France’s Warren Barguil, wearing the best climber’s dotted jersey, celebrates a she crosses the finish line ahead of second place Colombia’s Nairo Quintana, left, and Spain’s Mikel Landa, center rear and fourth place, to win the thirteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 101 kilometers (62.8 miles) with start in Saint-Girons and finish in Foix, France, Friday, July 14, 2017. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
FOIX, France— Warren Barguil delivered a stylish victory to France on Bastille Day, winning a fast and furious truncated Stage 13 where Fabio Aru had to work hard to retain his overall race lead.
Barguil rode into the finish in Foix as part of a four-man group and took the win with a final sprint after adeptly negotiating the last U-bend on a bridge over the Ariege river on Friday.
At 101 kilometers (63 miles), the stage from Saint-Girons was the shortest of the race, barring the two time-trials. With three Pyrenees climbs, it delivered exactly what Tour organizers were hoping for: Full-on racing, with the French victory as the cherry on top.
Part chess-match, part test of speed and climbing strength, Chris Froome and his Team Sky used an array of tactics to try to regain the initiative after he lost the yellow jersey on Thursday to Aru, cracking on a savage final climb.
Sky sent Froome’s teammate, Mikel Landa, racing off ahead on the first climb in a quick succession of three tough ascents. He was joined by fellow Spaniard Alberto Contador, looking to make a splash on what has otherwise has been a lackluster Tour for the two-time champion.
Together, they built a lead but were caught by Nairo Quintana, a podium finisher at three previous Tours, and by Barguil in the closing section of the last climb. From there, the foursome sped together into Foix, overlooked by its imposing 11th century castle decorated with a French tricolor of red, white and blu , where Barguil set French hearts alight with the win.
“It’s incredible,” the rider for the Sunweb team said. “I said before the start it would be good if a Frenchman won. It’s exceptional.”