Richard Carapaz secured his first Tour de France stage win on Wednesday after demonstrating his climbing abilities during the final ascents in the Alps.
Two-time champion Tadej Pogacar maintained his overall race lead.
The 17th stage, spanning 178 kilometers (110 miles) from Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux to Superdévoluy, began with a steady 130-kilometer climb through the Drôme region, posing no significant challenges for the peloton. However, the final section of the race included the challenging climbs of Col Bayard and Col du Noyer.
Carapaz and Simon Yates were part of an early breakaway group of 50 riders. As they neared the final climb, Carapaz launched a decisive attack on Yates before reaching the summit of Col du Noyer.
“For me today is very special,” said Carapaz, a rider for EF Education-EasyPost, after the race. “Winning a stage was the biggest objective for me and my team and we finally managed to do it.”
Carapaz, 31, became the first Ecuadorian to win a Tour stage. He previously won the men’s road race gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics but was not selected for the Paris Olympics. He finished third in the Tour de France in 2021 and won the Giro d’Italia in 2019.
British rider Simon Yates finished second on Wednesday, 37 seconds behind Carapaz.
Pogacar slightly extended his lead over Jonas Vingegaard to 3 minutes, 11 seconds, after launching two attacks on the Col du Noyer and a few meters before the finish line. Vingegaard, currently second in the general classification, could not match Pogacar’s pace and conceded two more seconds overall.
“The climb was really steep today so I wanted to test my legs and see if they were still in good shape in the third week of competition,” Pogacar said regarding his repeated attacks on the Col du Noyer climb. “It was a good day.”
Biniam Girmay retained the best sprinter’s green jersey.
