the final slope.
With Brittany's villages and country lanes packed to the brim, fans soaked up the festive atmosphere along the coast road from Saint-Malo and the famous Sillon beach. As the race heads into week two, every second could be decisive in this high-stakes battle for cycling's greatest prize.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
