Tour de France 2017: Boasson Hagen wins stage 19

Norwegian cyclist Edvald Boasson Hagen (Dimension Data) won Stage 19 of the Tour de France 2017 on Friday in Salon-de-Provence. In this stage, Colombian Rigoberto Urán managed to maintain his third position overall and remains close to the leader, British cyclist Chris Froome.

Boasson Hagen surprised his escape companions 3 kilometers from the finish line to win the stage on his own, after covering 222.5 kilometers, the longest stage of this year's edition. He crossed the finish line with a ten-minute gap ahead of the peloton, where the general classification favorites were positioned.

In the final sprint, the Norwegian rider beat German cyclist Niklas Arndt by 5 seconds and a small group led by Belgian Jens Keukeleire by 17 seconds.

This is Boasson Hagen's third stage victory in the Tour and his first since 2011. In Nuits-Saint-Georges, he lost by a narrow margin to German cyclist Marcel Kittel in the seventh stage, which was decided by a photo finish.

The penultimate stage of the 2017 Tour took the riders from Embrun to Salon-de-Provence. After 35 kilometers, a group of 20 riders formed an escape, while the peloton did not make a strong effort to chase them. This group split in two with 20 kilometers to go, after an acceleration from Keukeleire.

The favorites' peloton, including yellow jersey Chris Froome and other big names like Colombian Rigoberto Urán, who is third overall and theoretically his main rival for the time trial on Saturday in Marseille, was more than 10 minutes behind when Boasson Hagen crossed the finish line.

(AFP)

PREVIEW:

The climb through the French Alps has come to an end. This Thursday (7:30 am, via ESPN 3), Colombians Rigoberto Urán and Nairo Quintana are looking to climb up the general classification in the Tour de France. They will tackle Stage 19, from Embrun to Salon-de-Provence.

This will be a dangerous stage due to crosswinds and attempts to catch up with the general classification leader, British cyclist Christopher Froome. Undoubtedly, a duel that promises to be highly contested throughout the 222.5 kilometers.

Although the route has many ups and downs, the last 90 kilometers are flat. This gives sprinters the opportunity to move up in the standings.

However, it's important to consider that there are only three stages left and that only nine teams have been victorious so far.