Kaden Groves has claimed his maiden Tour de France victory with a stunning late solo attack from 16 kilometres out on a 184.2km hilly stage 20 from Nantua to Pontarlier.<\/p>\n
The Australian, who has already won stages at the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a, burst into tears after crossing the line, overwhelmed at claiming the victory.<\/p>\n
“There’s so much pressure at the Tour,” Groves said at the finish.<\/p>\n
“Having won in the Giro, having won in the Vuelta, all I’m asked is whether I’m good enough to win at the Tour.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“And now I’ve shown them.”<\/p>\n
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Kaden Groves was overcome with emotion at the finish. (Getty Images: Thibault Camus)<\/p>\n
Normally a sprinter and used to winning in a bunch sprint, this was the Queenslander’s first professional victory in this fashion.<\/p>\n
Fellow Aussie Harry Sweeny had attempted his own solo attack, opening a gap of 40 seconds before being reeled in by a select group at the front of the race.<\/p>\n
With 24km to go, as rain fell heavily on the riders, Romain Gr\u00e9goire and Iv\u00e1n Romeo both fell heavily on a wet descent attempting to put their fellow escapees under pressure.<\/p>\n
That split the lead group and, with 16km remaining, Groves took the initiative and broke away solo.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He is the third different stage winner from Alpecin-Deceuninck and the 114th rider to win a stage at all three grand tours, with seven stage wins at the Vuelta and two at the Giro to go with his maiden Tour victory.<\/p>\n
Race leader Tadej Poga\u010dar finished safely in the peloton, having sealed his third King of the Mountains classification prize.<\/p>\n
Poga\u010dar, with a lead of 4:24 over Jonas Vingegaard, will now likely seal a third Tour de France crown in Paris on Sunday, baring a complete catastrophe.<\/p>\n
“I am more or less sure of my overall victory, but I still don”t want to say anything about it,” Poga\u010dar said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“I want to stay focused until I have crossed the finish line in Paris.<\/p>\n
“That’s one of the most beautiful parts of this sport. We are 180 guys who spend weeks riding in the mountains and in the end, all of a sudden, we come to the streets of one of the biggest cities in the world.”<\/p>\n
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Jonas Vingegaard, right, may have conceded that he will not regain his Tour de France title. (AP Photo: Mosa’ab Elshamy)<\/p>\n
Sweeny won the combativity award for his work in the breakaway, however it was bad news for winner of stage 18<\/a> Ben O’Connor, who lost ground on Jordan Jegat to fall out of the top 10.<\/p>\n Groves finished 54 seconds ahead of Dutchman Frank van den Broek.\u00a0<\/p>\n “There are so many emotions to win here,” Groves said.\u00a0<\/p>\n “The team, we came here with so many plans with Jasper and Mathieu.<\/p>\n “In the end, I get my own opportunities and they haven\u2019t gone the right way.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Today I had super legs. I just suffered to the line and as a reward we get a Tour stage.”<\/p>\n ABC Sport Daily podcast<\/a><\/p>\n ABC Sport Daily is your daily sports conversation. We dive into the biggest story of the day and get you up to speed with everything else that’s making headlines.<\/p>\n Groves started the race as lead-out man for stage one winner Jasper Phillipsen<\/a>, before he crashed out on stage three<\/a>.<\/p>\n