Richard Carapaz earned his first Tour de France stage victory by demonstrating his climbing skills on Wednesday in the Alps. Current two-time champion Tadej Pogacar maintained his lead in the race standings.
The 17th stage covered 178 kilometers (110 miles) from Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux to Superdévoluy, beginning with a gradual 130-kilometer climb through the Drôme region, which posed no major challenges for the peloton.
However, the race intensified in the final stretch with challenging climbs up Col Bayard and Col du Noyer.
Carapaz and Simon Yates led an early breakaway of 50 riders. As they approached the final climb, Carapaz made a decisive move, overtaking Yates and reaching the summit of Col du Noyer first.
“Today is very special for me,” said the EF Education-EasyPost rider after the race. “Winning a stage was our biggest goal, and we finally achieved it.”
At 31 years old, Carapaz also became the first man from Ecuador to win a Tour de France stage. He previously won the men’s road race gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics but did not participate in the Paris Olympics.
In 2021, he finished third in the Tour de France and won the 2019 Giro d’Italia.
Pogacar extended his lead over Jonas Vingegaard to 3 minutes and 11 seconds by launching two attacks on the Col du Noyer and just meters before the finish line. Vingegaard, currently second in the standings, could not match Pogacar’s pace and conceded two more seconds.
“The climb was really steep today, so I wanted to test my legs and see if they were still strong in the third week of racing,” Pogacar commented on his attacks during the Col du Noyer climb. “It was a good day.”
Biniam Girmay retained the green jersey for the best sprinter.
