Richard Carapaz of EF Education-EasyPost crossed the finish line alone in Superdévoluy to win Stage 17 of the 2024 Tour de France on Wednesday.
The victory was Carapaz’s first career Tour de France stage win. The 31-year-old has now completed the coveted career Grand Tour triple with six previous stage wins at the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España.
‘This victory means everything!’ Carapaz said. ‘I’ve been trying to get it since the start of the Tour.’
Carapaz made history as the first Ecuadorian man to win a Tour stage.
‘I’m proud to be here and represent all of America in the best possible way,’ Carapaz said.
Approaching the foot of the Alps, a four-man breakaway of Tiesj Benoot (Visma-Lease a Bike), Magnus Cort (Uno-X Mobility), Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ) and Bob Jungels (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) made the first decisive move approximately 35 miles into the race. Unable to join the first group, Carapaz, alongside Wednesday’s runner-up Simon Yates of Jayco AlUla, led a second 48-rider breakout group in hot pursuit. As the race entered the Alps, Carapaz’s strength on the climbs proved too much to handle and the Ecuadorian reached the finish 37 seconds ahead of Yates.
‘It was a very difficult day, with a lot of attacks, but in the end, a large group formed, I was able to come out at the right time and I managed to get this result which I will remember forever,” Carapaz said. ‘I really made the most of the moment.’
The leading general classification trio of Tadej Pogačar, Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard and Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel continuously tested each other on the final summit climbs, with Evenepoel prevailing and gaining 10 seconds on Pogačar and 12 on Vingegaard. The general classification leaderboard remains unchanged, though, as Pogačar retains the yellow jersey with a three-minute-and-11-second lead over second-place Vingegaard.
Evenepoel said his attention was focused on maintaining his position in the general classification standings rather than gaining ground on the pair ahead of him. The Belgian 24-year-old has already established a clear eight-minute-and-21-second lead in the white jersey standings, awarded to the best young rider.
‘I took back 10 seconds from Tadej and Jonas, but that wasn’t the goal,” Evenepoel said after Stage 17. “I remain focused on my place on the podium. I’m good where I am, but it allowed me to gain a little time on those behind me.’
The battle for the green jersey is also nearing its close with current wearer Biniam Girmay of Eritrea and Intermarché-Wanty gaining one point on second-place Jasper Philipsen. Girmay’s lead of 33 points should be enough to secure the Eritrean’s win with just mountainous, hilly and time-trial stages remaining before the July 21 finale in Nice.
Girmay, who sustained injuries after crashing at high speed on the approach to yesterday’s finish line, said his knee and elbow, which needed stitches yesterday, were in pain throughout today’s stage. However, Girmay said he is motivated now more than ever to have a strong finish to the Tour.
‘You have to show the fighting spirit and if you are mentally strong nothing can stop you,” Girmay said. ‘I already said to my team yesterday, ‘Don’t worry it’s not yet finished and we’ll give it everything, just fight until Nice.’’
Tour de France Stage 17 results
TOUR DE FRANCE: Recap, results and standings after Stage 16
Tour de France general classification standings after Stage 17
Tour de France jersey standings after Stage 17
Yellow (general classification): Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates)Green (points classification): Biniam Girmay (Intermarché – Wanty)Polka dot (mountains classification): Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates); worn by Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) in second placeWhite (young rider classification): Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep)Yellow numbers (teams classification): UAE Team EmiratesGolden numbers (combativity award): Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ)
Tour de France Stage 18: How to watch, schedule, distance
Date: Thursday, July 18, 2024
Location: Gap to Barcelonnette (France)
Distance: 111.5 miles (179.5 km)
Type: Hilly stage
Streaming: Peacock, FuboTV
We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.