Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar eased off in their tussle for the yellow jersey on Friday, as Mads Pedersen won stage 13 of the Tour de France in style.
Having been involved in an early breakaway lodged by Filippo Ganna, Pedersen stuck at the front of the race on the 193 kilometre route from Le Bourg-d'Oisans to Saint-Etienne.
And he made the vital move at just the right time, attacking with 12km remaining, splitting the six-man breakaway in two and leaving him up against Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious) and Hugo Houle (Israel–Premier Tech).
Trek–Segafredo rider Pedersen attacked just as the peloton stopped racing further back, with Jumbo-Visma – protecting the yellow jersey of Vingegaard and the green jersey of Wout van Aert – INEOS Grenadiers and UAE Team Emirates comfortable enough to take a steady approach after successive days of hard riding in the mountains.
Having been denied victory in his native Denmark in the opening three stages, Pedersen always looked good to go on and end his wait for a Grand Tour stage win, and he did so in style, executing another perfectly timed effort during the final sprint to ensure he was able to celebrate while he crossed the line.
"It's incredible to finally take a win," the 26-year-old said. "I knew the shape was really good and I definitely missed out on the opportunities in the first week.
"In the last two weeks of this race there's not a lot of chances for a guy like me.
"So to take the chance today and get the reward is really nice, not only for me but for the whole team. We came here with riders only for stages and now we have one, so it's such a relief."
Van Aert came over in seventh, easily winning a bunch sprint at the front of the GC group, to further consolidate his grip on the green jersey.
Wright idea, but not enough power for Fred
It was a spirited ride from 23-year-old Wright, who kept on Pedersen's wheel right until the end.
"I was trying to get Mads to do some of the work at the end, but it's hard man, I just didn't quite have it over the top of that kicker," Wright told ITV Sport. "All I could do was hug the wheel, I was surprised I didn't get dropped to be honest."
As for his tactics in the sprint, Wright added: "I don't know, to be honest, I was just going to try and surprise him."
Wright hit a top speed of 59km/h in the final 1,000 metres, whereas Pedersen clocked in at 59.2km/h.
STAGE RESULTS
1. Mads Pedersen (Trek–Segafredo) 4:13:03
2. Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious) same time
3. Hugo Houle (Israel–Premier Tech) same time
4. Stefan Kung (Groupama-FDJ) +0:30
5. Matteo Jorgensen (Movistar) +0:30
CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS
General Classification
1. Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) 50:47:34
2. Tadej Pogacar (UAE-Team Emirates) +2:22
3. Geraint Thomas (INEOS Grenadiers) +2:26
Points Classification
1. Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) 333
2. Tadej Pogacar (UAE-Team Emirates) 164
3. Fabio Jakobsen (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) 155
King of the Mountains
1. Simon Geschke (Cofidis) 43
2. Louis Meintjes (Intermarche–Wanty–Gobert Materiaux) 39
3. Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) 36
Paul extends rich form with double gold; Browne, Campbell also among T&T's medals at PanAm Track Cycling Champs
Trinidad and Tobago’s ace cyclist Nicholas Paul continued his rich early season form as he wrapped up another double gold medal-winning outing at the just-concluded Pan American Track Cycling Championships in Los Angeles, California.
Paul’s medals were won in his customary events, the men's Keirin and Sprint, and followed his fairly successful outing at the UCI Championships in Hong Kong where he recovered from a two-cycle collision in the Keirin to win the Sprint.
The 23-year-old again expressed gratitude for the continued support as he represents the twin island republic with much gusto.
“It is always an honour to represent my country and the Pan American region. Thank you to everyone for all the love and continued support. The Journey continues and the next stop will be the Nations Cup in Milton, Canada. So, I just want to continue putting in the hard work and let it show in my performances,” Paul said.
In the Keirin, Paul topped Colombia’s Kevin Quintero, while another Trinidad and Tobago cyclist Kwesi Browne copped bronze.
However, it took a photo-finish to separate Paul and another Colombian Cristian Ortega for the Sprint crown. Paul bettered his South American rival in the first ride before edging ahead in the second ride on the line by millimeters to retain his title.
Meanwhile, Akil Campbell was also among the medals, as he won a bronze medal in the men's scratch race.
In other results at the meet, Alexi Ramirez finished eighth in the women's elimination race and in the women's scratch race, while Makaira Wallace and Phoebe Sandy placed 13th and 17th in the women's sprint qualification, respectively.
On this day in 2018: Scotland’s Katie Archibald wins Commonwealth Games gold
Scotland’s Katie Archibald added Commonwealth champion to her long list of accolades on this day in 2018.
Archibald, an Olympic, world and European champion in various disciplines, took gold in the women’s individual pursuit in Brisbane, having broken the Games record in a blistering qualifying session.
Her only previous Commonwealth medal was the bronze she won on home soil in the points race in Glasgow four years earlier.
Archibald, then aged 24, said before racing began gold was the only colour she wanted and swiftly delivered, covering the 3,000m distance in three minutes 26.088 seconds to beat Australian Rebecca Wiasak.
She had set the record at 3:24.119 in a qualifying session which saw three riders go under the previous record set by England’s Joanna Rowsell Shand in Glasgow.
“It means a lot, especially in the individual pursuit because it’s not an Olympic event,” said Archibald. “2014 always stands out as a big year for Joanna Rowsell to kind of echo, because she had the title and the Games record.
“You look at the success she carried from that point in her career. I’d be very proud.”
Fired up by his sister’s performance, Archibald’s brother John then added another medal to Scotland’s tally with silver in the men’s 4,000m individual pursuit as England’s Charlie Tanfield clinched gold.
“I watched her heat run and the pressure was on her,” said John Archibald.
“The Commonwealth Games record went and they all went better than her personal best so she had her back against the wall but she pulled out and delivered on the day and that got me going.”
On this day in 2010: Sir Chris Hoy crowned world champion for 10th time
Sir Chris Hoy was crowned world champion for a 10th time on this day in 2010 as he triumphed in the Keirin at the Track Cycling World Championships in Copenhagen.
A crash in the first heat threatened to wreck Hoy’s plans, but he managed to regroup to qualify for the final.
Azizulhasni Awang pushed Olympic champion Hoy all the way before the British rider edged home to claim his second medal of the Championships.
Hoy had already clinched bronze in the team sprint at the Ballerup Super Arena, but crashed out in qualifying for the Keirin.
Josiah Ng Onn Lam had blocked Hoy, who went on to fall and take out another rider, which caused the race to stop.
Ng was later disqualified and after Hoy progressed through to the final, the Scot had to bide his time before he gained the lead during the final lap-and-a-half to taste success in his first major global event since his triple Olympic success in 2008.
“I certainly didn’t enjoy being bumped on my backside at the start of my first race – that was a bit out of order,” Hoy said.
“It made me angry but I had to keep my emotions in check because I didn’t want the red mist to descend.
“It’s even more special to be back here again where I won my first world title in 2002.
“I would never have predicted then that I would be coming back here in eight years time, let alone to win a 10th title. I’m delighted.”
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