Richard Carapaz celebrated a significant milestone today, achieving his first Tour de France stage win after a gripping climb in the Alps. The 17th stage, spanning 178 kilometres from Saint-Paul-Trois-Chรขteaux to Superdรฉvoluy, featured a mix of rolling roads and challenging climbs, notably the Col Bayard and Col du Noyer.
The day began with a gradual 130-kilometre climb through the Drรดme region, which posed no major challenges for the peloton. However, the intensity ramped up as the race approached the final climbs. Carapaz and Simon Yates led an early breakaway involving 50 riders. As they reached the Col du Noyer, Carapaz launched a decisive attack on Yates, breaking away before the summit.
Reflecting on his victory, Carapaz said, “For me today is very special. Winning a stage was the biggest objective for me and my team, and we finally managed to do it.”
Carapazโs victory was historic, making him the first Ecuadorian to win a Tour stage. The 31-year-old, who won gold in the menโs road race at the Tokyo Olympics, also has a Giro dโItalia title under his belt from 2019.
Yates finished second, trailing Carapaz by 37 seconds. He revealed that his energy levels had dipped significantly towards the end, despite a promising start. “I followed Romain Bardet at the bottom there. I didnโt know if he was going to launch somebody else or do something himself. But I saw I had a gap and decided to go full gas,” Yates shared. “So I tried to keep Richie and Stevie Williams away and maybe I paid for that a little bit in the end. But I didnโt really want them to catch me because you saw the end result.”
(Photo credit: ASO – Charly Lopez)
Meanwhile, Tadej Pogaฤar, the overall race leader, marginally extended his lead over Jonas Vingegaard to 3 minutes and 11 seconds by launching two attacks on the Col du Noyer and just before the finish. “The climb was really steep today, so I wanted to test my legs and see if they were still in good shape in the third week of competition,” Pogaฤar said. “It was a good day.”
Remco Evenepoel continued to impress in his Tour de France debut, showing formidable strength in the final climb. Evenepoel, who has eyes on a podium finish, managed to gain 10 seconds on Pogaฤar and 12 on Vingegaard. “I felt Vingegaard was a bit on the limit,” Evenepoel said. “When Tadej attacked, I was the only one more or less close. I’m not going to say I slowed because I rode away from Jonas after that.”
Despite the challenging ascents, the race dynamics were intense, with attacks and counter-attacks shaping the outcome. Wout van Aert and his Team Visma | Lease a Bike colleagues made significant efforts to disrupt the stage. Van Aert recounted, “It was really difficult to create a break today. There were so many people interested, obviously. We tried to protect Tiesj when he got away, but there werenโt so many teams in his move, and it never really calmed down behind, either.”
Vingegaard faced tough moments but managed to stay competitive, thanks to his teammatesโ support. “Today I have to thank my teammates,” Vingegaard said. “They did important work on the final climbs. I feel that I am still getting better. Today was maybe not my best day, but that can happen. If this turned out to be my bad day, then I will be satisfied.”
Oscar Onley of Team dsm-firmenich PostNL delivered a remarkable performance, securing fifth place. He highlighted the difficulties of the stage, noting, “It was a hard day, Iโm pretty empty right now. The guys and the team fully trusted in me for today, more than myself, so I have to thank them for how they rode today.”
(Photo Credit: ASO – Charly Lopez)
2024 Tour de France Stage 17 result
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Main photo credit: Getty