There are four episodes left for the end of the 111th edition of the Tour de France and the doubt at this stage is whether the three big favourites, the first three classified in the Tour, Pogacar, Vingegaard and Evenepoelthey will try some moves, punish their rivals and they will try to shake their opponents for a second, but after a few minutes after the start of the day of gap It was seen that the three tenors of the Grande Boucle had signed a non-aggression pact, bracing themselves for the triple and decisive battle that awaited them.
The stage, which is 179.5 kilometers, between the towns of Gap and Barcelonette, has a broken profile, with four ports, all of them minor; an ideal scenario for hostilities to break out in the first place.
In this way, in the first stages, a first group of up to 36 cyclists, including Spaniards, was formed. Aranburu, Lazkano and Raúl García Piernawhich gradually developed and there were differences of more than ten minutes about the group of favorites.
As the kilometers passed, some of the escapees got off the hook and there were some timid movements, such as Healey, Thomas or Aranburuuntil the end of the fourth and final limit of the day, Kwiatkowski, Campenaerts, Verche They were a few meters away from their tired companions.
At 19 kilometers the three in the lead had a 30 second margin with Lazkano, and 58″ with respect to the large group of escape violators, with the group of notables 13’42”. The difference was greater with 8.4 km to travel and saw the day’s winner emerge from the top trio.
In the last meter, Campenaerts He dropped to the back of the trio and achieved a great victory, his first win of the season, 12th as a professional, first in the Tour and second in a cycling lap after the 2021 Giro. Oier Lazkano He was 5th, his best Tour result, and the group of favorites reached 13’40” behind the day’s winner.
Highest expectations now on what the last three can be in the three great mountain stages that remain for the 111th edition of the Tour to bring down the curtain. For now Pogacar rules with 3’11” over Vingegaard and 5’09” with respect to Evenepoel.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Robert Maynard, and I am a passionate journalist with experience in sports writing. For the last few years, I have been writing for Today Times Live. My main focus has been on sports-related stories and features. With my strong background in journalism and extensive knowledge of the industry, I am able to provide readers with well-crafted pieces that are both informative and engaging.
