A day for the ages at the 2023 Tour de France concluded with Pello Bilbao taking a memorable win from the breakaway. The Spaniard consistently found the right wheels as he made it into a six-strong group in the final 3km and he had the strongest kick to wrap up victory. After a lively start, there was a GC stalemate between the top two, Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar.
Read more
Tadej Pogacar took back time in the race for the yellow jersey on Stage 9 but Jonas Vingegaard refused to crack as the Dane clung onto the overall lead at the Tour de France. Michael Woods won the day after timing his climb perfectly to sweep past Matteo Jorgenson as the American ran out of steam in the final 500 metres to finish outside the top three.
Read more
Stage 8 will be remembered as Mark Cavendish’s final outing at the Tour de France. The Manx Missile, who was chasing a record 35th stage win in cycling’s biggest race, departed in an ambulance after crashing with 61km remaining. Mads Pedersen won the day, denying Jasper Philipsen a fourth stage win at the 2023 Tour in a chaotic sprint as Wout van Aert was left wondering what might have been.
Read more
Belgium’s Jasper Philipsen denied Britain’s Mark Cavendish a fairytale win in Bordeaux by powering to his third victory in Stage 7. Cavendish struck out for what would have been a record-breaking 35th win but a late surge of pace saw Philipsen power past the Manx Missile to complete a hat-trick in the opening week of the Tour, leaving a disappointed Cav to rue a missed opportunity.
Read more
The 2023 Tour de France is already shaping up to be a classic. Tadej Pogacar dismissed concerns he was already finished in the race for yellow with a superb victory on Stage 6, putting time into the new yellow jersey of Jonas Vingegaard. Jai Hindley’s first outing in the leader’s jersey could well be his last after he cracked on the Col du Tourmalet as the two big hitters went head-to-head uphill.
Read more