Pogacar attacks again as Frenchman Turgis wins Tour stage on gravel – Newspaper

TROYES: Tadej Pogacar stayed true to his swashbuckling style as he relentlessly attacked defending champion Jonas Vingegaard in a thrilling, gravel-packed ninth stage of the Tour de France on Sunday.

Anthony Turgis broke away from the breakaway with a perfectly timed sprint at the end of a grueling 199km ride to give France its third win of the edition, but for most of the day all eyes were on Pogacar and his rivals.

The Slovenian, who retained the overall leader’s yellow jersey, used several gravel sections to put pressure on Vingegaard, but the Dane was perfectly protected by his Visma-Lease a Bike teammate and there was no difference between the riders of the ‘Big Four’.

Pogacar, who once again showed that he can attack on any terrain, crossed the finish line in the peloton with Remco Evenepoel, Primoz Roglic and Vingegaard after the defending champion completed almost half of the stage on a teammate’s bike following a puncture.

Before the first rest day on Monday, Pogacar is 33 seconds ahead of Evenepoel, 1:15 ahead of Vingegaard and 1:36 ahead of Roglic, who survived a major scare.

Roglic was dropped in the second of 14 gravel sections and the Visma-Lease a Bike team increased the pace to keep him at bay, but thanks to great work from his Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe teammates, the Slovenian was able to cut a 30-second gap.

Vingegaard suffered a puncture in the fourth gravel section and quickly swapped bikes with his teammate Jan Tratnik, allowing him to maintain his place in the peloton.

With about 80 kilometers to go, he had to give it his all again because Evenepoel attacked, followed by Pogacar. Vingegaard lost a few meters, but quickly managed to hit his rival’s rear wheel.

The trio caught the breakaway, but with the defending champion refusing to join them, the trio fell back into the peloton and the big guys called a truce. But more was to be expected from Pogacar.

On the 11th gravel stretch, the UAE leader’s brutal acceleration left everyone gasping for dusty air and Vingegaard and Evenepoel saw him disappear behind a cloud of dust.

Vingegaard’s teammate Matteo Jorgenson pulled Vingegaard back into Pogacar’s wheel, but Evenepoel and Roglic were missing.

Instead of working with Pogacar, Jorgenson and Vingegaard decided to stay behind, forcing the 2020 and 2021 champion to take his foot off the accelerator so Roglic and Evenepoel could rejoin.

At the front of the race, Belgian Jasper Stuyven attempted to attack 11 km from the finish line, but was caught by his competitors 1 km from the finish. His face reflected pain, dust and disbelief.

Despite being covered in mud, Turgis held his nerve in the final sprint to beat Briton Tom Pidcock and Canadian Derek Gee, giving his team TotalEnergies its first Tour victory since 2017.

“It’s unbelievable. I’ve been trying for years to get a big win. I had a good feeling. I persevered, got dropped a few times, it was a long day,” said Turgis, who took his first win since 2019.

Published in Dawn, July 8, 2024