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Tour de France: Pogacar wins stage 9

September 6, 2020

Slovenian rider Tadej Pogacar claimed victory in stage 9 by the barest of margins. It was also a good day for his compatriot Primoz Roglic, and last year's winner is starting to look dangerous again.

https://p.dw.com/p/3i4jS
Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia wins stage nine
Image: Reuters/Pool/M. Bertorello

Less than the circumference of a wheel decided Sunday's 153-kilometer road race from Pau to Laruns. Tadej Pogacar left his sprint to the last one of those kilometers, but in the end timed it perfectly.

"It’s really crazy after that hard day to win the stage," the UAE Team Emirates rider said after his dramatic victory. "Thanks to the teammates, they did a really good job all day. I wanted to gain as much time as I could in GC [General Classification] but in the last few hundred meters I was focusing for the sprint."

 

One of the men Pogacar edged out was compatriot Primoz Roglic , and the second-placed Slovenian will have to make do with the yellow jersey after a disappointing day for previous leader Adam Yates.

"I did what I could, but there were some guys in better condition than me," Yates explained. "I said from the beginning there's a lot of stages in the last week that suit me quite well, so I'll have a go and I'll see what I can do."

Marc Hirschi, of Team Sunweb, came third of the day while 2019 champion Egan Bernal came in fourth. The Colombian's ride pushes him up to second overall, 21 seconds behind Roglic. Yates tumbled right down to eighth.

The next stage: After a rest day on Monday, the Tour heads to the seaside, with riders racing between two islands, Ile d'Oleron and Ile de Re. This is a first in the Tour's history and the 170-kilometer stage is something of an unknown.

mp/mds (Reuters, AP)