The race headed again into the high mountains.
Kasper Asgreen carried the flag for Soudal Quick-Step on stage 13, scheduled on July 14, the National Day of France. The Danish ITT Champion was one of the twenty riders who forged away after some intense and quite attritional 60 kilometers of racing, helping the group open a three-minute maximum gap.
Asgreen remained off the front until the Grand Colombier – the 17.4km climb averaging 7.1%, which returned after three years – getting caught by the peloton some eleven kilometers from the top. The victory went to Michael Kwiatkowski (Ineos Grenadiers), one of the last survivors of the breakaway, while the general classification remained unchanged.
The Tour de France continues on Saturday with the tough stage to Morzine Les Portes du Soleil, which will include the tough climbs of Ramaz and Joux Plane, the latter being set to be crested just 12 kilometers from the finish.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
