Luxembourg’s Bob Jungels soloed to a superb first stage victory at the Tour de France on stage nine.
The AG2R Citroen rider attacked on the penultimate categorised climb and stayed clear for over 60km after opening up a gap on the descent.
France’s Thibaut Pinot threatened to catch him but ended up finishing fourth behind Spaniards Jonathan Castroviejo and Carlos Verona.
Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar finished fifth and remains the overall race leader.
Pogacar, who is aiming to win the race for a third consecutive year, strengthened his position in the yellow jersey, taking time out of most of his general classification rivals, bar Jonas Vingegaard, with a sprint to the finish.
The duo both picked up three seconds on Britain’s Geraint Thomas, who finished alongside his Ineos Grenadiers team-mate Adam Yates, with Tom Pidock a further four seconds adrift.
Jungels bounces back
Jungels did not compete at the 2021 Tour or the Tokyo Olympic Games due to iliac artery surgery after being diagnosed with endofibrosis, a narrowing of the arteries.
And his participation at this year’s Tour was only confirmed late on, with doctors deeming that he was not contagious after testing positive for Covid-19 in the week before the race.
“I am just overwhelmed, to be honest,” he said. “This is huge. This is what I came here for. I know this means a lot for the team. After a couple of years struggling and a very tough year last year, to take the victory this way, it’s my style of racing, so I’m just super happy.
“I saw that my shape was getting better day by day. To do something like this, I knew I had to do it from quite far because with the last climb I would not have been able to ride away from the favourites.
“Being in the mix and winning a stage is a big step and today I took all the risks I could and it happened. Thanks to my team and everyone who believed in me over the last years.”
Prior to Sunday’s stage, France’s Guillaume Martin, who was 14th overall, became the third rider to leave the race after testing positive for Covid.
All remaining riders are set to undergo tests on Sunday evening prior to Monday’s rest day, when team staff will be tested.
The race will resume on Tuesday with a 148.1km ride from Morzine Les Portes du Soleil to Megeve preceding two demanding days in the Alps.
Stage nine results
1. Bob Jungels (Lux/AG2R Citroen) 4hrs 46mins 39secs
2. Jonathan Castroviejo (Spa/Ineos Grenadiers) +22secs
3. Carlos Verona (Spa/Movistar) +26secs
4. Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) +40secs
5. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates) +49secs
6. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Jumbo-Visma) Same time
7. Geraint Thomas (GB/Ineos Grenadiers) +52secs
8. Adam Yates (GB/Ineos Grenadiers) Same time
9. Enric Mas (Spa/Movistar)
10. Nairo Quintana (Col/Arkea Samsic)
General classification after stage nine
1. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates) 33hrs 43mins 44secs
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Jumbo-Visma) +39secs
3. Geraint Thomas (GB/Ineos Grenadiers) +1min 17secs
4. Adam Yates (GB/Ineos Grenadiers) +1min 25secs
5. David Gaudu (Fra/Groupama-FDJ) +1min 38secs
6. Romain Bardet (Fra/DSM) +1min 39secs
7. Tom Pidcock (GB/Ineos Grenadiers) +1min 46secs
8. Enric Mas (Spa/Movistar) +1min 50secs
9. Neilson Powless (US/EF Education-EasyPost +1min 55secs
10. Nairo Quintana (Col/Arkea Samsic) +2mins 13secs
