- Pello Bilbao wins stage 10 of Tour de France in sprint finish
- Heat wave and challenging climbs test riders’ endurance
- Breakaway group forms, causing difficulties for some contenders
Pello Bilbao of Spain, cycling for Bahrain Victorious, won stage 10 of the Tour de France in Issoire by outsprinting Georg Zimmermann of Intermarché-Circus-Wanty.
The fastest finisher in the final remnants of the day’s breakaway group, Bilbao, dashed the aspirations of the lone attacker, Israel-Premier Tech’s Krists Neilands, in the final moments of the stage.
As a heat wave engulfed the Massif Central and local fire departments doused spectators with cold water, the day’s five categorized ascents proved to be as exhausting as the steepest slopes in the Alps or Pyrenees.
David Gaudu, of the Groupama FDJ team, and Romain Bardet, of Team DSM-Firmenich, were among those who experienced an unpleasant awakening following the rest day.
A group of 14 riders, including Bilbao and Zimmermann, Michal Kwiatkowski of Ineos Grenadiers, the Colombian climber Esteban Chaves racing for EF Education-EasyPost, the former world champion Julian Alaphilippe of Soudal QuickStep, the Australian climber Ben O’Connor of AG2R-Citron, and Neilands, moved ahead of the main peloton as temperatures soared.
A flurry of attacks began the difficult stage, which raced through peaks south of Clermont-Ferrand. At one point, a small group, including the defending champion Jonas Vingegaard and his closest adversary Tadej Pogacar, broke away from the rest of the pack, prompting a furious pursuit by Tom Pidcock’s Ineos Grenadiers team. The leading contenders regrouped, but many of those struggling at the back had already been damaged.
