Classy Jonas on cusp of glory

JONAS Vingegaard showed his ruthless and sporting sides to all but seal his first Tour de France title with a stunning win on stage 18.

The great Dane dropped his rival Tadej Pogacar on the final climb to finish one minute and four seconds ahead of him and extend his overall race lead to 3min 26sec.

With just a sprint, individual time trial and procession into Paris left, Vingegaard is poised to claim his first yellow jersey.

However, yesterday’s stage will also be remembered for an incredible show of sportsmanship by the race leader towards two- time defending champion Pogacar.

The top two were pushing on the descent of the Col de Spandelles when Pogacar overcooked a corner and crashed.

But rather than speed away, Vingegaard — who almost came off his bike moments earlier — waited for the Slovene to catch up and they shook hands before resuming.

They stayed together until 4km left of the climb of the Hautacam when Vingegaard went clear to tighten his grip on the yellow jersey and take the lead in the King of the Mountains competition.

‘I am really happy I won the stage but there are two more days to go before Paris so we need to stay focused,’ he said.

Britain’s Geraint Thomas finished fourth to stay third in the general classification, eight minutes behind Vingegaard, with a podium place in Paris almost guaranteed.

Fo u r- time champion Chris Froome was forced to withdraw from the Tour after testing positive for Covid.