The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Norwegian rider captures win:
Froome still up 23 seconds before final time trial today.
After two secondplace finishes, Edvald Boasson Hagen finally got a stage victory at the Tour de France. Chris Froome still leads French rider Romain Bardet by 23 seconds entering the final two stages.
SALON-DE-PROVENCE, FRANCE — Edvald Boasson Hagen showed that brawn and speed don’t guarantee victory at the Tour de France. Winners do their homework, too.
Going right around a roundabout while others took the left and longer route proved to be the key that enabled the Norwegian to finally win a stage at this Tour on Friday after two second-place finishes.
Only Boasson Hagen and Germany’s Nikias Arndt took the shorter route. The Norwegian then eliminated the German with a burst of acceleration and sped to the line in Salon-de Provence.
Arndt placed second, five seconds back.
Third-place Jens Keukeleire was among those who went left around the roundabout in the last 3 kilometers (under 2 miles) and immediately realized their mistake, as Boasson Hagen motored away.
“That’s when it struck me: We should have taken right,” Keukeleire said. “He’s one of those riders, give him 10 meters and he’s gone.”
It was Boasson Hagen’s third career stage win at the Tour, after his first two in 2011.
Riding at a leisurely pace far behind them, race leader Chris Froome and other top contenders for the yellow jersey were happy to let others contest the victory on the Tour’s longest stage.
Boasson Hagen was part of a 20-man group that Froome and Team Sky gave freedom to escape from the peloton because none of them presented a threat to his overall lead. After two energy-sapping days of climbs in the high Alps, Froome and his rivals had their sights set instead on the time trial today in Marseille that will determine the podium order before the race ends Sunday in Paris.
Froome’s group was still riding as Boasson Hagen celebrated his win. The peloton eventually rolled in more than 12 minutes after Boasson Hagen claimed the first stage win for the Dimension Data team at this tour.
The overall standings remained unchanged at the top, with Froome leading French rider Romain Bardet by 23 seconds and Rigoberto Uran of Colombia by 29 seconds.
With no major difficulties, the 222.5-kilometer (138-mile) stage from Embrun in the Alps offered no real opportunity for Froome’s rivals to claw back time.
“We could just sit on the wheels and recover a little bit,” Froome said. “Everyone was quite happy to sit back.”
Today’s 22.5-kilometer (14-mile) time-trial course is the last significant obstacle between Froome and his fourth Tour victory. He needs to hold only Bardet and Uran at bay, but they could be tempted into taking greater risks to make up time on the course with more than two dozen bends.