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Primoz Roglic prolonged his lead within the Tour de France on Friday as Daniel Martinez scored a primary stage win for US workforce Education First by triumphing in a titanic mountain battle. Defending champion Egan Bernal dropped 37 seconds on his two key rivals, the Slovenian pair of Roglic and Tadej Pogacar, over the ultimate kilometre of the 191.5km 13th stage. Colombia’s Nairo Quintana and Frenchman Romain Bardet additionally fell additional behind Roglic.
Martinez got here beneath excessive strain for the stage win from fellow breakaway riders Maximilian Schachmann and Lennard Kamna because the Bora pair broke for the profitable line at 1,589m of altitude and appeared set to win.
Gritting his tooth and pouring with sweat, the Colombian nonetheless dug deep for a last kick that carried him to a last-gasp win.
“I managed to hold on and win with a late sprint,” mentioned Martinez, who shaped a coronary heart together with his fingers on the end line.
Martinez gained the important thing Tour de France warm-up, the Criterium du Dauphine, in August and likewise a stage on Paris-Nice.
“I did well on those races, but winning a stage on the Tour is on another level,” mentioned the 24-year-old.
Further down the hill because the race hit a nine-percent incline on the day’s sixth and last climb, Roglic and Pogacar managed to shake off an elite clique of riders in competition to win this Tour.
– Slovenia v Colombia –
Roglic now enjoys a 44sec lead over 21-year-old Pogacar, who climbed to second, whereas Bernal dropped to 3rd, 59sec off the yellow jersey.
“It was a Slovenian day, there’s two of us ahead of a few Colombians,” Roglic mentioned.
“There are great professionals in Slovenia in all kinds of sports, it’s a tough nation and we are all pushing each other.
“Looking at it from distance this Tour is just not completed and (Bernal) is just not completed, however I do not need to hassle myself worrying about different individuals,” Roglic said.
“When i noticed that last climb I believed ‘pfffft, that is going to harm’. So I’m completely satisfied all of it went my method.”
Defending champion Bernal now looks under severe pressure from Roglic, who has a powerful climb team around him.
The director of Bernal’s Ineos team, Benjamin Rasch, said the 23-year-old was improving each day from a bad back and that Friday’s stage did not suit his leader.
“We will do higher on the actually robust levels,” Rasch said.
“Of course he desires to win the tour,” Rasch said “He’s an excellent chief and an excellent lad.”
Pogacar, two years younger than Bernal, also reclaimed the best under-25s white jersey thanks to his Puy Mary climb.
Promoted
“I gained time on everybody besides Roglic on the final hill and sure we’re each Slovenians however we weren’t buddies over these last kilometres,” mentioned Pogacar, of the UAE workforce.
The holder of the inexperienced jersey, Irishman Sam Bennett, and the vastly skilled Peter Sagan will doubtless renew their wrestle for dash factors on Saturday’s 194-kilometre run over 5 small hills between Clermont-Ferrand and Lyon.
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