Van Poppel Narrowly Beats Bontempi in 17th Stage; Mottet Still Leads Tour
Dutchman Jean-Paul Van Poppel outran the pack Friday to win the 17th stage of the Tour de France, but Charles Mottet of France retained the leader’s yellow jersey.
Van Poppel narrowly beat Italian Guido Bontempi at the end of the 148.5-mile route from Millau. Officials needed a photo to separate the two riders.
Climbers dominated the first part of the course leading up to the second-category climb at the Aigoual Pass, where Colombia’s Luis Herrera gained enough ground to overtake Raul Alcala of Mexico as leader of the official King of the Mountain competition.
The overall standings were barely affected by the leg. Mottet still led fellow Frenchman Jean-Francois Bernard and Ireland’s Stephen Roche by more than a minute.
Today is a rest day before an important time trial Sunday that finishes on Mt. Ventoux, the highest peak of the tour at 6,266 feet.
The last time the tour included Mt. Ventoux was 1967, when British cyclist Tony Simpson, who was in the lead, died of exhaustion on its slopes.
Monique Knol of the Netherlands won the sprint in the eighth stage of the Women’s Tour de France, but Jeannie Longo of France kept her overall lead.
Get our high school sports newsletter
Prep Rally is devoted to the SoCal high school sports experience, bringing you scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
