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‘One card to play and we played an ace’ – Carapaz wins stage 17 in Tour de France

VaselineJuly 18, 2024

0 3 minutes read

‘One card to play and we played an ace’ – Carapaz wins stage 17 in Tour de France

There was more than one moment in the 17th stage of the Tour de France to SuperDévoluy when the EF Education-EasyPost car thought Richard Carapaz was going to lose his chance of a stage win, but up front the Ecuadorian remained calm and composed as he played his cards.

The battle for a breakaway spot on the 177.8km stage was relentless. Four riders broke away and built a gap after more than 50km of attempts, but those who missed out were still not willing to give up this rare opportunity to breakaway.

He then left the Jayco-AlUla rider behind on the upper slopes of the Col du Noyer, with 13.3km to go.

Once he had established a lead, he managed to maintain it during the descent of the Col du Noyer and the climb to SuperDévoluy, crossing the finish line with a lead of 37 seconds over Yates and 57 seconds over Enric Mas (Movistar).

Carapaz may have come into the race following a crash at the Tour de Suisse – which left him off the bike for a stretch and requiring five stitches for one of the cuts in his mouth – but has now spent a day in yellow, taking victory on stage 17 of this year’s Tour de France. It’s a victory that gives the 2019 Giro d’Italia winner and Olympic champion, who also finished third in the 2021 Tour de France, stage wins in all three Grand Tours.

“It was obviously a gamble to bring him here, but in the end you can see what a natural talent the guy has. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. From the run he had before the Tour de France, which was the worst run possible, to winning a tough, tough stage in the third week of the race is just incredible,” Vaughters said, adding that the team’s signing for 2023 had left him “flabbergasted.”

“Tactically, there were several moments where it was like, oh no, he messed up or he hesitated too long or something. He was calmer than us behind him and measured things perfectly and brought things back when he needed to. He basically played the game perfectly, which was impressive to see.”

VaselineJuly 18, 2024

0 3 minutes read

Vaseline

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