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Bit of confusion on my part, caused by ITV\u2019s race coverage starting a little later and the baffling CET. Anyway, we\u2019re now off racing.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n Lotto have announced that Lennert Van Eetvelt will not start stage 15 and is withdrawing from the Tour de France<\/a>. Van Eetvelt crashed at the Belgian national championships and was involved in an incident during the second stage of the Tour. According to his team, \u2018the physical toll\u2019 has proven too much for him to continue and he will now begin recovery.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n As ever, you can get in touch via email. The link is at the top of this page. With the yellow jersey seemingly decided, I\u2019d be interested to hear what you\u2019ll be looking out for during the final week of the Tour.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The peloton will soon be rolling out of Muret and then it\u2019ll be another 10 minutes to KM0 where the racing will get underway.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.43 EDT<\/p>\n A quick reminder of the various standings<\/p>\n General classification<\/p>\n 1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 50hrs 40mins 28 secs Points classification<\/p>\n 1. Jonathan Milan (Lidl\u2013Trek) 251 Mountain classification<\/p>\n 1. Lenny Martinez (Team Bahrain Victorious) 60 Share<\/a>Preamble<\/p>\n It was nice of Tadej Pogacar to finally let some of the other riders to have a go yesterday and he still found a way to twist the knife further into the heart of Jonas Vingegaard\u2019s beleaguered hopes of winning the Tour de France<\/a>. Even the Dane\u2019s most generous fans would struggle to describe him as a yellow jersey rival now. Pogacar\u2019s advantage is 4mins 13secs and he is essentially racing against himself. The Slovenian has 21 stage wins and there is every chance that he will continue his rapid pursuit of Mark Cavendish\u2019s record. Pogacar made it pretty clear after winning stage 13 on Friday that he is not planning to take any days off.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not here to make enemies,\u201d he said, \u201cbut it\u2019s the Tour, you cannot just back off if there\u2019s the opportunity for a stage win. You never know when it\u2019s your last day on the Tour.<\/p>\n \u201cI will say it honestly. The team pays you to win, and there\u2019s a big team behind me that supports me and that works every single day of their career to come to the Tour, to win the Tour. If there is an opportunity, you go for it. You can\u2019t say no to a stage in the Tour.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, UAE Emirates may look at the empty threat to Pogacar\u2019s general classification lead and decide to play this one safe. There are three categorised climbs and a lumpy to descent into Carcassonne to contend with, so maybe there is a bit of hope for the breakaway? Should that be allowed to play out, such is the nature of professional cycling in this constant-go era that a winner for this stage will likely be a familiar name capable on the slopes from the one-day racing pack. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Wout van Aert (Visma-LAB) are strong contenders, maybe even Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-LAB) or someone with that kind of profile.<\/p>\n For the good of the Tour, a non-Pogacar stage win would be good. Domination can quickly become dull and while there is nothing boring about Pogacar\u2019s style of racing, cycling as a foregone conclusion is not much of a sport.<\/p>\n
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma\u2013Lease a Bike) +4mins 13secs
3. Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull\u2013Bora\u2013Hansgrohe )+7mins 53secs
4. Oscar Onley (Team Picnic\u2013PostNL) + 9mins 18secs
5. K\u00e9vin Vauquelin (Ark\u00e9a\u2013B&B Hotels) +10mins 21secs
6. Primoz Roglic (Red Bull\u2013Bora\u2013Hansgrohe) +10mins 34secs
7. Felix Gall (Decathlon\u2013AG2R La Mondiale) +12mins
8. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) + 12mins 33secs
9. Ben Healy (EF Education\u2013EasyPost) +18mins 41secs
10. Carlos Rodr\u00edguez (Ineos Grenadiers) +22mins 57secs<\/p>\n
2. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 223
3. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin\u2013Deceuninck) 190
4. Biniam Girmay (Intermarch\u00e9\u2013Wanty) 169
5. Tim Merlier (Soudal\u2013Quick-Step) 150
6. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma\u2013Lease a Bike) 135
7. Anthony Turgis (Team TotalEnergies) 130
8. Quinn Simmons (Lidl\u2013Trek) 93
9. Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) 90
10. Oscar Onley (Team Picnic\u2013PostNL) 88<\/p>\n
2. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 52
3. Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers) 48
4. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma\u2013Lease a Bike) 39
5. Michael Woods (Israel\u2013Premier Tech) 38
6. Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull\u2013Bora\u2013Hansgrohe) 24
7. Ben Healy (EF Education\u2013EasyPost) 20
8. Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal\u2013Quick-Step) 16
9 Bruno Armirail (Decathlon\u2013AG2R La Mondiale) 15
10. Michael Storer (Tudor Pro Cycling<\/a> Team) 14<\/p>\n