Tadej Pogacar is set to win his fourth Tour de France after defending his lead on the final mountain stage of this year’s race, as Thymen Arensman held on for a dramatic victory after a gruelling ascent to La Plagne.
Barring a remarkable turnaround, Pogacar will confirm his latest victory in Paris on Sunday after he crossed the line with Jonas Vingegaard, conceding just two bonus seconds to his rival.
The Slovenian’s lead stands at four minutes 24 seconds, with two significantly flatter stages remaining.
In an epic conclusion to the final stage in the high mountains, the top four general classification riders chased Arensman to the finish, at 2,052m above sea level, but Vingegaard fell two seconds short of the Dutchman.
Britain’s Oscar Onley, 22, lost touch in the final two kilometres in pursuit of what would have been a remarkable podium finish, allowing Florian Lipowitz to consolidate his hold on third.
Organisers altered Friday’s route because of a herd of diseased cattle on the Col des Saisies, reducing the stage distance from 130km to 95km and dropping two of the five planned categorised climbs in the Alps.
The route still featured two hors categorie climbs – following the three tackled on Thursday’s queen stage – with the Col du Pre preceding the finish on La Plagne.
More to follow.
