
Ben Healy back in Tour de France top 10 overall, Arensman wins stage 14
Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) continues to enhance his reputation, producing another quality ride to jump from 11th to ninth overall.
Slovenian Tadej Pogacar retained the leader's yellow jersey as he took second place by beating chief rival Jonas Vingegaard in a two-man sprint finish one minute and 12 seconds behind Ineos Grenadiers rider Arensman.
Defending champion Pogacar extended his lead over Dane Vingegaard in the GC by six seconds to 4:13 at the end of the Pyrenean stage. Healy is 18:41 down on Pogacar.
The day belonged to Arensman, however, as the Dutchman went solo from the day's breakaway in the penultimate climb to the Col de Peyresourde (7.1 km at 7.8%) before his team car hit and knocked down a spectator amid the usual roadside chaos on the Tour.
Arensman never looked back and held firm on his way up to Superbagneres (12.4 km at 7.3%) as Vingegaard attacked several times in an attempt to drop Pogacar.
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RTÉ News
33 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
'I am buzzing' - Lara Gillespie part of history-making Irish trio at women's Tour de France
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Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
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Irish Independent
4 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Thymen Arensman wins Tour de France stage 19 as Ben Healy consolidates top 10 placing
Tadej Pogacar followed Jonas Vingegaard over the line just behind Arensman, a fourth overall crown now looking safe with his lead at four minutes 24 seconds over Vingegaard, who took back a couple of bonus seconds but nothing more on this final opportunity to make major changes to the standings. Onley, the 22-year-old Scot riding his second Tour, started the day 22 seconds behind third-placed Florian Lipowitz, both men fighting for the best young rider's white jersey, but faded towards the summit of La Plagne to concede 41 seconds and stay fourth overall. It was a second stage win of his debut Tour for Arensman, who had scored a much-needed victory for the Ineos Grenadiers on stage 14 on Superbagneres. UAE Team Emirates-XRG had looked determined to set up Pogacar for what would have been an exclamation mark of a fifth stage victory of this race on the final climb, but Arensman tried a number of attacks and when he went clear with 13km of the climb remaining, he managed to open a gap. His advantage over Pogacar, Vingegaard, Onley and Lipowitz hovered at around 30 seconds, the sort of margin a fully-fresh Pogacar would be able to close at will, but the fatigue in everyone's legs perhaps told as the anticipated attack from behind never really materialised. It was only when Onley began to struggle that Lipowitz saw his opportunity to finish off the Scot, moving to the front and upping the pace. But even so, Arensman hung on to win by a couple of seconds. "I feel absolutely destroyed," Arensman said. "I can't believe it. Already to win one stage in the Tour was unbelievable from a breakaway, but now to do it against the GC group, against the strongest riders in the world, it feels like I'm dreaming. I don't know what I just did." Ben Healy had stayed with the yellow jersey group chasing down Arensman before finally being shelled out the back 4km from the finish, eventually coming in a creditable 8th, 2' 19'' behind Arensman. The Irish rider stays 9th overall with two stages remaining. The discovery of a contagious disease amongst cattle in the area had forced changes to the route, which was shortened from 129.9 kilometres to 95km, removing two climbs but leaving the main tests of the Col du Pre and the finish to La Plagne, still with 3,250m of climbing packed in. Primoz Roglic had been immediately on the attack in an all-or-nothing attempt to move up from fifth overall, but he was caught before the final climb and quickly distanced to move well down, not up, the general classification. With a hilly but not mountainous stage from Nantua to Pontarlier on the menu for Saturday before Sunday's run into Paris - which this year includes the Montmartre climb - there could still be some changes at the sharp end of the general classification but it is difficult to see the podium changing.