L’Alpe d’Huez, France, July 14 (AFP\/APP): British rookie Tom Pidcock, riding for Ineos, showed world class skills as he won stage 12 of the Tour de France on the Bastille Day holiday on Thursday.<\/p>\n
A daredevil descent lit the fuse for the 22-year-old’s win while an explosive acceleration on the final ascent of the Alpe d’Huez finished the job on the final day in the Alps.<\/p>\n
Jumbo-Visma’s Jonas Vingegaard of Denmark maintained his overall lead with defending champion Tadej Pogacar and 2018 winner Geraint Thomas on his wheel.<\/p>\n
South African Louis Meintjes was second in the stage. Chris Froome, the 36-year-old former four-time winner, was third after he joined an early escape.<\/p>\n
Pidcock first caught the escape with a breath-taking descent and then dropped them on the last Alpine climb of this 109th edition of the Tour.<\/p>\n
The Olympic mountain-bike champion and cyclo-cross world champion’s descent displayed bravery that set him apart from the other riders.<\/p>\n
“On the descent people did not want to risk chasing me,” said Pidcock at the finish line.<\/p>\n
“I learnt that on my way to school cutting through the forest and the mud. My first stage win on my first tour. Not bad.”<\/p>\n
“Even if I get dropped every day now I don’t care,” added Pidcock, who climbed to eighth overall.<\/p>\n
The British rider said it had been astonishing to ride through such big crowds.<\/p>\n
“You have to just pray that they move out of the way, but that was the best experience — box ticked.”<\/p>\n
Pidcock’s Ineos leader Thomas praised the youngster.<\/p>\n
“He’s the second British winner here,” after his own triumph here on his way to the 2018 title. “It’s great for the team.”<\/p>\n
– Blistering Pogacar –<\/p>\n
A day after his triumph on the Col du Granon, Danish Jumbo rider Vingegaard, chaperoned by teammates, held off a blistering attack from Pogacar, who is second in the overall standings.<\/p>\n
Thomas followed them over the line and climbs to third.<\/p>\n
“That was quite an attack from Tadej, so I was happy keeping up,” said Vingegaard.<\/p>\n
Pogacar appeared disappointed he hadn’t been able to hurt his rivals for the title.<\/p>\n
“I could have been better, but at least I was there. I suffered yesterday, but hopefully this won’t happen again,” he said after pulling on his white jersey as the top young rider.<\/p>\n
“I feel confident for the days ahead, I need to find a way to get a few minutes back,” said the 23-year-old Slovenian who rides for Team UAE Emirates and who lost two teammates to Covid this week.<\/p>\n
Thomas was dropped briefly, as he was on Wednesday, before once more racing his own pace and catching up with Vingegaard and Pogacar.<\/p>\n
“I knew it’s going be a bit stop-start,” he said in front of his team hotel at the Alpine resort.<\/p>\n
“They are both riding really well and when they attack like that it’s not worth chasing them.”<\/p>\n
Friday’s stage moves out of the Alps with a 192km run to Saint-Etienne with three hills but no mountains until three stages in the Pyrenees next week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
L’Alpe d’Huez, France, July 14 (AFP\/APP): British rookie Tom Pidcock, riding for Ineos, showed world class skills as he won stage 12 of the Tour de France on the Bastille Day holiday on Thursday. A daredevil descent lit the fuse for the 22-year-old’s win while […]<\/p>\n
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