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DUBAI: Emirates Emirates’ Tadej Pogacar beat his general classification rivals Groupama’s David Gaudu – FDJ and Jumbo-Visma’s Jonas Vingegaard to victory on stage 7 in Paris-Nice.
Pogacar’s well-timed attack proved too much as 2022 Tour de France winner Vingegaard approached the Col de la Couillole.
Pogacar retained the yellow jersey and extended their lead ahead of the final period, gaining extra seconds in the process.
tough battle
Pogacar described the stage as one of the toughest finishers and admitted his attack might have been a bit early, but he wanted to avoid having too many drivers in front. “Today was one of the toughest battles to finish the race, for sure,” he said after the game. “I was attacking a bit early, but I didn’t want to have too many drivers in front, so there would be less stop-starts. In the end it worked out exactly as I imagined.”
Despite the challenges, he is happy that everything is going according to plan. He also admitted that the upcoming final stage will be another very difficult day, but the climb is more suitable for his strength. “Tomorrow is another very difficult day – I think the toughest day in the whole of Paris-Nice, but tomorrow’s climb is better for me.”
Stage 6 of the race was cancelled, resulting in an unscheduled rest day for the peloton. On Stage 7, some drivers and teams tried to take control, but the peloton refused to let the breakthrough get too far. Several drivers, including Sam Bennett and Celtics Mads Pedersen, were unable to start due to pests and diseases affecting the peloton.
five riders
In the final 40km of the race, a breakaway group of 17 formed, eventually whittled down to 5 drivers. Astana Qazaqstan’s Kobe Goossens took the lead, but was scrambled for supremacy by Pogacar and Vingegaard in the final 10km.
In the end Vingegaard couldn’t keep up and Pogacar crossed the finish line with Gaudu 2 seconds behind him in second. The game ends on Sunday.
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