172km out front for 77th place: Fred Wright's long but enjoyable day out at the Tour de France

The Bahrain Victorious rider did not even get the combativity award for his efforts

Fred Wright
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Every day at the Tour de France, a combativity prize is awarded to the most aggressive rider of the stage, decided by a jury. This is not always clear the viewer at home, or the fan on the roadside, but it does mean something. It's not only some time on the podium, or €2000 in prize money, or even red numbers for the next stage; it's some recognition for a big effort.

Some stages this is obvious, like Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) on stage six, when the Belgian was up the road in the yellow jersey for 146km, or when it was the Magnus Cort show for a couple of days. However, other days it is a bit more puzzling, and tends to be awarded to French rider more than others, perhaps just because of their numerical advantage at the race.

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