Tour de France: Politt wins solo stage 12, Pogacar keeps yellow jersey

Published on : 07/08/2021 – 18:04

Driven by a favorable wind, the German Nils Politt won Thursday July 8 in Nîmes the 12^e stage of the Tour de France at the end of a breakaway led briskly, while the wearer of the yellow jersey, the Slovenian Tadej Pogacar (UAE), finished the stage within the peloton, with his direct opponents, more than a quarter of an hour.

Politt won for the first time in the Tour, the day the leader of his team Bora, Slovakian Peter Sagan, retired. He signed the first victory for a German rider in this edition.

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A solid rider classified second in the last edition of Paris-Roubaix (in 2019), Nils Politt won the second success of his career, after a stage in the Tour of Germany 2018.

To win the stage, he beat the Spaniard Imanol Erviti and the Australian Harry Sweeny by around 30 seconds. Swiss Stefan Küng took the 4^e place before the Slovenian Luka Mezgec ahead of the German André Greipel at the head of a small group.

In an ultra-fast and eventful start to the stage, due to the strong wind blowing, the breakaway took shape after about fifteen kilometers with, in particular, the world champion Julian Alaphilippe, very vigilant.

The group of 13 riders, made up of heavy riders (Bissegger, Küng, Politt, Van Moer, Erviti and Boasson Hagen among others), widened the gap all the more quickly as twelve teams were represented. Behind, none of the other 11 teams sought to take on the pursuit and the yellow jersey team was content to manage the gap.

Head for the ramparts of Carcassonne

40 kilometers from the finish, Politt provoked the decision and took Sweeny, Erviti and Küng with him. The quartet has long maintained a lead of around thirty seconds over the other members of the breakaway, who eventually gave in to 20 kilometers from the finish.

Küng then let go on an acceleration from Sweeny shortly before Politt breaks away, in power, on a rising false flat, 12 kilometers from the line.

Package before leaving Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux (Drôme), Sagan, who was recovering from his fall from the 3^e stage in Pontivy when he was dragged to the ground by Australian Caleb Ewan, explained that he had a swollen knee after another shock. “I am unable to bend my leg,” said the seven-time green Tour jersey, record holder for wins in the points classification.

Friday, the 13th^e stage crosses the South, from Nîmes to Carcassonne, on a plain course of 219.9 kilometers. For the Briton Mark Cavendish, who passed the stage in the peloton, it is a new chance to equal the record of (34) stage victories of Eddy Merckx.

With AFP