The Danish Kasper Asgreen (Soudal) scored the first victory of his career in the Tour de France on Thursday, after winning the eighteenth stage of the Tour de France, a flat segment in which he prevailed over the three breakaway companions, when the quartet was one step away from being hunted by the peloton.
This was a stage of transition, in which his compatriot Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo) kept the yellow jersey without problems, while Asgreen finished as the hero of this 184 km day, between Moutiers and Bourg en Bresse.
Asgreen decided to launch into a breakaway from the first kilometer. The Belgian Victor Campenaerts (Lotto) and the Norwegian Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X) immediately joined him, coming to count the leading trio with more than a minute and a half advantage.
The peloton reacted and when he was very close, the Dutchman Pascal Eenkhorn (Lotto) managed to stand out and catch up with the trio that led the race, with 58 km to go. The quartet worked well in the relays, reaching a lead of more than a minute.
The peloton reacted late and when they were one step away from catching up with the outstanding foursome, they lacked meters, so Asgreen managed to cross the finish line first, ahead of Eenkhorn and Abrahamsen, followed by the bulk of riders, with the same time as the breakaways.
“It’s not the first time that a small group has come to beat the sprinter teams. I believed in victory. It was a set of accumulated factors that allowed us to win and above all to have good legs,” said Asgreen after the victory.
The breakaway of the quartet, which was successful against all expectations, prevented the king of the sprint in this 2023 Tour de France, the Belgian Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix), from achieving a fifth stage victory in this 110th edition of the Grande Boucle.
Asgreen had the shadow help of teammates such as the Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe and the Belgian Tim Declercq, who did everything possible to slow down the peloton and make the breakaway successful, interspersing incessantly at the head, to annoy those who were shooting.
The 28-year-old Dane, winner of the Tour of Flanders in 2021, achieved his first victory in the Tour de France, after two second places, and allowed his team to achieve their first victory in this edition.
“I had marked today’s day Thursday and tomorrow’s Friday to attack. I was very motivated to give something to the whole team, to my teammates and all the people who help us,” said Asgreen, who ranks 87th overall, at 3h59:01
With three stages left for the end of the Tour de France, on Sunday in Paris, Jonas Vingegaard, who sealed the round on Wednesday and must keep the yellow without problems until the Champs-Élysées and win his second Grande Boucle, maintains the advantage of 7:35 in the general over the Slovenian Tadej Pogacar (UAE).
“It was a quiet but fast day. I tried to stay focused and I won’t be relaxed until we get to Paris, not before. Days like this can make you lose the Tour, you have to be attentive and focused,” said Vingegaard.
Source: Agencias de Prensa