Thomas takes another step towards Tour de France title
Finishes second on stage 19 to extend lead over Dumoulin
Primoz Roglic claimed victory on the Tour de France’s final climb stage 19 yesterday as Team Sky’s Geraint Thomas claimed second to all but seal the title and the coveted yellow jersey.
Slovenian Roglic took the plaudits 19 seconds ahead of the rest but there was a bigger cheer as Thomas but in a late burst to sprint for the line and pick up six bonus seconds for second place, ahead of Romain Bardet, UAE Team Emirates’ Dan Martin, Rafal Majka, Dumoulin, Mikel Landa and outgoing champion Chris Froome.
Thomas now leads the General Classification standings by 2 minutes, 5 seconds from Dumoulin, and with only Saturday’s flat time trial and the procession to Paris on Sunday, only a disastrous injury will prevent the Welshman from taking the title.
Meanwhile, 13 women take to the roads before the start of each Tour de France stage.
On the same 3,351-kilometre route. Except there won’t be a podium or prize money waiting for them on the Champ-Elysees when they finish on Saturday, a day before the yellow jersey arrives in Paris. What these women hope for, instead, is recognition, respect, and the return of the women’s Tour. “We want a women’s stage race with the same media coverage and the same attention as men have,” Tetiana Kalachova said. “Not necessarily the same roads and not necessarily the same quantity of dates, but with the same appreciation.”
Kalachova and her teammates rise early every day to complete the three-week challenge.
They have conquered the jarring cobblestones of Roubaix, daunting ascents in the Alps, the foothills of the Massif Central, and have been pedalling this week through the Pyrenees. “We are trying to prove that women, even amateurs, totally clean — no doping, no special assistance — are able for this kind of effort,” Kalachova says. None of the team, called
“Donnons des elles au velo ” in a play of words meaning give women or wings to cycling, are being paid for their efforts.
Ideally, the team would like the return of the Tour de France Feminin, which ran alongside the men’s event from 1984-89, or at least a women’s stage race that is given the same importance as the men’s.