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sports Monday 24 July 2023

Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard wins the Tour de France

PARIS (AP) — Danish rider prevailed in a photo finish in the general classification
Jonas Vingegaard won between four riders on the again.
the Tour de France for a line, just ahead of Jasper British rider Adam Yates,
second straight year as cy- Philipsen, Dylan Groenewe- Pogačar's teammate, fin-
cling's most storied race fin- gen and Mads Pedersen. ished third overall, ahead
ished Sunday on the famed "It was my first Tour. It was a of his twin brother Simon.
Champs-Élysées. super nice experience al- Colombian rider Egan Ber-
With a huge lead built ready so far, and to take the nal, the 2019 Tour winner,
up over main rival Tadej win today is an indescrib- completed the race as he
Pogačar, the 2020 and 2021 able feeling," said Meeus, made his impressive come-
winner, Vingegaard knew who clocked a top speed back from a life-threatening
the victory was effectively of 68.8 kph (42.8 mph) on crash. The 26-year-old Ber-
his again before the large- the last kilometer. nal said he narrowly avoid-
ly ceremonial stage at the Pogačar, who attacked ed becoming paralyzed af-
end of the 110th edition of after just one lap of eight ter an accident with a bus
the Tour. Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard, wearing the overall leader's yel- altogether on the Champs- while training in Colombia in
The 26-year-old Vingegaard low jersey, drinks champagne with teammates during the twen- Élysées, was wearing the January 2022.
drank champagne with his ty-first stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 115 kilome- white jersey as the best "It's difficult to compare with
Jumbo-Visma teammates ters (71.5 miles) with start in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines and finish young rider for the 75th the year I won but it's almost
on the Champs-Elysees in Paris, France, Sunday, July 23, 2023.
as they lined up together Associated Press day – extending a career the same feeling because
and posed for photos on Tour record. The 24-year-old for me it's a great victory,"
the way to Paris. Slovenian rider has won the Bernal said. "Yesterday, in
"It's been a long journey, when it started raining on fight for the stage victory best young rider classifica- the last climb, I was so lucky
yet it went by so fast," the cobblestones of the – the only remaining uncer- tion every year since 2020. I was alone and could enjoy
Vingegaard said. "Day af- Champs-Élysées. The deci- tainty. But Pogačar had to be the last kilometers. I was so
ter day, it was a super hard sion invited the sprinters to Belgian cyclist Jordi Meeus content with second place emotional."q
race with a super nice fight
between me and Tadej. I've
enjoyed every day. I hope
to come back next year
and see if I can take a third
win."
It had been a three-week
slog over 3,405 kilometers
(2,116 miles) with eight
mountain stages across
five mountain ranges.
Vingegaard seized control
of the race over two stages
in the Alps.
Little had separated the
two rivals until Vingegaard
finished a time trial 1 min-
ute, 38 seconds ahead of
Pogačar on Tuesday, then
followed up the next day
by finishing the toughest
mountain stage of the race
almost 6 minutes ahead of
his exhausted rival.
"I'm dead," Pogačar said.
The Slovenian rider respond-
ed by winning the penul-
timate stage on Saturday,
but Vingegaard still had an
insurmountable lead of 7
minutes, 29 seconds going
into the final stage – a most-
ly ceremonial stage which
is contested at the end by
the sprinters.
"We have to be careful
not to do anything stupid,"
Vingegaard warned Satur-
day, "but yeah, it's amazing
to take my second victory in
the Tour de France."
Vingegaard kept that lead
and was able to celebrate
early Sunday as organizers
decided to take the times
one lap before the finish