[ritchiebaby]

Well, I was right about the breakaway winning the stage, but there was only one rider left in the final 40kms. The original breakaway consisted of 29 riders and was gradually whittled down to Hugo Houle who just rode away from everyone else and won by the commanding margin of 1 minute 10 seconds from Valentin Madouas and Michael Woods, who were just 2 seconds ahead of Matteo Jorgensen. Dylan Teuns was 7th and Simon Geschke was 8th.

Houle promised to dedicate a win to the memory of his brother who was killed in a hit-and-run accident 9 years ago and he did so in style, both in crossing the line and immediately afterwards as soon as he came to a halt.

All the leaders in the various categories consolidated their positions, so it's not really worth repeating their names for the umpteenth time.

Tomorrow's stage is the 130kms from Saint-Gaudens to Peyragudes. There is an early sprint after 33 kms, which Wout van Aert doesn't really need to bother with, but he will. If he scores points it will be all over with 4 stages to go. Then there is a Category 1 climb at the halfway point, followed by a Category 2, then a Category 1, finishing with a devilish Category 1 climb to the line at the Altiport - yes, another one! - where the last 500m is at 13%. The finishing stretch was made famous to film fans in Tomorrow Never Dies and is actually designated as Altiport007.

This is the second last mountain stage and I'm expecting big things from Nairo Quintana and Geraint Thomas, if they can get away from Jumbo-Visma and UAE Team Emirates domestique trains to separate Vingegaard and Pogacar from their support. This is a stage made for Chris Froome if he can get his old legs to work and maybe Enric Mas, who has not quite delivered this year.

[themaclad]

Watched it, however due to the blast furnace that it was yesterday meant I didn't fully take it in, bit of a story behind be winner due to his brother dying

[ritchiebaby]

Even up here in the frozen north, it was 34C. Imagine riding a racing bike for 4 1/2 hours in that heat!

[ritchiebaby]

And once again it was the Pog/Ving Show, with Tadej Pogacar beating Jonas Vingegaard on the line in probably the slowest sprint I've ever seen. Pogacar's team-mate and workhorse, Brandon McNulty, finished an excellent 3rd, 32 seconds behind, with Geraint Thomas coming in 4th over 2 minutes behind the winner. Alexey Lutsenko and Romain Bardet came in a further half minute down.

Pogacar has cut Vingegaard's lead in the GC competition by a massive 4 seconds thanks to the winning time bonus. Any kudos Pog thinks he got by winning will surely count for nothing in the big picture. Thomas consolidated his 3rd position, losing time to the two leaders but gaining substantially over the rest and has 3 minutes in hand over Nairo Quintana and David Gaudu.

As expected, Wout van Aert confirmed he will win the Points Competition if he crosses the finish line in Paris on Sunday.

Simon Geschke still leads the KOM Competition, with the biggest threats coming from Pogacar and Vingegaard in their quest for the Yellow Jersey.

Tomorrow's 143kms stage from Lourdes to Hautacam will be the last mountain stage, which should see the last big chance for Pogacar to upset Vingegaard in the GC race. Vingegaard seems to have the measure of every Pogacar attack and shouldn't allow any significant gap to open up between them. But, as I wrote before, don't write Pogacar off - he's capable of just about anything. After a leisurely start, the race gets into gear with a Category HC climb after 60kms up to the Aubisque Pass, then a Category 1 after 100kms to the Spandelles Pass, ending with the Category HC climb to the finish at Hautacam after 130kms. For me the respective form of Sepp Kuss and Brandon McNulty might prove pivotal near the finish. I'll throw some other names into the reckoning - Michael Woods, Alexander Vlasov and Patrick Konrad.

Lourdes, apart from being the name of Madonna's daughter, is famous all over the world as the most important Catholic pilgrimage site, attracting 5 million visitors annually.

[themaclad]

Watched it thoroughly enjoyed the stage the will he won't he ending, both should have let McNulty win the stgae rode a fabulous stage. Suspect it's all on todays late stage in the hills

Tadej Pogacar edged out Jonas Vingegaard to win stage 17 of the Tour de France - but was unable to break the race leader on an epic mountain stage.

Defending champion Pogacar won the uphill sprint but only cut Vingegaard's overall lead by four bonus seconds.

The Dane now leads by two minutes and 18 seconds going into Thursday's final mountain stage from Lourdes to Hautacam.

Britain's Geraint Thomas finished fourth to stay third overall.

Stage 17 to Peyragudes was the shortest road stage of the tour but one of the most demanding, with the 129.7km route from Saint-Gaudens containing four categorised climbs in the final 76km.

Pogacar's UAE Emirates team had been reduced to just four members after Rafal Majka was forced to withdraw because of a thigh injury he sustained on stage 16, while an unwell Marc Soller missed the cut-off time on Tuesday.

But despite their latest setback, they set a brutal pace throughout and nearing the end of the final climb only the top two in the general classification and Pogacar's team-mate Brandon McNulty, who came third on the day, remained.

Stage 17 as it happened
Stage-by-stage guide to the tour de France
McNulty took over after a Trojan effort by Mikkel Bjerg had ripped the race apart and pressed on to the top of the penultimate climb on the Col de Val Louron-Azet, whittling the lead group down to just three with over 20km remaining.

The final ascent to Peyragudes - an 8km climb with an average gradient of 7.8% - concluded on the altiport runway, reaching inclines of 16% near the finish.

It was there that the latest duel for supremacy between Pogacar and Vingegaard was played out, once McNulty's efforts eventually came to an end in the final few hundred metres.

Pogacar timed his final move to perfection, getting the better of Vingegaard to clinch his third stage win and the 10-second time bonus, as the race leader had to settle for the six-second bonus on offer for second place.

"He came with some good attacks today," Vingegaard said of Pogacar. "I'm happy I could stay with him. On a finish like this he is more explosive than I am."

Asked about winning the stage with a reduced team, Pogacar said: "We can all be proud. We cannot try more. We see tomorrow as another chance but for now I am happy that I won today."

On whether he can still win the Tour de France, he added: "Yes. I am optimistic. I think tomorrow is another hard day and we can try again tomorrow."

Meanwhile, Thomas finished over two minutes behind the front three but tightened his grip on a podium place as he finished well clear of closest challenger Nairo Quintana, whom the 2018 champion now leads by two minutes seven seconds.

"I wasn't feeling tip-top today," said Thomas. "I made the call to wait for the group behind rather than battle, go into the red and risk blowing up and losing even more time. We were able to ride a solid pace all the way to the line."

Stage 18 on Wednesday is the final mountain test of the Tour and the 143km route from Lourdes to Hautacam includes two hors category ascents - the Col d'Aubisque and the final climb to the finish at Hautacam.

Stage 17 results
Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates) 3hrs 25mins 51secs
Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Jumbo-Visma) same time
Brandon McNulty (US/UAE Team Emirates) +32
Geraint Thomas (GB/Ineos Grenadiers) +2:07
Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz/Astana-Qazaqstan Team)+2:34
Romain Bardet (Fra/Team DSM)+2:38
David Gaudu (Fra/Groupama-FDJ)+3:27
Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-hansgrohe) +3:32
Louis Meintjes (SA/Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert MatEriaux) same time
Nairo Quintana (Col/Team Arkea-Samsic)
General classification after stage 17
Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Jumbo-Visma) 67hrs 53mins 54secs
Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates)+2:18
Geraint Thomas (GB/Ineos Grenadiers) +4:56
Nairo Quintana (Col/Team Arkea-Samsic) +7:53
David Gaudu (Fra/Groupama-FDJ) +7:57
Romain Bardet (Fra/Team DSM) +9:21
Louis Meintjes (SA/Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert Materiaux) +9:24
Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-hansgrohe) +9:56
Adam Yates (GB/Ineos Grenadiers)+14:33
Enric Mas (Spa/Movistar) +16:35

[themaclad]

Vingegaard will win the Tour and deservedly so, not for being the best in the race but for the ultimate in sportsmanship by waiting for Pogacar after he came off his bike thoroughly deserved

[ritchiebaby]

It threatened to be another episode of the Pog/Ving Show, but Jonas Vingegaard decided it was time to go solo and rode to an emphatic win by over a minute from Tadej Pogacar. Sepp Kuss, who finished 8th, helped to soften Pogacar up, then the job was completed by Wout van Aert, who finished 3rd. Brilliant tactics from Jumbo-Visma, who had van Aert in the breakaway ready to help Vingegaard near the top.

Jonas Vingegaard now leads Pogacar by 3 minutes 26 seconds, with Geraint Thomas in 3rd place, 8 minutes behind.

As predicted, Simon Geschke was overtaken in the KOM competition, this time by Jonas Vingegaard on 72 points, while he has 64 points. There are only 3 more available points left in the race and Geschke could be caught by either Giulio Ciccone or Tadej Pogacar.

Tomorrow's stage heads north-eastwards from Castelnau-Magnoac to Cahors. It's 188kms long and is fairly flat with two Category 4 climbs and will definitely favour the sprint teams. You can take your pick of at least ten sprinters who can win the stage, but you can bet your bottom dollar Wout van Aert will be in the mix, still hunting for points. I'd add Jesper Philipsen, Dylan Groenewegen and Danny van Poppel.

Cahors is famously associated with two French stars. It was the birthplace of Fabien Galthié, scrumhalf for Les Bleus and now their head coach. Iconic mime artist, Marcel Marceau, died in a retirement home there in 2007.

[themaclad]

Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard is one step closer to winning the 2022 Tour de France after he extended his overall lead with a stunning stage 18 victory.

Defending champion Tadej Pogacar finished second, one minute and four seconds behind, after being dropped on the final climb on the Hautacam.

In a brilliant act of sportsmanship earlier in the race, Vingegaard, 25, waited for and shook hands with Pogacar after the Slovenian rider crashed.

He leads overall by three mins 26 secs.

"It's incredible," Vingegaard said. "This morning I said to my girlfriend and my daughter I wanted to win for them and I did. I'm really happy and proud. This one is for my two girls at home."

He added: "I was just happy that it finally ended. It was incredibly hard. Of course I am incredibly happy that I won the stage.

"There are two more days to come until we are in Paris and we must stay focused."

Stage 18 results
1. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Jumbo-Visma) 3hrs 59mins 50secs

2. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates) +1:04

3. Wout van Aert (Bel/Jumbo-Visma) +2:10

4. Geraint Thomas (GB/Ineos Grenadiers) +2:54

5. David Gaudu (Fra/Groupama-FDJ) +2:58

6. Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz/Astana-Qazaqstan Team) +3:09

7. Daniel Martinez (Col/INEOS Grenadiers) same time

8. Sepp Kuss (US/Jumbo-Visma) +3:27

9. Aleksandr Vlasov (BORA-hansgrohe) +4:04

10. Thibaut Pinot (Fra/Groupama-FDJ) +4:09

General classification after stage 18
1. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Jumbo-Visma) 71hrs 53mins 34secs

2. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates) +3:26

3. Geraint Thomas (GB/Ineos Grenadiers) +8:00

4. David Gaudu (FRA/Groupama-FDJ) +11:05

5. Nairo Quintana (Col/Team Arkea-Samsic) +13:25

6. Louis Meintjes (RSA/Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert Materiaux) +13:43

7. Aleksandr Vlasov (BORA - hansgrohe) +14:10

8. Romain Bardet (Fra/Team DSM) +16:11

9. Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz/Astana-Qazaqstan Team) +20:09

10. Adam Yates (GB/Ineos Grenadiers) +20:17

[ritchiebaby]

Christophe Laporte secured another stage win for Jumbo-Visma in an early sprint to the line holding off Jasper Philipsen, Alberto Dainese and a host of others with a 1 second advantage. It turned out to be a tactically fractured race with neither the GC teams nor the sprint teams taking control, giving the 3 breakaway riders a chance of success with 1km to go, but eventually they were caught.

None of the leading contenders in each of the classifications changed, so I'm not bothering to repeat them.

Tomorrow sees the second Time Trial, this time over 40.7kms from Lacapelle-Marival to Rocamadour. As usual the riders leave the start in reverse GC order with 2 minutes between each rider. The long, undulating course ends with a short climb at almost 8% levelling off just before the line. Wout van Aert, although still involved as a domestique for Vingegaard and Laporte, had a relatively easy day out and is definitely saving himself for tomorrow. Others to watch will be Fillippo Ganna, Ving/Pog, Stefan Kung and Tom Pidcock.

I won't be around to watch it, nor will I be watching the Coronation Procession on Sunday, which is only enlivened by the desperate sprint over the final 800m.

If you have Eurosport, you might be interested in watching the Tour de France for women, which starts in Paris, also on Sunday, hopefully before the rampaging men arrive on the Champs Elysees. Their race finishes on Sunday 31 July in La Super Planche des Belles Filles. More information can be found on https://www.letourfemmes.fr/en as well as on the Eurosport website/TV guide.

[themaclad]

May watch ther highlights as on a 60 mile round trip to play cricket, probably will watch tomorrow but basically it is all over, though a couple of years ago it did change on the TT.
As usual as well as the race some of the countryside and little villages have been stunning