PLA D'ADET, France // Poland's Rafal Majka captured his second stage victory at the Tour de France on Wednesday, winning Stage 17 with a late breakaway on the last of four tough climbs in the Pyrenees.
Vincenzo Nibali of Italy trailed by about a minute but gained more time on his main rivals as he retained the leader’s yellow jersey that he has worn for all but two stages this year.
Majka, who cheekily winked to a French TV camera with about a kilometre left, tapped his chest, thrust his arms skyward and shouted in joy after giving his Tinkoff Saxo-Bank squad their second successive stage victory, after Tuesday’s win by Australian Michael Rogers.
“I promised Bjarne today that I would win the stage,” Majka said of his team manager, Bjarne Riis.
Italy’s Giovanni Visconti, whose solo breakaway with about nine kilometres left failed to hold off Majka, was second, 29 seconds back. Nibali was third, 46 seconds behind.
Majka has shown that he is the best climber in this Tour. The Polish rider, 24, tightened his grasp on the polka-dot jersey awarded to the race’s King of the Mountains, which he was already wearing.
With a last Pyrenean day ahead, today, Majka is looking increasingly likely to take home the red-dot jersey.
His closest rival as the day began was Spain’s Joaquim Rodriguez, who swatted the air in frustration at Majka when the Pole broke away on the last climb.
Majka was a last-minute inclusion in Tinkoff-Saxo’s squad after Roman Kreuziger was temporarily suspended due to irregular biological passport values.
The 124.5-kilometre ride on Wednesday was the shortest stage in this year’s Tour, and the second of three days in the mountains along France’s border with Spain.
It covered three hard Category 1 ascents from Saint-Gaudens and a final push up to the Pla d’Adet ski station above the town of Saint-Lary-Soulan.
Nibali gained about 50 seconds on his nearest rival, Spain’s Alejandro Valverde, who made a valiant recovery on the last climb to avoid even more damage. Overall, the Italian has a lead of five minutes and 26 seconds over Valverde.
Stage 18’s 145.5km ride from Pau to Hautacam features two climbs so difficult they defy cycling’s ranking system.
French veteran Jean-Christophe Peraud was the big mover in the leading six, closing to just eight seconds of countryman Thibaut Pinot in third place as he finished alongside Nibali.
On Tuesday morning, Peraud was sixth overall and more than a minute behind his teammate Romain Bardet, in third.
But Peraud, 37, has steadily climbed the standings, and with one mountain stage left today, including the epic Tourmalet and Hautacam climbs, he is in a good position to finish on the podium.
He is a better time-triallist than any of those competing for a top-three finish.
Just as he did in the second of the two Alpine stages, Peraud proved the only rider capable of holding onto Nibali’s wheel when the Italian accelerated on the final climb.
“I’m very happy with my form and hanging onto Nibali in the third week,” the AG2R rider said. “I had the good fortune of having him as a point of reference. He worked with me and I thank him for that.”
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