07/14/25 03:11:00
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07/14 15:09 CDT Yates wins Tour de France's first mountainous stage and Healy
takes yellow jersey
Yates wins Tour de France's first mountainous stage and Healy takes yellow
jersey
LE MONT-DORE, France (AP) --- British rider Simon Yates won the first
mountainous stage of the Tour de France on Monday and Irish rider Ben Healy was
consoled by taking the yellow jersey.
Healy was nominated the most combative rider of the day after forcing the
initiative on the 10th stage, but Yates - who won the Giro d'Italia last month
-- timed his break perfectly on the final climb to win a stage for the third
time.
"It's been a long time, but actually I also was not really expecting any
opportunities here," said Yates, a teammate of two-time Tour champion Jonas
Vingegaard. "We came here fully focused on Jonas and the GC (general
classification), so the stage played out in a way that I could be there for the
stage. I took it with both hands."
Dutch rider Thymen Arensman was 9 seconds behind, while Healy finished third,
31 seconds behind Yates.
Three-time Tour champion Tadej Pogacar finished farther back alongside main
rival Vingegaard and French rider Lenny Martinez with a gap of 4 minutes, 51
seconds.
It meant Healy, who claimed his first stage victory on Thursday, took the
overall lead, 29 seconds ahead of Pogacar.
"It's a fairy tale," said Healy, the fourth Irish rider to wear the yellow
jersey.
Remco Evenepoel was third in the general ranking, 1:29 behind, and Vingegaard
1:46 behind in fourth.
"I'm still behind and I have to take time at one point," said Vingegaard, who
remained positive that Pogacar wasn't too far ahead.
"So far I've been able to follow all his attacks which I couldn't do in
(Critrium du) Dauphin," Vingegaard said, referring to the traditional Tour
curtain-raiser. "I think that that shows that I have a better level now than I
had in Dauphin."
Stage 10 took the riders on an arduous 165.3-kilometer route in the Massif
Central --- France's south-central highland region --- from Ennezat through
seven category two climbs. It finished on the ascent of Puy de Sancy --- the
region's highest peak --- after 3.3 kilometers of an 8% gradient climb.
French rider Julian Alaphilippe lived up to expectations with the first break
on France's national day, Bastille Day, carving out a 10-second lead before he
was caught on the first climb up Cte de Loubeyrat.
Norwegian rider Soren Wrenskjold had to withdraw early as the tough start
proved too much after his crash the day before.
German rider Georg Zimmermann withdrew before the start following his crash on
Sunday. His team, Intermarch-Wanty, said he "developed signs of a concussion
during the night."
Dutch sprinter Marijn van den Berg also retired due to injuries from his crash
on Stage 1, EF Education-Easypost said.
The riders can look forward to their first rest day on Tuesday.
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