Pogačar powers to big Pyrenees win to reclaim Tour de France yellow jersey

HAUTACAM, France (AP) — Tadej Pogačar powered to an impressive stage win on the first day in the Pyrenees to take back the Tour de France yellow jersey on Thursday.

On a day when many wondered if he would suffer any ill effects from his crash the day before, Pogačar showed none and put himself in prime position for his fourth Tour victory with a break on the stage-ending climb to Hautacam.

He finished more than two minutes ahead of main rival Jonas Vingegaard.

“You don’t know how the body reacts after the crash, but it was not too bad, it was not a bad crash,” said Pogačar, the defending champion. “I feel my hip only when I do acrobatics, but here I’m just riding the bike.”

Hautacam is the resort overlooking Lourdes and Stage 12 must have felt like a pilgrimage for all the riders. Ben Healy, who wore the yellow jersey for two stages, finished well behind on a brutal day for the Irish rider.

In 2022, Vingegaard dominated Pogačar at Hautacam on his way to his first Tour victory. But the Danish rider is now 3 1/2 minutes behind his main rival in the general classification. Belgian rider Remco Evenepoel is third, 4:45 behind Pogačar.

Ottawa's Michael Woods finished 40th in Thursday's stage and moved up 20 spots to 69th overall, one hour 26 minutes 34 seconds behind Pogačar.

Guillaume Boivin of Longueuil, Que., Woods's Israel-Premier Tech teammate, was 126th on Thursday and 162nd overall, 2:36:59 off the pace.

As if in a rush to face the grueling challenges awaiting in the mountains, the riders sped through the first 50 kilometers in just under an hour with the peloton chasing a large 52-man breakaway group.

But their efforts on the narrow, twisting roads through spectacular landscapes and stone-house villages took their toll as exhausted riders dropped behind, one by one.

Birds of prey circled overhead as the riders suffered below.

Pogačar made his move with 11.8 kilometers remaining with help from UAE teammate Jhonatan Narváez, who looked over his shoulder and allowed Pogačar to accelerate past. Vingegaard initially gave chase but couldn’t keep up with his rival, who overtook French rider Bruno Armirail for the lead with 11 kilometers to go for his 20th stage victory — third in this race.

“I was just looking forward for today. And then all the people were all the time coming to me and saying, ‘Oh yeah, this is the revenge time,’ and blah blah blah. And then when we approached the bottom of the climb, it was just a reverse story of a few years ago,” said Pogačar, a 26-year-old Slovenian.

Pogačar finished 2:10 ahead of Vingegaard, with German rider Florian Lipowitz 2:23 off the pace in third.

Armirail, who had been leading, followed 10:46 after Pogačar. Healy finished 13:38 off the pace.

Tributes for young Italian rider who died

Riders took time before the stage in memory of Samuele Privitera, the 19-year-old who died after a crash while racing in Italy the day before.

Privitera crashed in the first stage of the Tour of Valle D’Aosta.

“The risk that we are taking sometimes is too far.” Pogačar said before racing.

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