[themaclad]

Patrick Konrad from Austria held on to clinch a thrilling solo victory on stage 16 of the Tour de France.

He attacked out of a breakaway on the Col de Portet-d'Aspet, the penultimate climb of the hilly 169km stage.

It is the 29-year-old's first Tour stage and first professional win.

Tadej Pogacar retained the yellow jersey as the group of overall leaders crossed the line almost 14 minutes later with no significant changes at the top of the general classification.

The Slovenian had to stay alert for attacks from his rivals on the final climb and then the sprint to the finish but otherwise this was another relatively stress-free ride for the defending champion as the race resumed following Monday's rest day.

Damp conditions on the treacherous descent of the Portet-d'Aspet were the main concern for the big hitters in the peloton, who seemed to be saving their legs for Wednesday's gruelling summit finish at the 2,215m Col du Portet.

'It is going to be the hardest day in the Tour'
"It was quite a hectic day," Pogacar said. "We started in super cold weather, then the fight for the breakaway was again really big in the first two hours until it settled down.

"At the end there were fireworks again - I don't know what happened at the end of that final climb, I just followed the wheels - but it was good to open the legs for Wednesday.

"I'm not worried but I think it is going to be a really hard day - the hardest day in the Tour."

Britain's Mark Cavendish finished more than 23 minutes behind Konrad but was still well within the time limit for completing the stage.

Cavendish retains the green jersey as the leader of the points category but saw his lead cut to 37 points by Australian Michael Matthews, who finished third.

Matthews was part of a nine-man chase-group that also included France's David Gaudu and Italy's Sonny Colbrelli that was unable to reel in Konrad in the final few kilometres.

The Austrian mounted a solo attack more than 30km from the finish, and said: "I was already three times in the break but always waiting until the final chance.

"It is not always a good decision to go early but I gave it a try and I am really happy that I had the legs to get to the finish.

"It is my first win on the world tour and this is the biggest cycling race in the world, so I am really speechless. I am super, super happy."

Stage 16 results
Patrick Konrad (Aut/BORA-hansgrohe) 4hours 01minutes 59seconds
Sonny Colbrelli (Ita/Bahrain Victorious) +42secs
Michael Matthews (Aus/Team BikeExchange) Same time
Pierre-Luc Perichon (Fra/Cofidis)
Franck Bonnamour (Fra/B&B Hotels)
Alex Aranburu (Esp/Astana)
Toms Skujins (Lat/Trek) +45sec
Jan Bakelants (Bel/Intermarche) Same time
David Gaudu (Fra/Groupama) +47secs
Lorenzo Rota (Ita/Intermarche) +1min 03secs
General classification after stage 16
Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates) 66hours 23minutes 06seconds
Rigoberto Uran (Col/EF Education) +5mins 18secs
Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Jumbo) +5mins 32secs
Richard Carapaz (Ecu/Ineos Grenadiers) +5mins 33secs
Ben O'Connor (Aus/AG2R Citroen) +5mins 58secs
Wilco Kelderman (Ned/Bora-Hansgrohe) +6mins 16secs
Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz/Astana) +7mins 01secs
Enric Mas (Spa/Movistar) +7mins 11secs
Guillaume Martin (Fra/Cofidis) +8mins 02secs
Pello Bilbao (Spa/Bahrain-Victorious) +10mins 59secs

[theo_luddite]

Not following this as close as I could tbh maclad, but good reports so far. Do I take I there's still a few more battles in the Pyrenees, or at least the foothills, to come from what I can work out of the route before a couple of relatively flat stages? Cavendish, having 3 legs obviously has an advantage in some sprints. Can he win any more this year? 

---

Sunday, generally is a load of bollox for the Yellow jersey, but points for sprinters might be up for grabs?

[ritchiebaby]

I honestly think Cavendish is using the minimum effort to stay in the race so he can give his all in the sprints to Libourne and/or to Paris. Matthews and Colbrelli are making inroads into his lead, but that'll not bother him.

Similarly, Pogacar's (and Vingegaard's) main focus is the Yellow Jersey, so allowing Gaudu to narrow the gap in the Youths competition.

Tomorrow's stage starts off quite innocuously, until after the intermediate sprint at 113km, then the hurt will begin with 2 Category 1 climbs, culminating in the Category HC Col Du Portet, at an average gradient of 8.6% over 15km, with a 10% climb in the final kilometre. I fully expect some of the GC contenders to fall away spectacularly. It will be the survival of the fittest.

Thurday's stage is much shorter, but equally demanding, meaning for many it will be a battle to stay in the race.

[themaclad]

There's people on the pitch they think it's all over, it is now

Defending champion Tadej Pogacar took a sublime victory atop the Col du Portet on stage 17 of the Tour de France to extend his lead in the yellow jersey.

The Slovenian, 22, kicked clear of Jonas Vingegaard and Richard Carapaz with 150 metres to go to win his fifth Tour stage overall and second of 2021.

UAE Team Emirates' Pogacar now leads Vingegaard by five mins 39 seconds, with Carapaz four seconds further back.

Rigoberto Uran slipped from second to fourth after cracking at 8km remaining.

Pogacar, who won the stage five time trial before taking the yellow jersey on stage eight, has four days left to defend it, though Sunday's final stage is a processional run to Paris where convention dictates the leader is not attacked.

"We were 50-50 - do we go for the win stage or just defend? - but in the end we tried and I am super-happy," he said.

A gruelling day in the Pyrenees featured three long and steep climbs in the final 60km, but Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates team-mates were always in control of the race.

They set a fierce pace to reel in Anthony Perez, the last of six early escapees to stay clear, and then launched Pogacar to go it alone halfway up the 2,215m Col du Portet.

Only Vingegaard and Carapaz could stay with him, ensuring they both replaced Uran in the podium places, before the stage win was decided at the very top of the highest finish of this year's Tour.

'Jonas said to me that he thought Carapaz was bluffing'
Carapaz had appeared exhausted and stayed on his rivals' wheels for most of the climb before trying a surprise attack in the final kilometre, but he could not catch Pogacar out.

"Jonas said to me that he thought Carapaz was bluffing and I knew it also," Pogacar explained. "It was nothing unusual - this is the tactic in cycling and he tried to attack. I had the drive to catch him but it was super hard.

"It was a fantastic day. To win in yellow is something I cannot describe."

Earlier in the stage, Britain's Mark Cavendish had kept his grip on the green jersey by limiting his loss to his closest rival, Australian Michael Matthews, to just one point.

Cavendish tracked Matthews over the line in the intermediate sprint that came after 113km of the 178.4km route, and now leads the points category by 36 points.

The Manxman was quickly dropped by the main peloton once the riders entered the mountains, but he still finished safely within the time limit for the stage.

Stage 17 result
Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates) 5hrs 03mins 31secs
Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Jumbo) +03secs
Richard Carapaz (Ecu/Ineos Grenadiers) +04secs
David Gaudu (Fra/Groupama-FDJ) +1min 19secs
Ben O'Connor (Aus/AG2R Citroen) +1min 26secs
Wilco Kelderman (Ned/Bora-Hansgrohe) +1min 40secs
Pello Bilbao (Spa/Bahrain-Victorious) +1min 44secs
Sergio Higuita (Col/EF Education Nippo) +1min 49secs
Rigoberto Uran (Col/EF Education Nippo) Same time
Pello Bilbao (Spa/Bahrain-Victorious)
General classification after stage 17
Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates) 71hours 26minutes 27seconds
Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Jumbo) +5mins 39secs
Richard Carapaz (Ecu/Ineos Grenadiers) +5mins 43secs
Rigoberto Uran (Col/EF Education Nippo) +7mins 17secs
Ben O'Connor (Aus/AG2R Citroen) +7mins 34secs
Wilco Kelderman (Ned/Bora-Hansgrohe) +8mins 06secs
Enric Mas (Spa/Movistar) +9mins 48secs
Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz/Astana) +10mins 04secs
Guillaume Martin (Fra/Cofidis) +11mins 51secs
Pello Bilbao (Spa/Bahrain-Victorious) +12mins 53secs

[ritchiebaby]

At last a mountain stage finish with a bit of excitement The usual French breakaway riders came to the fore on Bastille Day, but again as usual they surrendered without too much resistance. In my opinion, Carapaz went too early, allowing Pogacar and Vinegar too much time to recover and show him the way home. Excellent tactical race though and let's have another one tomorrow.

T'Pau start leads to only 129.7km of racing to another mountain top finish at Luz Ardiden, an HC category climb, immediately after another HC climb over Col du Tourmalet. I don't see any big alterations to the GC placings with Pogacar so far ahead in stamina, combativeness and, where necessary, containment. He made sure all his rivals had an equally hard time of it, hopefully nullifying any threat tomorrow.

I see from the local heritage details, the local delicacies include peasant soup (subject to a decent supply of peasants of course) and spit cake - words fail me in any attempt to describe the taste.

[themaclad]

Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar remains in the leaders' yellow jersey of the Tour de France after victory on stage 18.

The UAE Team Emirates rider is now in a commanding position with an overall five minute 45 second lead over Jonas Vingegaard with three stages remaining.

Ineos Grenadiers' Richard Carapaz remains third after finishing the stage level with Vingegaard.

Pogacar is expected to win the time trial on the penultimate stage on Saturday to seal his Tour defence.

It's over

[ritchiebaby]

Accident or illness are the only threats to Pogacar now and themaclad is right - it's all over now. He'll never run out of time as UAE will defend their leader all the way tomorrow at the head of the peloton. There's no need for him to do very much as he is almost guaranteed a top placing in the Time Trial on Saturday. I feel Vingegaard has the measure of Carapaz and will hold his rival to a minimal gain (if any) as he is a much better time triallist.

It looks a certain massed sprint team scramble tomorrow in Libourne, tailor-made for Cavendish to break Merckx's record and taking the pressure off for Sunday's only excitement in the Champs-De-Elysees dash. The last time we had a sprinter's stage Deceuninck-Quick-Step took control coming home to deliver Cavendish just at the right moment. The only fly in the ointment would be if there is a mass breakaway, but I'm sure the sprint teams will shut it down pretty quickly. You can't always get what you want, but I'm sure Cav will have the satisfaction of being a reborn record-breaker.

[ritchiebaby]

Well, no surprise about the break. The big surprise was that it was allowed to go. There's no doubt in my mind that Cavendish's old legs weren't up to it and it would seem that none of the other sprint protagonists fancied it either. Please don't tell me that, with the generally predictable time trial, the final 3 days of Le Tour are going to be boring fare from the big guns.

To be fair to Mohoric, he livened it up by breaking away from the breakaway and dominated the last 20+ km. Some of the remainder tried to follow but didn't have the legs to last long in pursuit and just annoyed each other and cancelled each other out.

The peloton will be rolling in shortly, but I'll have a more exciting time cutting the grass, so I'm off.

[themaclad]

There is a certain irony to this win, BV were raided by the drugs police yesterday

Bahrain-Victorious' Matej Mohoric won stage 19 of the Tour de France, denying Mark Cavendish an opportunity to break the record for stage wins he shares with Eddy Merckx.

Cavendish had hoped to compete for a 35th stage win, but a breakaway of 20 riders left the peloton well behind.

Cavendish will get another chance in Sunday's final stage, which finishes on the Champs-Elysees in Paris.

Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar remains in the leader's yellow jersey.

Mohoric's second win of the Tour comes after his team's hotel was raided by French police on Wednesday over an allegation of doping.

He said after his win: "I was thinking mostly about what happened two days ago. You feel a bit like a criminal. It's a good thing the police are checking - of course they found nothing, because we have nothing to hide.

"But I'm a bit disappointed with the system - it's not a nice thing when police walk into into your room and start going through all your belongings.

"Even if you have nothing to hide it feels a bit weird when they go through your personal things, photos of your family, your phone and your messages."

The largely flat 207km stage into Libourne was expected to result in a sprint finish, with all eyes on Cavendish, who was warmly embraced by Belgian cycling legend Merckx at the start in Mourenx.

However, after a frenetic opening and early crashes involving Geraint Thomas, Rafal Majka, Enric Mas, Sonny Colbrelli and Cavendish, a large breakaway was allowed to escape by a peloton with little appetite to deliver a meaningful chase on the back of several punishing days in the Pyrenees.

And Mohoric delivered a replica of the superb solo attack that carried him to victory on stage seven, riding clear with 26km to go and extending his lead as the chasing group failed to organise themselves.

The peloton rolled home almost 21 minutes later, and Pogacar will defend a lead of five minutes and 45 seconds over Jonas Vingegaard in Saturday's 30.8km individual time trial from Libourne to Saint Emilion.

Stage 19 results
1. Matej Mohoric (Slo/Bahrain Victorious) 4hrs 19mins 17secs

2. Christophe Laporte (Fra/Cofidis) +58secs

3. Casper Pedersen (Den/DSM) Same time

4. Mike Teunissen (Ned/Jumbo Visma) +1mins 02secs

5. Nils Politt (Ger/Bora-Hansgrohe) +1mins 08secs

6. Edward Theuns (Bel/Trek-Segafredo) Same time

7. Michael Valgren (Den/EF Education-Nippo)

8. Georg Zimmermann (Ger/Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert)

9. Anthony Turgis (Fra/TotalEnergies) 1mins 10secs

10. Jasper Stuyen (Bel/Trek-Segafredo) Same time

General classification after stage 19
1. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE-Team Emirates) 79hrs 40mins 09secs

2. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Jumbo Visma) +5mins 45secs

3. Richard Carapaz (Ecu/Ineos Grenadiers) +5mins 51secs

4. Ben O'Connor (Aus/AG2R Citroen) +8mins 18secs

5. Wilco Kelderman (Ned/Bora-Hansgrohe) +8mins 50secs

6. Enric Mas (Spa/Movistar) +10mins 11secs

7. Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz/Astana) +11mins 22secs

8. Guillaume Martin (Fra/Cofidis) +12mins 46secs

9. Pello Bilbao (Spa/Bahrain-Victorious) +13mins 48secs

10. Rigoberto Uran (Col/EF Education Nippo) +16mins 25secs

[ritchiebaby]

It's Time Trial Time again, this time rolling around the vineyards of the Gironde - a stop at every vineyard would make it infinitely more interesting. The course runs 30.8km from Libourne to St Emilion rising to the dizzying heights of 93m above sea level at Montagne.

Pogacar will be hot favourite for the stage, but an outside chance must be given to Van Aert, with Cattaneo an outside outsider. They all expended little energy today (alongwith 125 others) and must feel good for a big effort tomorrow.

I'll be attending a birthday BBQ tomorrow, so depending on my wine consumption, I might not be on here until Sunday. Whatever happens I will not be watching the borefest until the last lap of central Paris, depending on my timing skills of course.