🚴 Pogacar Reclaims Yellow Jersey with Stage 7 Win at Tour de France
Reigning champion Tadej Pogacar is back in yellow after a dominant sprint finish secured him victory in Stage 7 of the Tour de France.
The Slovenian edged out Jonas Vingegaard on the iconic Mur-de-Bretagne climb, reclaiming the race lead after Mathieu van der Poel had briefly taken the jersey on Thursday.
Van der Poel, who won on this same climb in 2021, couldn’t match Pogacar’s late burst and dropped to fifth in the general classification.
British rider Oscar Onley, 22, impressed with a third-place finish, climbing to seventh overall. Competing in only his second Tour de France, the Scot is now one to watch in the GC race.
"Me and Mathieu both know this finish very well," Pogacar said.
"We both wanted to win on this iconic climb but I think maybe yesterday he left too much on the road so we couldn't have a rematch."
Veteran Geraint Thomas, racing in his 14th and final Tour, featured in a brave breakaway alongside four others. But despite their best efforts, the peloton reeled them in with 18km to go. Thomas, the 2018 winner, showed grit but couldn’t replicate the success of Ben Healy’s breakaway in Stage 6.
Drama unfolded near the end when a crash involving nine riders disrupted the approach to the final ascent. Pogacar’s teammate Joao Almeida, previously seventh in the GC, was among the fallers and lost over 10 minutes. Jack Haig was forced to abandon due to the incident.
🛣️ What’s Next?
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Stage 8: A flat 171.4km stretch from Saint-Meen-le-Grand to Laval Espace Mayenne
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A likely day for the sprinters before the mountains resume their toll on the GC contenders.
