Jonas Vingegaard on the brink of his first Tour de France title

Jonas Vingegaard confirmed his ruthless and sporting sides to all however seal his first Tour de France title with a surprising win on stage 18.

The nice Dane dropped his rival Tadej Pogacar on the remaining climb to complete one minute and 4 seconds forward of him and prolong his total race result in 3min 26sec.

With only a dash, particular person time trial and procession into Paris left, Vingegaard is poised to say his first yellow jersey.

Jonas Vingegaard is on the brink of his first Tour de France title after gorgeous stage 18 win

However, yesterday’s stage will even be remembered for an unimaginable present of sportsmanship by the race chief in the direction of two-time defending champion Pogacar.

The prime two have been pushing on the descent of the Col de Spandelles when Pogacar overcooked a nook and crashed.

But slightly than pace away, Vingegaard — who virtually got here off his bike moments earlier — waited for the Slovene to catch up and so they shook palms earlier than resuming.

The chief prolonged his total result in 3min 26sec seeing him pull additional away from the area

They stayed collectively till 4km left of the climb of the Hautacam when Vingegaard went clear to tighten his grip on the yellow jersey and take the lead in the King of the Mountains competitors.

‘I am really happy I won the stage but there are two more days to go before Paris so we need to stay focused,’ he mentioned.

Britain’s Geraint Thomas completed fourth to remain third in the basic classification, eight minutes behind Vingegaard, with a podium place in Paris virtually assured.

Four-time champion Chris Froome was pressured to withdraw from the Tour after testing constructive for Covid.