The five feet three-inch tall ‘pocket rocket,’ from Korea said farewell to an 18-year career which includes 10 worldwide professional victories
Tadej Pogacar of UAE Team Emirates inched closer to securing his third Tour de France title after outwitting his main rival, defending champion Jonas Vingegaard, to win the penultimate stage on Saturday.
The Slovenian claimed his fifth stage win of this year's edition by outsprinting Vingegaard in the final metres of the 132.8km mountain trek from Nice after the Dane had run out of steam while looking to cement his second place overall in the final kilometres.
There was no mercy from the UAE Emirates rider, who stayed in Vingegaard's slipstream in the final kilometres, and put the hammer down 250 metres from the line.
"I enjoyed it very much, I couldn't be happier with another stage win," said Pogacar, who now has 16 Tour stage victories to his name.
"Just one more day and tomorrow I think I'm going to enjoy it as well. If you had told me this before the Tour I would not have believed it."
Overall, Pogacar, who won the Tour in 2020 and 2021 before being toppled by Vingegaard in the last two editions, leads the Dane by five minutes and 14 seconds with Belgian Remco Evenepoel in third place, a further 2:50 behind.
It was a cruel end to the stage for Vingegaard, who had been looking to gain time over Evenepoel, whose earlier attack in the Col de la Couillole backfired.
"Vingegaard showed today he was not easy to crack and he did a good ride today," said Pogacar.
"Tomorrow let's stay safe."
The Tour ends on Sunday with an individual time trial between Monaco and Nice - the first time in the 121-year history of the race that it will not end in Paris due to the upcoming Olympic Games, which start on July 26 in the French capital.
Ecuador's Richard Carapaz, who featured in the day's breakaway and took third place on the stage with another bold ride, made sure he would take home the polka dot jersey for the mountains classification, while Biniam Girmay of Eritrea secured the green jersey for the points classification.
Evenepoel attacked 8 km from the finish but it was too brief an effort for the Belgian to have a hope of leapfrogging the defending champion in the general classification.
Vingegaard later countered and only Pogacar could follow, leaving Evenepoel glued to the tarmac.
Pogacar was content to stay on Vingegaard's wheel, and finished him off with a brutal acceleration, leaving his fierce rival to cross the line with his head down.
ALSO READ:
The five feet three-inch tall ‘pocket rocket,’ from Korea said farewell to an 18-year career which includes 10 worldwide professional victories
‘There is a lot of time dedicated to golf in the U.S. which is why I chose to come here,’ says the UAE passport holder
The Dubai-based Englishman is joined by Scott, Rose, Lawrence and MacIntyre who have confirmed for the Race to Dubai Rankings event at Yas Links Abu Dhabi
New ballpark will be the first professional baseball field in the history of the Middle East and South Asia
The reigning Race to Dubai champion opened his 2024 season with a successful title defence at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic in January and has remained among the top flight in world rankings
Aldeeb became paraplegic after being shot in the back by an Israeli soldier in 2001 during the second uprising against Israeli occupation
MyGolf Dubai joins forces with The Pro Shop Superstore to provide an ideal environment for players to practice and improve their skills without being affected by external conditions
Mohammed achieved a time of 15.40 seconds in the race which was won by Thailand's Chaiwat Rattana