[ad_1]
STARTING FROM THE OBJECTIVE AREA: Julian Alaphilippe was ready to receive the yellow jersey, but had to turn around. Photo: CHRISTOPHE PETIT TESSON / AFP
PRIVAS / OSLO (VG) Julian Alaphilippe (28) received a bottle while on the last 20 kilometers. Thus, he received a 20-second penalty and lost the lead in the Tour de France.
Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck – Quickstep) raced up to 16th on Wednesday’s stage of the Tour de France and therefore appeared to have kept the yellow leader jersey.
But a few minutes after the finish, the counter message came: as he had received a bottle from the team with 17 kilometers to go, he received a 20-second penalty.
Thus, it fell from first place to 16 in the summary. The Frenchman is now 16 seconds behind new overall leader Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott).
– This is not the way I imagined taking the shirt. I don’t even know what happened to Julian. I heard they gave him a time penalty for getting washed too late, but to be honest, I don’t think anyone wants to take the shirt like that, Yates says in an interview that was shown on TV 2.
The stage was won by Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma), while Alexander Kristoff had to settle for 14th place.
Sunweb took command of the last kilometers and handed Cees Bol in perfect position, but in the last meters Van Aert passed and won the stage. Van Aert also won a stage at last year’s Tour de France and has been in excellent shape after the crown break, with victories at both Strade Bianche and Milan-Sanremo.
Kristoff was at the wheel of Bol for a long time, but lost several positions towards the end of the last smooth climb to the finish.
– Nothing special happened except it got too high for me. She knew it would be difficult when she climbed steadily towards the end. I couldn’t keep control. The legs weren’t strong enough, says Kristoff.
– Van Aert won, and is not usually a pure sprinter. You saw other sprinters who also struggled, adds VG in France.
– Were you determined to do so or did you think you would fight for victory?
– I was really determined not to win today. But I thought I’d give it a try, because you never know, says Kristoff, who thinks he would have had a better chance if he had had dedicated helpers on the UAE team.
also read
Tour cyclists warn rebellion against lack of security
Kristoff does not have that, as his team focuses on the summary and the Slovenian Tadej Pogacar.
– Does the seventh stage suit you better?
– Yes, it will probably be a quicker question at least. Before, I really liked these hard sprints, but it hasn’t been that good in recent years. The first stage down here was a tailwind and then it was very fast, says Kristoff to VG, who won the first stage on Saturday like this.
WIN: Wout Van Aert took the victory after a full speed duel with Cees Bol. Photo: Anne-Christine Poujoulat / Pool / AFP POOL
Van Aert was asked if he considers himself a cyclocross sprinter, climber or cyclist at the international press conference in France tonight.
The super talent later refused to put a label on himself. Instead, he described the ending from which he emerged victorious:
– Today was an ordinary mass sprint with a hard finish characterized by a lot of wind. I knew I could use it. I’m glad the team let me give it a go and delivered on the first try, he says.
