Magnus Cort (EF Education-EasyPost) rode a masterful finale on Tour de France stage 10 to claim a stage victory a week after lighting up the race's opening stages in his native Denmark.
The 148km stage from Morzine to Megève was relatively short but was action-packed; the main breakaway taking over 50km to become established and the stage later in being halt for over 10 minutes by climate activists.
When the breakaway did eventually form it numbered 21 riders, who gained over nine minutes on the reduced peloton containing yellow jersey Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates).
In the finale, up the final cat 2 climb if 19km to the finish line, Luis Leon Sanchez (Bahrain Merida) was the first of the escapees to make a solo move that looked like it may make it all the way, after a period of intense attacking at the front.
Advertisement
While he attacked with 6km to go and opened a decent gap on the remains of the breakaway, containing Lennard Kamna (Bora-hansgrohe), who was in a battle to take the yellow jersey. However, Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar) and Nick Schultz (BikeExchange-Jayco) rode their way across to him; attacking with 2.5km to go and getting across with just 1km remaining.
When they became three up front they stalled, allowing Dylan van Baarle (Ineos Grenadiers) to catch them. That resulted in a further slowing at the front, allowing the next section of the original breakaway to catch the leaders very deep into the final kilometre.
Related News
Cort was hanging at the back of that group and once the catch was made he followed the wheels brilliantly; first getting in behind Sanchez as he followed Australian Schultz, who looked the strongest inside the final 500m uphill. Then when Sanchez kicked first and Schultz got into his wheel, Cort followed them.
He let Schultz come out of Sanchez's wheel and open the final effort for the line before waiting and waiting until the final 50m to come out of his slipstream and lunge for the line to just beat Schultz. It was an incredible performance by the winner, especially as he had been dropped as the breakaway split and regrouped repeatedly on the final climb.
In the end Kamna lost touch with the first section of the breakaway sprinting for victory, finishing some 22 seconds behind winner Cort. And that time lost by Kamna - after the German had ridden so hard on the front of the lead group in the finale in the hopes to taking yellow - cost him the race lead by just 11 seconds.
Race leader Pogačar sprinted in at the front of the reduced peloton to take 20th place some 8:54 down on the stage winner, meaning he retained the race lead by just 11 seconds from Kamna.
Again it was Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) marking the yellow jersey closely in the dash to the line. And with a massive stage tomorrow - some 151.7km from Albertville to Col de Granon the race is moving into the territory where Vingegaard - now 3rd overall at just 39 seconds - will be in his element.
He has repeatedly said he feels good and believes he will be more capable of gain time - including on Pogačar if he wants to win the Tour - as he prefers longer climbs in the heat.
Vingegaard's team mate Sepp Kuss has said the finish climb tomorrow - some 11.4km averaging 9.1 per cent gradient - is "the hardest climb of this Tour" that should see the first major climbing showdown.
