Magnus Cort (EF Education-EasyPost) sprinted to victory on stage ten of the Tour de France, overtaking Nick Schultz (BikeExchange-Jayco) on the line after a 19km final climb.
On a stage dominated by 25 riders in the breakaway, and interrupted by a protest, attacks kept coming at the front of the race right up until the closing stages.
Heading into the final kilometre of the stage, Dylan van Baarle (Ineos Grenadiers), Nick Schultz (BikeExchange -Jayco), Luis León Sánchez (Bahrain-Victorious) and Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar) were battling together, the day's winner seemingly coming from the quartet.
However, a chasing group behind soon got back to the front riders, among them Magnus Cort. Sánchez launched his sprint first, into the final 250m, but the 28-year-old failed to hold onto the lead. Schultz swiftly overtook him, and looked in control of the stage win, that is, until Cort got into his slipstream.
The Dane hung onto Schultz's back wheel before pulling up alongside in the final metres of the race. Both threw their bikes to the line, and it was Cort who just managed to steal a crucial few inches to take the stage win, the second Tour victory of his career.
Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) just managed to hold onto the lead of the yellow jersey, following a spirited ride from Lennard Kämna (Bora-Hansgrohe). The German finished 8-32 ahead of Pogačar, bringing him to within 11 seconds of the reigning champion. Indeed, at one point during the stage Kämna had the virtual lead on GC.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After a rest day on Monday, the Tour de France resumed on stage ten with a 148km ride from Morzine and Megève in the French Alps, across hilly terrain.
Before the stage had even started, though, drama unfolded within the peloton. UAE Team Emirates, who had already lost Stake Vegard Laengen last week, saw George Bennett return a positive Covid-19 test. One of Tadej Pogačar's key mountain domestiques, this meant the team dwindled to just six riders, making the Slovenian's job that little bit tougher for the remaining two weeks.
Luke Durbridge (BikeExchange-Jayco) also withdrew from the race due to a positive Covid-19 test, while Alexis Vuillermoz (TotalEnergies) abandoned after collapsing at the end of stage nine and going to hospital.
The stage started with an immediate downhill section, allowing the pace to become very quick and intense from the off. However, this meant no attacks were forthcoming due to the tempo, with riders getting out ahead but not putting in any real effort to open up a large enough gap.
Pierre Latour (TotalEnergies) summited the category four climb of Côte de Chevenoz first, and thereafter plenty of attacks started to come. None stuck, though, and with the pace over 50kmh, riders were happy to sit comfortably in the peloton.
Ineos Grenadiers did try to force the issue afterwards, looking for any opportunity they could to create a breakaway through riders such as Dylan van Baarle, Filippo Ganna and even Tom Pidcock. With the Briton just 1-46 behind Pogačar on GC, the reigning champion had to ensure he didn't get away.
However, he only had Rafał Majka for company from his teammates, the others unable to keep up at the front. And, even then, Majka had tested positive for Covid-19 as well, but had a small viral load so didn't need to exit the race like Bennett did just hours before.
Over the uncategorised climbs the race started to get chaotic, with attacks forming constantly. Three groups eventually formed ahead of the peloton in this period, and, after 60km of riding, the break was finally established. 25 riders comprised this breakaway when all three groups came together, though none were GC contenders.
Their gap to the peloton initially steadied at three minutes, but once UAE Team Emirates had reconvened at the front of the bunch again, this grew to over five minutes. The time gap kept gradually rising thereafter, rising up to seven minutes.
Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) powering along at the head of the breakaway, looked to drop riders off the back, all the while helping his teammate Dylan van Baarle reserve his energy. This soon settled when Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-EasyPost) broke away from the front riders, attacking in a long-range solo attempt over 40km from the finish.
However, with 36km remaining, the race neutralised. Protestors lined across the road halted proceedings, with every rider stopping at their spots on the route. Officials quickly removed them, though, allowing the race to get back underway.
At the restart, Hugo Hofstetter (Bahrain-Victorious) immediately broke from the main breakaway group, in an attempt to catch Bettiol. He attacked in vain though, the Frenchman unable to build any distance up the gradual inclines.
Bettiol's lead over the chasing group stood at 30 seconds into the final 25km, with the peloton a further 8-30 back. With Lennard Kämna (Bora-Hansgrohe) part of the breakaway group, the German moved into the virtual lead of the GC. Kämna's gap to Pogačar was 8-43 at the beginning of stage ten, and the peloton's deficit behind was nine minutes heading into the final 20km.
At the foot of the climb to Megève - a 19.1km ascent at a 4.5% gradient - Bettiol's lead stood at 40 seconds, with the peloton a further ten minutes back. UAE Team Emirates seemed content with offloading the yellow jersey to Kämna, ahead of some tougher stages in the Alps coming up over the next few days - including the Alpe d'Huez.
During the climb plenty of riders were dropped, and Bettiol's lead yo-yoed, the gap constantly changing. Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis), Fred Wright (Bahrain-Victorious) and Georg Zimmerman (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux) all attacked from the main breakaway group, with Van Baarle, Matteo Jorgensen (Movistar), Magnus Cort (EF Education-EasyPost) and Simone Velasco (Astana Qazaqstan) shortly following thereafter.
With 11km remaining, Bettiol and the two chasing groups all came together at the front, but Bettiol attacked once again, eager to make his solo attempt stick. By this point, the peloton was 9-30 down from the front of the race. Kämna gave chase as well, though, dragging along multiple other riders to catch the group Bettiol had just dropped once again.
Zimmerman opted to join Bettiol, but the duo were caught as they couldn't agree on sharing the workload. Indeed, Quinn Simmons (Trek-Segafredo) caught them and duly sprinted past them, sensing an opportunity. Kämna quickly quelled this attack, though.
Into the final 4km of the climb, 6km from the finish line, Luis León Sánchez (Bahrain-Victorious) launched from the leaders. No one managed to match the effort he produced, as he gained over 20 seconds heading up the latter part of the ascent. Fred Wright worked hard to stop any attack from the chasing group, ensuring his teammate Sánchez maintained his buffer.
Jorgenson soon escaped the clutches of Wright, though, with Nick Schultz (BikeExchange -Jayco) joining him. After taking the KOM points, Sánchez gave up his effort, before climbing onto Schultz's back wheel when he passed. Jorgenson also joined them as well. Dylan van Baarle also caught up to the trio, heading into the final kilometre.
The Ineos Grenadiers rider then attacked, gaining a slight gap. However, he failed to make it stick, with the four coming back together again. Cat and mouse ensued, allowing the chasers to catch up. Sánchez attacked with 250m remaining, grimacing to try and hold on. Schultz followed, swiftly overtaking him.
However, Magnus Cort stuck with Schultz, powering the pedals to catch the Australian. Getting into Schultz's slipstream, Cort proceeded to get alongside him, before just sticking his wheel ahead to take the second Tour stage victory of his career.
Meanwhile, Pogačar holds onto the yellow jersey, his lead down to just 11 seconds on GC now.
TOUR DE FRANCE 2022 STAGE TEN RESULTS
1. Magnus Cort (Den) EF Education-EasyPost, in 3-18-50
2. Nick Schultz (Aus) BikeExchange-Jayco, at same time
3. Luis León Sánchez (Spa) Bahrain-Victorious, at 7s
4. Matteo Jorgenson (USA) Movistar, at 8s
5. Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Ineos Grenadiers, at 10s
6. Georg Zimmerman (Ger) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
7. Benjamin Thomas (Fra) Cofidis, at 18s
8. Andreas Leknessund (Nor) Team DSM, at 20s
9. Fred Wright (GBr) Bahrain-Victorious, at 22s
10. Lennard Kämna (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe, at same time
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE TEN
1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates, in 37-11-28
2. Lennard Kämna (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe, at 11s
3. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Jumbo-Visma, at 39s
4. Geraint Thomas (Gbr) Ineos Grenadiers, at 1-17
5. Adam Yates (Gbr) Ineos Grenadiers, at 1-25
6. David Gaudu (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, at 1-38
7. Romain Bardet (Fra) Team DSM, at 1-39
8. Tom Pidcock (Gbr) Ineos Grenadiers, at 1-46
9. Enric Mas (Esp) Movistar, at 1-50
10. Luis León Sánchez (Spa) Bahrain-Victorious, at 1-55
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