France: Tadej Pogacar produced a climbing masterclass as he stormed to a stunning solo victory on Friday's stage 19 of the Tour de France in the Alps, a 145-km (90.1 miles) ride from Embrun to Isola 2000.
Pogacar's explosive attack to win the stage moved him one step closer to the title as the yellow jersey holder crushed his closest rivals and extended his lead over Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel.
After overtaking breakaway leader Matteo Jorgenson inside the final 2 km to win the stage, Pogacar's lead over second-placed Vingegaard is now over five minutes while Evenepoel is more than seven minutes behind with two stages left.
"We were speaking in the training camp (about) how we want to race this day and we did it exactly like we said to the point where I attacked. It went really 100 per cent perfect," Pogacar said.
"I was a little bit empty in the last 2 km. When I caught Carapaz and Simon Yates, there was already a limit. But then when I see that Matteo was also losing a bit, I tried to push through.
"And then when I tried to pass him with the speed a little bit, I killed my legs. And then I was thinking maybe he (will) come back and out-sprint me or something. He was really strong today, chapeau to Matteo and all the breakaway guys."
After six riders broke away, it was Jorgenson who made the first move to surge ahead, but with 10 km left, Richard Carapaz looked to catch up to the American with Simon Yates not too far behind.
POGACAR ATTACKS
Pogacar had been following three minutes back and he launched his attack less than 9 km from the finish, leaving Vingegaard and Evenepoel behind.
As Vingegaard and Evenepoel battled it out for second place in the overall standings, Pogacar was on a mission to catch up to Jorgensen as he pedalled furiously and passed Olympic champion Carapaz with 3.5 km left and Yates 500 metres later.
Jorgenson had done well to hold on to his advantage for as long as he could but he could only watch on as Pogacar passed him with ease, erasing the three-minute gap within the last few kilometres of the stage.
Pogacar eventually crossed the line all by himself, first raising his fists before taking a bow with his arms outstretched and then showing four fingers -- the number of stages he has won this year.
Jorgenson finished second with his head bowed, wondering what might have been if not for Pogacar, while Yates was third.
Vingegaard and Evenepoel crossed the line together, with the former inconsolable knowing his chances of winning the Tour had all but slipped away.
The Tour's penultimate stage on Saturday is another mountain stage, a 133-km ride from Nice to Col de la Couillole, before Sunday's time trial from Monaco to Nice.
"I'm super happy. It's quite a margin now. Tomorrow I can just enjoy the stage," Pogacar added.
"We'll let the breakaway go and maybe we enjoy the roads where we were training a month before the Tour and where I trained all my career almost. Let's go enjoy tomorrow and hope nothing serious happens."
— Reuters
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