Romain Bardet (dsm-firmenich PostNL) snatched the first stage of the Tour de France and the yellow jersey at the death – with the peloton bearing down just seconds behind him and teammate Frank van den Broek. The two men had enough time to celebrate together as the Dutch debutant took second place, after a thrilling chase into Rimini on the Adriatic coast.
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Tim Merlier claimed his third sprint victory on Stage 21 as Tadej Pogacar completed the first half of his Giro d’Italia-Tour de France double attempt. After suffering a late mechanical, Jonathan Milan was dragged back into the finale by his Lidl-Trek colleagues – but the Italian had spent too much energy to rival Merlier in the showdown. It means Merlier & Milan leave Italy with three wins apiece.
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Barring incident or accident, Tadej Pogacar will win the Giro d’Italia on Sunday. The Slovenian dominated in the mountains again to decimate his rivals, overhauling lone leader Giulio Pellizzari on the second of two ascents of Monte Grappa before charging away to the finish in Bassano del Grappa. Dani Martinez finished second for a first Grand Tour podium, with Geraint Thomas holding on for third.
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Italy’s Andrea Vendrame soloed to an outstanding victory in sodden Sappada after a large breakaway went the distance in Stage 19 of the Giro d’Italia. On the eve of the penultimate day summit showdown on Monte Grappa, Tadej Pogacar and the GC favourites played out a stalemate – and even allowed third-place Geraint Thomas back on after a late crash inside the final kilometres.
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It was a thrilling victory for Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) on Stage 18 of the 2024 Giro d’Italia as he edged out the much-fancied Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) in a pulsating and dramatic sprint finish in Padua. Merlier and Milan both found themselves well back in the initial burst for the line with a baffling lack of a clear lead-out, but battled through to be the first two across the line.
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