Thymen Arensman has once again achieved a stage victory in the Tour de France. The Dutchman won the mountain stage to the Alpine giant La Plagne on Friday after a thrilling final phase. He thus followed in the footsteps of his illustrious compatriot Michael Boogerd.
Arensman rode away from a group containing yellow jersey wearer Tadej Pogacar and his great rival Jonas Vingegaard with 12 kilometers to go to the finish. The rider from Deil in Gelderland quickly built up a lead of half a minute.
In the last kilometer, it became incredibly exciting. A group with Pogacar, Vingegaard, and Florian Lipowitz rapidly approached Arensman, but the Dutchman held on to a two-second lead at the finish line.
It is already Arensman’s second stage victory in this Tour. On Saturday, the debutant was also the best in the mountain stage to Luchon-Superbagnères. With the stage win on La Plagne, he follows in the footsteps of Boogerd, who also won on La Plagne in 2002. It was the first time since Boogerd’s success that the Tour climbed the Alpine giant again on Friday.
Vingegaard could do nothing but follow Pogacar on Friday, giving the Slovenian a head start on his fourth overall victory in the Tour de France. With two stages remaining, the difference is 4 minutes and 24 seconds in favor of Pogacar.
The stage to La Plagne was initially planned to be 129.9 kilometers long but was shortened by 35 kilometers due to a virus outbreak among cows on the route. The climbs of the Côte d’Héry-sur-Ugine (11.3 kilometers at 5.2 percent) and the Col des Saisies (13.8 kilometers at 6.4 percent) were scrapped.
Despite the short course, there was no immediate fireworks from the start in Albertville. Lidl-Trek rode hard at the front in the first kilometers, so that green jersey wearer Jonathan Milan could take the full spoils at the intermediate sprint after 9 kilometers.
That plan succeeded: Milan took twenty points, taking a big step towards the overall victory in the points classification. With two stages to go, he has a lead of 75 points over pursuer Pogacar.
After the sprint battle, several riders, including Arensman, tried to break away from the peloton. Eventually, five riders broke away on the flanks of the first climb, the Col du Pré: Valentin Paret-Peintre, Lenny Martinez, Primoz Roglic, Einer Rubio, and Bruno Armirail.
However, the five did not get much space from the peloton. Pogacar had his UAE Team Emirates domestiques ride at the front of the large group early on, so the lead never exceeded one and a half minutes.
That also had its effect on the peloton: Vingegaard saw his loyal domestiques Sepp Kuss and Matteo Jorgenson drop off early. Kévin Vauquelin, the number seven in the standings, also had to wave the white flag. In the chase, one of his helpers was almost hit by a jury car.
Roglic, the number five in the general classification, went solo in the descent towards La Plagne. But that adventure did not last long. Just before the foot of La Plagne, he was caught by the favorites group, which then consisted of about 25 riders. At that moment, it had started to rain heavily in the Alps.
The rain did not bother Pogacar’s team. Domestiques Tim Wellens and Jhonatan Narváez rode hard uphill in the first kilometers of La Plagne, where they also received help from Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale. The French team tried to guide leader Felix Gall to a place in the top five.
Arensman was the first rider to stir things up by attacking 14 kilometers from the summit. Pogacar caught him together with Vingegaard, after which the two seemed to ride away together. However, Vingegaard refused to take over, allowing Arensman to return.
The Dutchman then did not hesitate and tried to get away again. On the third attempt, it was successful. Pogacar and Vingegaard mainly looked at each other, allowing him to take a lead of half a minute.
That’s where the counter stopped. Pogacar had clearly set his sights on the stage victory and attacked several times. In the last kilometer, the lead narrowed to fifteen seconds, and Pogacar, Vingegaard, and Lipowitz had the Dutchman in sight. He miraculously held on.