2023-07-13 16:48:02
BELLEVILLE-EN-BEAUJOLAIS, France (AP) — Ion Izagirre emerged victorious from the chaos of a mid-mountain Tour de France stage that spawned attacks from start to finish on Thursday.
It was the second stage victory for a Spanish cyclist in the 110th edition of the gala round. Izaguirre did it two days after the triumph of Pello Bilbao, the first by a Spaniard since 2018.
Izaguirre, from the Cofidis team, scored his second stage victory in a Tour — the previous one was in 2016 — after breaking away from a breakaway group, attacking 30 kilometers away to reach the finish line alone.
The 105-mile (169-kilometer) course took riders through the Beaujolais vineyards for two demanding climbs in the second half of the route. The first two hours of competition were disputed with tremendous intensity, leaving several runners off the hook after the first 25 kilometers.
Izagirre launched his attack amid a group of top-level runners on the final climb — 5.3 kilometers (3.3 miles) up the Col de la Croix Rosier.
In an aerodynamic position, the Basque cyclist risked everything on the descent and capitalized on all his attributes for the time trials to leave his rivals behind, taking them one minute apart.
Frenchman Mathieu Burgaudeau (Totalenergies) came second on the stage, with American Matteo Jorgenson (Movista) completing the podium.
Izaguirre has also won stages in the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España.
There were no major changes in the general classification. Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) maintains a 17 second lead over Slovenian Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates).
The bid for the yellow jersey will resume on Friday when they return to the high mountains, for the first of three days of alpine travel. They will have the ascent to the mythical Grand Colombier, culminating in the Jura Massif.
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