- Tour’s defending champion surges to stage five win
- Mathieu van der Poel stays in yellow by eight seconds
Tadej Pogacar landed the first real blow in the battle for final victory in the 2021 Tour de France, winning the 27.2km individual time trial from Changé to Laval and almost lifting the race leader’s yellow jersey from the shoulders of Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix).
Although the Dutch rider clung on to the race lead by eight seconds, the UAE-Team Emirates prodigy was almost as irresistible on the rolling roads of the Mayenne as he had been in his spectacular race-winning climb to La Planche des Belles Filles last autumn.
Written by Jeremy Whittle in Laval
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jun/30/cycling-tour-de-france-tadej-pogacar-time-trial-stage-five-win under the title “Tadej Pogacar dominates time trial to strike major Tour de France blow”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
