Polish Michal Kwiatkowski (Ineos) won the 13th stage of the Tour de France on Friday alone at the top of the Grand Colombier where Tadej Pogacar grabbed eight seconds on the yellow jersey Jonas Vingegaard.
Leaving with the breakaway of the day, the Pole flew 11 km from the summit to claim his second victory on the Grande Boucle with 47 seconds ahead of the Belgian Maxim van Gils and 50 over Tadej Pogacar.
Attacking 500 meters from the finish, Pogacar edged Danish rival Jonas Vingegaard by four seconds, as his UAE team led the field throughout the day.
With the four bonus seconds reserved for the third of the stage, the Slovenian is nine seconds behind the Dane in the general classification, on the eve of the first alpine stage.
The French failed to shine on this national holiday and all lost time on the frontrunners, whether Romain Bardet and Thibaut Pinot, far behind, but also David Gaudu, 16th in the stage at almost a minute from Pogacar.
Last year, the July 14 stage had already been won by an Ineos rider, the Briton Tom Pidcock, in Alpe d’Huez.
Kwiatkowski and the twenty other breakaways had a lead of almost four minutes at the foot of the Grand Colombier, a non-category pass in the Jura which represents one of the most difficult climbs in France with its 17.4 km at 7.1%. on average.
In the furnace, with more than 30 degrees in the shade, the 33-year-old Pole managed to break away 11 km from goal in “the Bugey pyramid” invaded by particularly enthusiastic spectators.
“It was a completely crazy experience. Without the public, I would not have won. He pushed me to the top, “commented the 2014 world champion who had already won the Tour in 2020, in La Roche-sur-Foron, ahead of his teammate Richard Carapaz. “I was able to savor this time,” he added.
