19th stage: Thomas Defends Yellow Jersey



[ad_1]

Laruns (dpa) – Geraint Thomas also survived unscathed at the last favorites attack in the Pyrenees and can plan his triumphal procession to Paris at Tour de France .

The winner of the 105th Tour de France not only defended the final attacks of his biggest rivals, he even slightly increased his lead in the fight for the yellow jersey. On the 19th stage over 200.5 kilometers from Lourdes to Laruns, the victory went to Slovenian Primoz Roglic, who defeated defending champion Christopher Froome from third place overall.

Thomas won the sprint for second place 19 seconds behind Roglic and highlighted his outstanding form. The new captain of the Sky team advance 2:05 minutes ahead of Dutchman Tom Dumoulin and 2:24 minutes before Roglic in the individual time trial on Saturday. There, all three and also the new fourth Froome are considered just as strong. Therefore, only a heavy fall can still prevent Thomas's blow. German cyclists did not play any role on Friday.

Thomas's pursuers had tried the third to the last day to reverse the rankings, but they had not embarrassed the Welsh by attacking the last ascents of this tour. As on the previous mountain stages in the Alps and the Pyrenees, the 32-year-old, supported by his team, remained calm and showed no weakness on the passes of the Col du Tourmalet and Col d'Or. ; Aubisque.

Mikel Landa (Movistar), Romain Bardet (Ag2R) and Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha-Alpecin), who left the pack behind and led the way, made the first exclamation point, L & 39. Spanish Landa and Frenchman Bardet had even pushed Dumoulin and Froome off the virtual podium of the overall standings after all three went to the leaders.

Due to the attack not only Sky had to work in the main field, but also the Lotto NL team by Roglic. At Aubisque, he came to the direct duels of the ranking riders, who increased a speed and thus caught up with outliers. In the end, former ski jumper Roglic led his victory through a breathtaking and daring descent to Laruns.

Even before the first of six fixtures of the day, a leading group had detached from the main pitch, which initially included Marcus Burghardt. Julian Alaphilippe, two-time winner of the stage, was the first to cross the Aspin Pass and the Tourmalet. The meters have prematurely ranked best climber. The Quick Step team professional conquered ruler as the next local hero after Warren Barguil 2017 the camisole spotted from the strongest climber.

Itinerary Tour de France 2018

Etappenwertung and appreciation

starting field

List of early failures

Tour de France welcome page with news

[ad_2]
Source link