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Tour de France
High Austrians Lukas Pöstlberger and Michael Gogl surrendered at the Tour de France on Friday. The 28-year-old from Pöstlberg, who had invested a lot of energy in the previous days by his Bora captain Peter Sagan (SVK) and the fight for the green jersey, got up after a bee sting in the mouth during the 19th stage road to Champagnole. The win of the day went to Dane Sören Kragh Andersen for the second time on this year’s tour.
While Pöstlberger was unintentionally pulled out of the saddle in pain and taken to hospital for further treatment after about ten kilometers a day despite medical treatment due to an allergic reaction, Gogl had not started the 160 kilometer stage in Bourg- en-Bresse. The 26-year-old from the NTT team had performed aggressively and in a few exhaust groups during issue 107 and had apparently worn himself out in the process.
In the general classification, Gogl was about four hours behind in 86th place, his best stage result was 16th place in the twelfth and longest stage of the current Tour de France. Pöstlberger was 129th, more than five hours behind overall leader Primoz Roglic (SLO). As Sagan’s assistant, he hadn’t gone past the 72-day range. In the meantime, he’s feeling better, no need to worry, Bora’s team announced Friday afternoon.
Gogl was exhausted after 17 stages. “Even if it’s difficult, I have to listen to my body. I gave it my all in the last 18 stages. A start today would push me beyond the limit, and that is why me and the team decided not to start over, ”he said on Facebook. With Marco Haller (146./Bahrain) and Felix Großschartner (64./Bora) there are still two Austrians in the race. Gregor Mühlberger (Bora) gave up due to illness during the 11th stage.
Andersen strikes again
The victory of the day after 166.5 kilometers at Champagnole went to Sören Kragh Andersen, just like on stage 14. The Dane from Team Sunweb managed to make another decisive attack on the relatively flat stage to cross the finish line alone. In the end, Andersen was 53 seconds ahead of Luka Mezgez and Belgian Jasper Stuyven. It was also a deja-vu for Mezgez, as the Slovenian had also finished second on stage 14. Haller, the better of the two Austrians left on the pitch, reached the finish line in 20th place, 7:38 minutes behind the winner.
In the general classification, nothing changed in the flat piece. Slovenian Primoz Roglic, who rolled the peloton over the finish line like his fiercest rivals, is still 57 seconds ahead of compatriot Tadej Pogacar. The overall victory will be decided on Saturday in the 36.2 kilometer mountain time trial from Lure to La Planche des Belles Filles. The highlight of the penultimate stage will be the final climb with an average gradient of 8.5 percent.
