SAINT-LARY SOULAN, France (Reuters) – Tadej Pogacar controlled his rivals and extended his overall lead in the Tour de France as the final podium took shape in a gruelling mountain 17th stage won by the defending champion on Wednesday.
The Slovenian outsprinted Dane Jonas Vingegaard and Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz at the top of the lung-busting Col du Portet (16km at 8.7%) for his first stage win in this year’s Tour after being the first attacker in the final climb.
He now leads Vingegaard by five minutes, 39 seconds with Carapaz in third place, a further four seconds back while Colombian Rigobrto Uran slipped down to fourth, 7:17 off the pace, after cracking in the mist of the Col du Portet.
Pogacar burst away 8.4km from the top of the Pyreneean pass and only Vingegaard, Carapaz and Uran could follow at first. A second acceleration was fatal to Uran, who will need a spectacular recovery in Thursday’s 18th stage to Luz Ardiden, the last mountain effort of the Tour.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
