Aussie rider in tears as he triumphs in slippery Tour de France stage
His late solo breakaway left the big two of Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard trailing in the pouring rain of northern France.
The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider surged ahead 16 kilometres from home and held on for his first Tour stage win and 10th at major races. The 26-year-old from the Sunshine Coast has claimed two at the Giro d'Italia and seven at the Spanish Vuelta.
His bike-handling skills in the wet were to the fore as he negotiated a sodden descent 21km from the finish while two other rivals skidded out of control.
He finished 54 seconds ahead of Frank van den Broek and 59 clear of Pascal Eenkhoorn, bursting into tears as he crossed the finish line in Pontarlier.
Groves' first career Tour stage win was a third of this race for his Alpecin-Deceuninck team but the first since stage two, with their previous two winners, Jasper Philipsen and Mathieu van der Poel, since lost to injury and illness.
'Today we weren't sure whether to go for the stage or wait for tomorrow but when the rain falls I have a super feeling normally in the cold weather,' an emotional Groves said.
'There's so much pressure at the Tour, and having won in the Giro, having won in the Vuelta, all I ever get asked is am I good enough to win in the Tour? And now I show them.
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