07/06/26 12:44:00
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07/06 12:43 CDT Pogacar wins Stage 3 and takes the Tour de France yellow jersey
Pogacar wins Stage 3 and takes the Tour de France yellow jersey
LES ANGLES, France (AP) --- After just three days of racing at the Tour de
France, Tadej Pogacar is already wearing yellow.
The overwhelming favorite made the most of the first mountain stage to post his
22nd career stage win at cycling's biggest race and seize the race leader's
jersey on Monday.
Pogacar sprinted away from his rivals from about 200 meters to the finish line
at Les Angles in the French Pyrenees, and no one could match his speed.
The UAE Emirates-XRG leader held his arms out in triumph and clenched his fists
at the summit as he crossed with a two-second lead over Jonas Vingegaard,
Richard Carapaz and Paul Seixas.
Pogacar took 10 bonus seconds for his win, and Vingegaard was awarded a
six-second bonus for his second place. Overall, Pogacar and Vingegaard were
level on time but Pogacar's stage win coupled with his second place in Sunday's
Stage 2 earned him the yellow jersey.
"To take the yellow jersey is a dream for any cyclist," Pogacar said, "Every
time I can get it again on my shoulders feels really special. I don't know how
long it will last but we'll try to enjoy every moment."
Pogacar, who gifted victory to teammate Isaac del Toro on the second stage, has
crushed his rivals this season and chases a record-equaling fifth Tour victory.
The only four riders to have won five Tours are Belgian Eddy Merckx, Spaniard
Miguel Indurain and Frenchmen Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault.
Pogacar thanked Del Toro for his efforts in the final ascent.
"It's thanks to Isaac that I got extra power today. He committed more than 100%
on the final climb," he said. "The team feels super good and when we can win we
have to take the opportunity. We tried, we gave it all and we won."
Monday's win marked his 14th victory this season, a run that includes general
classification wins at the Tour de Suisse and the Tour de Romandie, as well as
one-day triumphs at Liege-Bastogne-Liege, the Tour of Flanders, Milan San Remo
and Strade Bianche.
Vingegaard, of Visma-Lease a Bike team, is looking to win the Tour for the
third time after triumphing in 2022 and '23. The Danish rider had taken the
yellow jersey on Saturday after leading his Visma-Lease a Bike team to victory
in the opening-day time trial around Barcelona.
The three-week race hit the mountains early on the 196-kilometer (121.5-mile)
third stage, starting from Granollers in Spain and concluding with a short but
sharp uphill dart to Les Angles in the French Pyrenees. Pogacar's team worked
hard to keep the day's breakaway on a short leash and the last remaining
escapee, Alex Baudin, was caught with about 10 kilometers to go.
The stage finish was about 60 kilometers (37 miles) from a large wildfire that
has burned large swathes of land. As a result, organizers decided that once the
peloton reached France for the last 40 kilometers, the publicity caravan --- a
10-kilometer-long procession of sponsor vehicles that precedes the race ---
would not operate. Only riders and vehicles essential to the race were allowed
on the route, and spectators were asked not to gather on the roadside or at the
finish area.
Once in France, the number of fans along the roads --- usually present in their
thousands --- decreased. But there were actually a lot of spectators when the
riders passed through villages further down the road.
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