Where’s Dennis? Rider vanishes from Tour
stopped at the feed zone, he was not immediately able to reach out to him because he had already passed that point on the route and could not turn back with his car. He finally managed to get his rider on the phone after another car from the team arrived next to him.
Dennis’ extraordinary withdrawal was the talk of the day but did not eclipse Yates’ maiden win at the Tour.
The British rider launched a counterattack behind a group of fugitives in a technical downhill and was joined at the front by Gregor Muhlberger and Pello Bilbao. The trio worked well together until the final sprint shaped up 200 metres from the finish line in Bagneresde-Bigorre. Yates launched the sprint, was first into the last turn and held off Bilbao for the victory.
‘‘I didn’t know how fast these two riders were but my sport director told me to take the last corner in first position and I’m glad it worked out well. To have a stage at all three grand tours makes me very proud,’’ Yates said
Yates is working in support of his brother Adam at the three-week race and had kept a low profile until now. He made his move in the Peyresourde downhill, reaching a maximum speed of 94.3kmh. He was as impressive in the day’s final ascent, the Hourquette d’Ancizan, and was joined at the front by Muhlberger before Bilbao jumped across to them on the descent to Bagneres-deBigorre.
‘‘This was probably a unique opportunity for me,’’ Yates said. ‘‘My main goal is to help Adam in the mountains and we thought that wouldn’t be needed today, that’s why I took the breakaway.’’
As the Tour hit high mountains with two first-category climbs, the main favourites closely watched each other and did not attack, saving strength for the super hard days still to come. The main pack of contenders crossed the finish line 9min 35sec behind the winner, with no major change in the overall standings. Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe kept the race leader’s yellow jersey ahead of the time trial in Pau, 1min 12sec ahead of defending champion Thomas. Thomas’ team-mate Egan Bernal, the Ineos co-leader, remained in third place, a further 4sec behind. In a testament to Tim Payne’s resilience, the versatile 25-year-old, who was once considered the next big thing in New Zealand football when he joined Blackburn Rovers as a teenager, has returned to the professional game by signing a one-year deal with Wellington Phoenix. Although he can play as a central defender, and even striker, he has been signed as a central midfielder, which is where he has predominantly played in his 18 appearances for the All Whites. Payne has not played professionally since his spell with Portland Timbers 2 ended in 2016. He has spent the past three years playing for Auckland’s Eastern Suburbs in the ISPS Handa Premiership and captained an all-Kiwi team to the title last season.