(MENAFN- Gulf Times)
Mads Pedersen claimed his maiden Tour de France win after a strong showing in the 13th stage, a 193km ride from Le Bourg d'Oisans yesterday.
The 2019 world champion won a three-man sprint to beat Britain's Fred Wright and Canadian Hugo Houle, who were second and third, respectively.
“With a few kilometres to go it was still six of us so I had to shake things up,” said Pedersen, who first attacked from a six-man group with 12.5km to go.
Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard retained the overall leader's yellow jersey after spending the day in the main bunch in searing heat as the Tour left the Alps.
“It was a very hot day, we had to drink a lot to stay hydrated all day. I'm happy for Mads, he deserves it,” Vingegaard said of his compatriot, the third Dane to win a stage in this year's Tour after the overall leader and Magnus Cort Nielsen.
Vingegaard leads defending champion Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia by two minutes and 22 minutes, with 2018 champion Geraint Thomas in third place, a further four seconds adrift.
The sprinters teams kept the breakaway group in check but the chase was disrupted when Lotto Soudal's Caleb Ewan suffered a crash 71km from the line.
The Australian could not rejoin the peloton, leaving Jasper Philipsen's Alpecin-Deceuninck team the only outfit working in front of the bunch to set up a massive sprint.
They surrendered quickly, meaning the stage win would be contested between the breakaway riders.
As the peloton continued to ride a fast pace, the bunch was split in two with 38km left but no overall contenders were trapped behind.
Quinn Simmons was the first of the seven breakaway riders to drop out after working for his Trek Segafredo team mate Pedersen.
The Dane attacked after the last short climb of the day and only Wright and Houle could follow.
Matteo Jorgenson, Stefan Kueng and Filippo Ganna had nothing left in the tank and were left behind for good.
Pedersen launched his sprint 250 metres from the line and neither Wright, nor Houle could stay in his wheel.
Meanwhile Tour de France organisers said a nine-year-old child yesterday was hit by a vehicle from the Tour de France's publicity caravan and was taken to hospital.
The child, who suffered a bruise on his head and a suspected leg injury, was conscious when he was taken to the Couple Enfant hospital in La Tronche, near Grenoble, a spokesperson for Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) said.
“The vehicle was going at a low speed. He was taken care of by the publicity caravan medical staff before the first responders took him to the hospital,” they said.
Results from Stage 13 of Tour de France
Stage positions
1. Mads Pedersen (DEN) Trek - Segafredo 4:13:03
2. Fred Wright (GBR) Bahrain Victorious
3. Hugo Houle (CAN) Israel - Premier Tech
4. Stefan Küng (SUI) Groupama - FDJ +30
5. Matteo Jorgenson (USA) Movistar Team
6. Filippo Ganna (ITA) INEOS Grenadiers +32
7. Wout van Aert (BEL) Jumbo - Visma +5:45
8. Florian Sénéchal (FRA) Quick-Step - Alpha Vinyl Team
9. Luca Mozzato (ITA) B&B Hotels - KTM
10. Andrea Pasqualon (ITA) Intermarché - Wanty
Overall standings
1. Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) Jumbo - Visma 50:47:34
2. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates +2:22
3. Geraint Thomas (GBR) INEOS Grenadiers +2:26
4. Romain Bardet (FRA) Team DSM +2:35
5. Adam Yates (GBR) INEOS Grenadiers +3:44
6. Nairo Quintana (COL) Team Arkéa - Samsic +3:58
7. David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama - FDJ +4:07
8. Tom Pidcock (GBR) INEOS Grenadiers +7:39
9. Enric Mas (ESP) Movistar Team +9:32
10. Aleksandr Vlasov () BORA - hansgrohe +10:06
Remaining stages
July 16 - Stage 14 Saint-Étienne to Mende, 192.5 km, Road race.
July 17 - Stage 15 Rodez to Carcassonne, 202.5 km, Road race.
July 19 - Stage 16 Carcassonne to Foix, 178.5 km, Road race.
July 20 - Stage 17 St-Gaudens to Peyragudes, 129.7 km, Road race.
July 21 - Stage 18 Lourdes to Hautacam, 143.2 km, Road race.
July 22 - Stage 19 Castelnau-Magnoac to Cahors, 188.3 km, Road race.
July 23 - Stage 20 Lacapelle-Marival to Rocamadour, 40.7 km, Individual time trial.
July 24 - Stage 21 Paris La Défense Arena to Paris, 115.6 km, Road race.
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