Richard Carapaz claimed his first Tour de France stage win after showcasing his climbing prowess in the final ascents on Wednesday in the Alps.
Two-time champion Tadej Pogacar kept the overall race lead.
The 17th stage, covering 178 kilometers (110 miles) from Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux to Superdévoluy, started with a gradual 130-kilometer climb through the Drôme region and presented no major challenges for the peloton. However, the last part of the race was a different story with the climbs of Col Bayard and Col du Noyer.
Carapaz and Simon Yates led an early breakaway of 50 riders. As they approached the final climb, Carapaz launched a decisive attack on Yates before reaching the summit of Col du Noyer.
“For me today is very special,” the EF Education-EasyPost rider said after the race. “Winning a stage was the biggest objective for me and my team and we finally managed to do it.”
The 31-year-old Carapaz also became the first man from Ecuador to win a Tour stage. He won the men’s road race gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics but missed out on being selected for the Paris Olympics. He finished third in the Tour de France in 2021 and won the 2019 Giro d’Italia.
British rider Simon Yates was second on Wednesday, 37 seconds behind Carapaz.
Pogacar slightly increased his lead over Jonas Vingegaard to 3 minutes, 11 seconds, by launching two attacks on the Col du Noyer and a few meters before the finishing line. Vingegaard, currently second in the general classification, was once again unable to 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 about his repeated attacks in the Col du Noyer climb. “It was a good day.”
Biniam Girmay kept the best sprinter’s green jersey.