Updated 2021 Tour de France standings after Tadej Pogacar wins stage 17

Tadej Pogacar has won Stage 17 of the Tour de France cementing his race lead. 

Tadej Pogacar has won Stage 17 of the 108th Tour de France, cementing his race lead and ownership of the yellow jersey on 14 July, when French fans hoped a French rider would win.

The 178.4-kilometer long stage from Muret to Saint-Lary- Soulan Col du Portet saw the general classification riders in the top ten going head to head with hopeful stage winners.

Anthony Perez and Dorian Godon broke away early on and maintained a lead before Perez left everyone behind on the climb up the Col de Peyresourde.

Godon managed to catch him on the descent from the Col de Val Louron-Azet and they banded together for the final climb up the Col du Portet, 2215 meters above sea level.

Perez left Godon behind but both were eventually caught by the group of general classification riders.

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Tadej Pogacar wins his first stage while actually wearing the yellow jersey

Pogacar was controlling the tempo for the general classification riders but then broke away with only Jonas Vingegaard and Richard Carapaz able to keep pace.

After several attacks by Pogacar in the final five kilometers, Carapaz accelerated leaving Vingegaard behind but the Danish rider caught him and Pogacar right before the finish line.

Pogacar crossed the finish line first coming through the mist pointing to his jersey, followed by Vingegaard and Carapaz and then Davide Gaudu to the delight of French fans, Ben O’Connor and Wilco Kelderman.

It is his first stage win while wearing the yellow jersey rather than merely defending his lead.

He won last year’s Tour de France only on the final stage in Paris having never worn the leader’s yellow jersey and he won the first individual time trial stage in this year’s race but Mathieu van der Poel kept the yellow jersey.

He is also second place for the polka dot jersey for the mountain climbs and currently holds the white jersey as well for the best young rider.

It is possible that he may stand on the podium in Paris as the holder of the yellow, white and polka dot jerseys.

Tour de France overall standings get shaken up.

The Tour de France overall standings have now been shaken up as a result of Stage 17.

Pogacar remains in the lead but Vingegaard has moved up into second place, Carapaz into third place and Rigoberto Uran down to fourth place with O’Connor managing to protect his fifth-place position.

Steven Kruijswijk abandoned the race early on in the stage while it was announced that Simon Clarke would continue riding all the way through to Paris on Stage 21 despite having fractured his L4 vertebrae in his spine in a crash on Stage 3.

Two riders including Rigoberto Uran have received warnings for positioning on the bike for leaning too far forward during the race.

Lachlan Morton has been riding the AltTour, a project where he follows the race of the original Tour de France riders, camping along the way.

He rode into Paris yesterday finishing the massive race and raising more than 500,000 dollars for charity.

Tomorrow’s Stage 18 is another massive mountain stage in the Pyrenees.