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LARUNS, France (AP) – Having worn the leader's yellow jersey against the Alps and across the Pyrenees, only one more step is at stake to allow Geraint Thomas to win his first Tour de France.
Thomas takes the advantage of 2 minutes and 5 seconds over his Dutch competitor Tom Dumoulin in the 31 kilometer individual time trial in the Basque Country.
Leader pressure reminded Thomas of the moment when he helped Britain to win the gold medal track of the team on the track at the London Olympics in 2012. [19659002"ItwillbetomorrowbutIcangetconfidenceinthewayIrideandwhatI'mgoingtodo"hesaid"Thereisstillabigdaytoplay"
While Dumoulin is the world champion against the clock, Thomas is quite capable in the discipline and has recognized that he should be able to protect his advantage.
I'm really tired, "said Thomas." I'm still trying not to pack. "
He increased his lead after the last mountain stage on Friday, while his teammate from Sky and four-time champion Chris Froome lost his place on the podium
Primoz Roglic Slovenia won the 19th stage of 200.5 km across the Pyrenees with an attack on the dangerous downhill pass of Aubisque. 19659002] A former ski jumper who is part of Team Lotto NL-Jumbo, Roglic finished 19 Seconds ahead of Thomas, while Romain Bardet of France was third at the same time.
"J & # 39 I had legs today, "said Roglic." I've really tried a lot of times and finally I went downhill. "
Thomas received a six-second bonus to finish second , while Dumoulin finished sixth and Froome eighth, both with the same te mps the leader
Roglic jumped Froome to third in the standings at 2:24 of the pace, while the defending champion is now at 2:37.
After the time trial, the race ends with the arrival -Elysées in Paris on Sunday
Froome first dropped behind Aubisque on Friday before returning to the leading group downhill.
This was Roglic 's second victory, having played at stage 17 in the Alps last year.
Roglic, who also excels in the time trial, has shown courage in a sinuous descent made more difficult by the clouds and fog over Aubisque.
When the road allowed it, it was crouching moving known as "super tuck."
Dumoul He accused the winner of the "drafting" stage behind a motorcycle.
"Roglic was the strongest today, and a lot of respect for his victory.But he was flying downhill, and finally I dropped on a straight part just because he was on his tube and full in the wake of the bike, "said Dumoulin.
Roglic dismissed the charge. I think, "he said. I have no influence on that. We all have the same opportunities to go down first. I did not notice anything unusual. "
The pilgrimage town route from Lourdes to Laruns took the peloton on three legendary ascents – the Aspin Pass, the Col du Tourmalet and the Aubisque – before the dive to the [19659002] The leader of the mountain rankings Julian Alaphilippe was first on the Aspin and the Tourmalet as part of a first breakaway.
Mikel Landa and Bardet then attacked the yellow jersey group at Tourmalet and have joins the leaders in front of Roglic, Thomas and Dumoulin takes over the final ascent
Associated authors of the press Samuel Petrequin and Ciaran Fahey contribute
More coverage of the Tour de France: https: // apnews.com/tag/TourdeFrance
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