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In the Bag TdF25-144
I spent quite a bit of time being frustrated with the race cameramen today. They missed so many visuals, particularly as the peloton rode through the Louvre and at both the intermediate sprint and the finish of the stage. There wasn't a good image of Wout Van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) winning solo on the Champs Elysees. He has won there before, but that was a tradition mass sprint on dry roads. Today, he was set up by his teammates and attacked on the final climb up to Montmartre dropping all of his breakaway companions including the Maillot Jaune - Tadej Pogacar! He flew down the other side to win the stage by nineteen seconds somehow managing to stay upright on the rain-soaked roads of downtown Paris. Pogacar came home for fourth on the stage, but he had already won the Tour. He made the race just that much more exciting by actually racing to win the final stage of the 112th Tour de France. By the way, Van Aert's teammate, Matteo Jorgenson came in fifth twenty-six seconds later.