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Edvald Boasson Hagen (33) drove brilliantly in the seventh stage of the Tour de France, but in the last meters Wout Van Aert (25) slipped in and referred the Norwegian to second place.
In the sprint, Boasson Hagen was pushed forward by teammate Michael Gogl, but it just didn’t work out for the Norwegian, who was narrowly beaten by Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma).
– It was an extremely fast and tough stage. It’s extra bitter when you’re so close to winning. I’m very happy and the team did a great job, especially Michael Gogl at the end. It was a shame I didn’t manage a little more in the end there. It was a long question, but it had to be opened. It almost happened, Boasson Hagen tells TV 2.
– I must be very happy with second place. Of course, you will have first place in all cycling races, especially the Tour de France. You have to take what you can and work at it, keep going.
The victory was Jumbo-Visma’s third in the Tour de France this year and the second for Van Aert, who also won stage five.
ALMOST: Wout Van Aert could cheer, while Edvald Boasson Hagen hit the board with his arm. Photograph: STUART FRANKLIN / X01348
– I am very proud of this victory. From the beginning it was a fast pace and I have to pay tribute to Bora-Hansgrohe. They made sure several sprinters fell and it was always frantic afterwards. I sat with Primoz (Roglic) in front the whole time and several competitors combined wasted time. Then it could end well too. It’s amazing, says Van Aert in the victory interview after the stage.
The field was already very reduced before, 35 kilometers from the end, you came out to a field where the wind divided the main field into three groups. The combined hopes of Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) and Mikel Landa (Bahrain McLaren) were among those who finished behind, losing 1.21 on summary.
Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) remains the overall leader.
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TOOK CONTROL: Bora-Hansgrohe set a high pace on the first climbs. Photo: KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP
It is true that the first minute from the start passed calmly, but speed quickly accelerated on the field. After six kilometers, the runners entered the first categorized climb of the day and in the three kilometers the field was blown up.
Several of the best sprinters finished behind, including Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates), Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal), Cees Bol (Sunweb) and Giacomo Nizzolo (NTT Pro Cycling).
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Just before the summit, the man in the green jersey, Sam Bennett (Deceuninck – Quick-Step), also had to go down. His group was almost only three or four seconds behind the tail on the field, but the Irishman did not get up and Peter Sagan took the lead in the points competition.
Kristoff’s group also did not recover, although Sunweb disappointed several running backs and worked with all eight running backs on the team to get in touch.
With Nizzolo far behind, he also opened up a rare sprint opportunity for Edvald Boasson Hagen, who finished with the Norwegian taking a solid second place.
