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Dylan Groenewegen delivered huge for Jayco AlUla with a photo-finish victory Thursday in stage 6 of the Tour de France.
The hard-charging Dutchman and his controversial “aero beak” sun shades moved late with a piledriver dash to nip Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) on the line, with Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) shut behind in third.
Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan) was caught out of place and didn’t hit the top-10 after his historic thirty fifth dash win Wednesday.
Philipsen crossed the road second however was later relegated to 107th within the bunch after the race jury dominated he boxed in Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) throughout the lightning quick remaining.
The Alpecin-Deceuninck alpha had been cautioned by the UCI forward of the stage Thursday morning after earlier complaints of harmful dash manouvers.
“I used to be closed in once more by Philipsen. That’s a nasty behavior of his,” Van Aert instructed Wielerflits. “It wasn’t tremendous harmful, I might nonetheless get to the brakes. However that’s not skilled, closing the door.
“I’m blissful I stayed upright,” Van Aert continued. “I’d be offended if there have been no sanctions. He doesn’t have to be thrown out of the race for me, however a declassification is acceptable.”
Defending champion Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), race chief Tadej Pogačar (UAE Emirates), and all of the GC “Bigs” crossed the road on time, with no modifications to classification.
The GC hiatus can be rudely halted Friday, the place a flat 25km time trial is assured to reshuffle the hierarchy.
Groenewegen’s win Thursday was an enormous one for each the 31-year-old speedster and his Jayco-AlUla group.
Neither gained a stage finally 12 months’s Tour de France, and the squad was below strain to make good on deciding to ship Groenewegen moderately than Caleb Ewan to the season’s largest race.
The group was additionally struggling seeing its climber captain Simon Yates approach out of attain of the highest of GC after the Brit took heavy losses Tuesday within the Alps.
“I’m actually blissful. The sensation is so superb, particularly within the purple, white, and blue [Dutch national] jersey,” Groenewegen mentioned on the end. “Earlier than, I mentioned it could be a stupendous image, nevertheless it was so shut right now that I couldn’t have a good time on the end line.”
Groenewegen was within the mixer of the Tour’s first two sprints Monday and Wednesday however couldn’t discover the profitable contact.
It got here collectively for the cannonball fastman Thursday, who earned his sixth profession Tour win with a well-timed transfer from round six wheels again after Uno X Mobility after which Alpecin-Deceuninck lit up the dash.
“Yesterday I used to be actually dissatisfied, additionally the primary day, however that was sprinting – typically the hole closes, however now we now have a victory” Groenewegen mentioned. “A victory within the first week means rather a lot for me and the group.”
Pogačar remoted in crosswind consternation
Pressure was excessive all day throughout Thursday’s 160km ripper throughout Burgundy.
Stiff winds blew throughout the just about pan-flat parcours, and it appears the bunch did its homework for the place it might attempt to cut up the race.
A sequence of slim streets and modifications in course at 85km and 45km to go noticed Pink Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, Ineos Grenadiers, and Visma-Lease a Bike go on a mission to hole their rivals in a wind-driven cut up.
Visma-Lease a Bike mobbed on the entrance for the primary hazard level, and a few added horsepower from Ineos Grenadiers noticed the bunch cut up into two.
Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Fast-Step), Primož Roglič (Pink Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), and Vingegaard had been all well-marshaled by a handful of their teammates, however Pogačar was completely remoted in a gaggle of round 50.
Catastrophe for @TamauPogi – he has no teammates with him within the entrance group.
@TamauPogi a de quoi s’inquiéter, tous ses coéquipiers sont dans le peloton des piégés. #TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/gxjkZv88ad
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 4, 2024
Cavendish had dropped out of the pack with a mechanical shortly earlier than the cut up and was dangling one minute again. It briefly appeared just like the Manx could be gapped for good as Visma-Lease a Bike flogged its workhorses on the entrance of a 60kph peloton.
Thankfully for Cavendish and Pogačar, UAE Emirates scrambled to deliver the race again collectively for its stranded Slovenian.
“I wasn’t harassed as a result of I knew it could come again,” Pogačar mentioned after the stage.
“It was not good situations to make a cut up, it was only a second of nervousness however I used to be not harassed,” mentioned the maillot jaune. “Possibly it could be higher if we had everyone in entrance, nevertheless it occurs, so no worries.”
Pink Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and Visma-Lease a Bike tried to snap the elastic once more 45km from the road, to no avail.
The tempo and the nerves remained ratcheted to 11 all the best way into Dijon.
A crash introduced down a handful of EF-Training EasyPost riders at 7km to go because the peloton braced for its huge bunch dash.
The fallers from EF had been all in a position to hop again onto their bikes earlier than Uno-X and Astana Qazaqstan began to push the turbos into the ultimate.
Up subsequent: A person time trial to check GC caliber
The classification ought to see some shuffling on Friday with the race’s first ITT.
Rolling out of Nuits-Saint-Georges, it’s a comparatively untechnical 25km blast with only one slight gradient on the midpoint. It will likely be a pure check of energy, nerve, and the flexibility to undergo.
The Tour de France is gentle of big-hitting time trial specialists like Josh Tarling and Filippo Ganna, and the stage will probably be gained by one of many GC “Massive 4.”
Remco Evenepoel, who just lately gained in opposition to the clock on the Critérium du Daupiné, can be using in his rainbow stripes and may very well be poised for his first Tour win.
Time trials may not be essentially the most TV-friendly levels, however this may give some essential perception into the place the yellow jersey results in just a few weeks’ time.
Is Vingegaard nonetheless the TT supremo he was when he obliterated Pogačar on the Tour final 12 months? Keep tuned.