First French victory in the 2022 Tour
Christophe Laporte won the 19th stage of the Tour de France, claiming the first French victory on this edition.
Christophe Laporte got the better of the peloton in the last hectometres of the stage.
AFP
Christophe Laporte (Jumbo) won the 19th stage on Friday in Cahors, ahead of the vanguard of the peloton and his Danish teammate Jonas Vingegaard, still wearing the yellow jersey two days before the finish in Paris.
Vingegaard will approach the 40.7 kilometer time trial between Lacapelle-Marival and Rocamadour with a 3’21” advantage over the reigning winner, the Slovenian Tadej Pogacar, who took fifth place in the stage and nibbled five seconds.
Laporte came out during the last kilometer in the streets of Cahors to be one second ahead of the Belgian Jasper Philipsen, the Italian Alberto Dainese and the French champion Florian Sénéchal, at the end of the 188.3 kilometers. Aged 29, Laporte, spent in the off-season from Cofidis to Jumbo, won a Tour stage for the first time in his career.
New event
Leaving the Pyrenees, the peloton controlled the breakaway launched from the first kilometers before a brief interruption around the thirtieth kilometer due to a peaceful demonstration by climate activists claimed by the Last Renovation movement.
The sprinters’ teams kept the leash very short on the breakaways. American Quinn Simmons, Slovenian Matej Mohoric, Dutchman Taco van der Hoorn and Dane Mikkel Honoré, initially accompanied by German Nils Politt, had a maximum lead of less than a minute and a half.
Side wind, Simmons, ex-junior world champion and youngest of the event (21 years old), continued the effort alone at the entrance of the last 50 kilometers and opened the race until 35 kilometers.
Van Aert and equipier
Apart from an acceleration from Pogacar, which tested Vingegaard’s vigilance, the final was animated by a trio formed by Frenchman Alexis Gougeard, Belgian Jasper Stuyven and Briton Fred Wright in the last thirty kilometers.
In the false rising flat leading to the finish, Laporte, who had benefited from the help of the Belgian Wout van Aert transformed into a teammate, appeared in sight of the red flame of the last kilometer. He then took his start to 600 meters to resist the return of the pursuers.
“The team trusted me today,” commented the Varois. “Wout said to me, ‘It’s for you today.’ The last time he told me that was at Paris-Nice”, in March, when Laporte had won the first stage.
AFP
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