SM
Sports Mole words bigger AMP 2
Blackburn vs. Preston: 10 hrs 52 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
Collect News Data

Sepp Kuss secures Tour de France stage win

:Headline: Sepp Kuss secures Tour de France stage win:
Kuss hails from Colorado but is one of several riders in the peloton to call Andorra home.
Sports Mole

Sepp Kuss delivered the first American stage win at the Tour de France in a decade as Tadej Pogacar restored his five-minute advantage in yellow on the road to Andorra.

Kuss was the last survivor of a 32-man group who got away on the 191km stage from Ceret to Andorre-la-Vieille, leaving behind his fellow escapees on the last climb of the day, the Col de Beixalis, and holding off Alejandro Valverde on the long descent into town.

Five minutes further back, none of Pogacar's rivals could shake the race leader as the group of favourites attacked each other on the climb, but they did do enough to distance Frenchman Guillaume Martin who had risen to second on Saturday's stage but dropped back to ninth a day later.

Tadej Pogacar marked the attacks of rivals to retain the yellow jersey (Christophe Ena/AP)

Kuss hails from Colorado but is one of several riders in the peloton to call Andorra home, using his local knowledge to time his attack on the Beixalis as his girlfriend and her family cheered him on from the roadside.

After watching Nairo Quintana and others try and fail to get away, the 26-year-old made his move with five kilometres of the climb still to go, with Valverde the only man who could sustain any kind of challenge as he finished 23 seconds down.

"It's incredible," said Kuss, the first American stage winner since Tyler Farrar in 2011.

"I was suffering a lot in this Tour, I just didn't feel I had the spice in the legs but today I knew it was finishing where I live and I was really motivated for that.

"I know the final climb fairly well but I don't ride it so much in training because it's so hard. I knew in the beginning it's really tough so if I got a gap there I could try to hold it to the finish."

It was a second stage win for Jumbo-Visma, who have done a fine job of salvaging their Tour since the loss of leader Primoz Roglic to injury in the opening week.

Wout Van Aert's victory over Mont Ventoux was an excellent start, and they will now hope Jonas Vingegaard can finish on the podium after the the 24-year-old Dane moved back up to third as Martin fell away on the Port d'Envalira.

Pogacar seems to be in control of yellow but behind there is a tense battle for places emerging. Rigoberto Uran sits second, five minutes and 18 seconds down, with Vingegaard and Richard Carapaz both within 15 seconds. There is less than a minute to Wilco Kelderman in sixth.

The Ineos Grenadiers had sought to pile pressure on Pogacar on the final climb with Carapaz the only rider to hit the Beixalis with any team-mates, but neither the Ecuadorian nor anyone else could distance the yellow jersey despite several attempts.

"We were expecting attacks and Ineos started to do a hard pace pretty soon, but I felt good," Pogacar said. "I had no worries for the last climb, I just followed the others, it was all OK.

"I'm really happy the time gap didn't come down because today was one of the hottest days for sure. I felt good and I'm really looking forward to the next week."

Thirty-five of the 184 riders who set out from Brest two weeks ago were already out of the race before the stage started, with Nacer Bouhanni soon adding to that number as the sprinting ranks were depleted further.

Vincenzo Nibali is among those planning to pull out on the rest day and turn attentions towards Tokyo so it could be a much-depleted field that starts Tuesday's 169km stage from Pas de la Case to Saint-Gaudens.

For those who will be on the start-line, Monday offers a much needed rest day.

"I hope I can sleep so long I get bed sores," Pogacar said.

body check tags ::

amp_article__454917 : Collect and Make Data not in DataBase  : 
last updated article - 2021-07-11 16:56:25:
html db last update - 2021-07-11 16:56:25 :

ex - 7200 : read : write cache and make html
Share this article now:
MC
Read Next:
Mark Cavendish admits record-equalling Tour de France win feels like his first
>


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!
Read more about Tadej Pogacar Richard Carapaz Rigoberto Uran Cycling
Follow @SportsMole for the latest breaking news stories, and follow @sm_headlines to get every headline from Sports Mole
Recommended Next on SM
Mark Cavendish admits record-equalling Tour de France win feels like his first
Garnacho replacement? Man United 'to sell forward and bring in teenage star before deadline'
Guardiola's Champions League nightmare? Premier League clubs' opponents revealed

Page options

Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool22165154213353
2Arsenal23138244212347
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest2313553327644
4Manchester CityMan City23125647301741
5Newcastle UnitedNewcastle23125641271441
6Chelsea23117545301540
7Bournemouth23117541261540
8Aston Villa2310763435-137
9Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2381053531434
10Fulham238963431333
11Brentford2394104240231
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd2385102832-429
13Crystal Palace236982630-427
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham2376102844-1627
15Tottenham HotspurSpurs2373134637924
16Everton225891928-923
17Leicester CityLeicester2345142549-2417
18Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2344153252-2016
19Ipswich TownIpswich2337132147-2616
20Southampton2313191653-376
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

history www

Preview: Union Berlin vs. RB Leipzig - prediction, team news, lineups

1

PU
Preview: Union Berlin vs. RB Leipzig - prediction, team news, lineups

Preview: Newcastle vs. Fulham - prediction, team news, lineups

2

PN
Preview: Newcastle vs. Fulham - prediction, team news, lineups

In good company: Amorim matches Ferguson as Man United progress in Europe

NEW

3

IG
In good company: Amorim matches Ferguson as Man United progress in Europe

Preview: Man City vs. Arsenal - prediction, team news, lineups

4

PM
Preview: Man City vs. Arsenal - prediction, team news, lineups

Preview: Wolves vs. Aston Villa - prediction, team news, lineups

5

PW
Preview: Wolves vs. Aston Villa - prediction, team news, lineups

Red Devils' revenge? Man United, Spurs discover possible EL last-16 opponents

6

RD
Red Devils' revenge? Man United, Spurs discover possible EL last-16 opponents

Leipzig announce €81m signing of Premier League-linked attacker

7

LA
Leipzig announce €81m signing of Premier League-linked attacker

Dias, Ake, Doku, Bobb latest: Man City injury list for Arsenal clash

8

DA
Dias, Ake, Doku, Bobb latest: Man City injury list for Arsenal clash

Preview: Bournemouth vs. Liverpool - prediction, team news, lineups

9

PB

Preview: Espanyol vs. Real Madrid - prediction, team news, lineups

10

PE
1x1


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .