Pogacar pads lead at Tour de France
LA PLANCHE DES BELLES FILLES, France — From the moment Tadej Pogacar heard the Tour de France would return to the summit of La Planche des Belles Filles this year, he wanted to win there again.
The Slovenian pulled if off on Friday in a nailbiting finish on the steep gravel slope of the mountain where he took the yellow jersey for the first time in 2020.
Victory in the first summit finish of this year’s Tour extended his lead after taking the yellow jersey on Thursday.
“It was in my mind already a really, really long time, maybe since the route was already (revealed). It was a big, big goal to win today,” Pogacar said.
Pogacar caught, first, Lennard Kamna, who came agonizingly close to a breakaway win, and then Jonas Vingegaard with one last sprint at the top of La Planche des Belles Filles, a ski resort in the Vosges mountains of eastern France, near the German border.
He started the 176kilometer (109-mile) stage with a four-second lead over Neilson Powless and ended it with a 35second advantage over Vingegaard.
Geraint Thomas, the 2018 Tour winner, sat third, 1 minute, 10 seconds back, and his Ineos Grenadiers teammate Adam Yates was 8 seconds further behind.
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The San Antonio Spurs signed forward Jeremy Sochan and guard Malaki Branham. Terms were not disclosed.
Drafted by the Spurs with the ninth overall pick of the 2022 draft, Sochan became the first Top-10 selection for San Antonio since Tim Duncan went first overall in 1997. The 19-year-old played one season at Baylor and helped lead the Bears to a 27-7 record and to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Branham was selected with the 20th overall pick in the first round. In his lone season at Ohio State, the Big Ten Freshman of the Year averaged 13.7 points and 3.6 rebounds in 32 games.
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