2024-07-19 03:45:02
On Thursday, cyclists covered less than 180 kilometers with five climbs of the third category.
At the very beginning of the race, Skujiņš (“Lidl – Trek”) was among the cyclists who initiated the breakaway, the leading group later growing to more than 30 athletes. Neiland (“Israel – Premier Tech”) also joined it.
The advantage of the breakaway athletes exceeded ten minutes and, as the leading group gradually split into smaller echelons, in the last kilometers there were three cyclists in the lead, who shared the places on the podium.
Belgian Victor Campenaarts (“Lotto Dstny”) was the fastest in the finish sprint, followed by French Mateo Verscher (“TotalEnergies”) and Polish Michal Kwiatkowski (“Ineos Grenadiers”). This trio finished in four hours ten minutes and 20 seconds, while 22 seconds later there was a group of five cyclists, in which Skujins was the first and Neilands was the fourth.
There was no change at the head of the standings after this stage, as Pogačar finished together with Wingegaard more than 13 minutes behind the winner. Before the last two stages, the two are separated by 3 minutes and 11 seconds. Meanwhile, Toms Skujiņš rose to 35th place, and Krists Neilands to 57th place.
Tomorrow is a tough mountain stage in the tour, where a more intense battle at the top of the overall standings is expected.
Due to security and logistical concerns related to the 2024 Paris Olympics, the French Tour will end in Nice instead of Paris. Cyclists will cover 3,492 kilometers during the bike ride.
Skujiņš is starting his sixth “Tour de France” cycling race, while Neyland is participating in the prestigious cycling race for the fourth time.
For the last two years in a row, the Danish cyclist Jonas Wingegord has been undefeated in the Tour de France.
2024-07-19 03:45:02