PEYRAGUDES, France, (Reuters) – Tadej Pogacar claimed victory in the 17th stage of the Tour de France but it was Jonas Vingegaard who came a step closer to the title as he finished on the defending champion’s wheel to retain the overall leader’s yellow jersey yesterday.
Pogacar’s late acceleration at the top of the final climb, an 8-km effort at 7.8%, earned him his third win in this year’s Tour and gave him a 10-second time bonus.
Vingegaard, however, picked up six seconds with his second place, meaning he still leads the Slovenian by a comfortable two minutes and 18 seconds going into today’s final mountain stage, a gruelling Pyrenean trek to Hautacam.
Geraint Thomas, the 2018 champion, again limited the damage to finish fourth behind Pogacar’s UAE Emirates team mate Brandon McNulty and cement his third place in the general classification as the final podium took shape.
Thomas, who crossed the line 2:07 behind Pogacar, lags 4:56 off Vingegaard’s pace in the overall standings.
