Caleb Ewan produced a stunning late surge to claim stage 16 of the Tour de France on Tuesday as Julian Alaphilippe retained the yellow jersey.
Aftrer the breakaway was caught in the final mile and a half of a 110-mile route starting and finishing in Nimes, it was the Lotto-Soudal rider who had the most left in the tank when it mattered.
The Australian came from well back, after the field bunched together, to produce a sensational sprint to the line and claim his second stage victory of the Tour, having also won stage 11 in Toulouse.
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Elia Viviani narrowly missed out on his second stage win of the Tour, with Dylan Groenewegen in third.
"To be honest, I felt so bad today. The heat really hit me but I had some extra motivation with the presence of my wife and my daughter," Ewan said. "I was not in the ideal position with one kilometer to go but I followed Quick-Step pretty well and came from behind.
"It's a dream to be here at the Tour de France. It was already such a big dream to win one stage, now I won two but I can't believe it."
There was no change in the general classification, with Alaphilippe maintaining his lead of one minute and 35 seconds over defending champion Geraint Thomas.
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Thomas suffered a crash but was able to rejoin the pack, however Jakob Fuglsang, who had been five minutes and 27 seconds off the pace heading into the stage, abandoned after an incident involving several riders.
The race now moves into the Alps, where the destination of the yellow jersey is set to be decided.
STAGE RESULT
1. Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Soudal) 3:57:08
2. Elia Viviani (Deceuninck-Quick Step) same time
3. Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo-Visma) "
4. Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) "
5. Niccolo Bonifazio (Total Direct Energie) "
CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS
General Classification
1. Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick Step) 64:57:30
2. Geraint Thomas (INEOS) +1:35
3. Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo-Visma) +1:47
Points Classification
1. Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) 309
2. Elia Viviani (Deceuninck-Quick Step) 224
3. Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain-Merida) 203
King of the Mountains
1. Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal) 64
2. Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) 50
3. Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal) 37
WHAT'S NEXT?
Alaphilippe's lead will come under threat in a hilly 200km stage from the Pont du Gard aqueduct near Nimes to the Alpine town of Gap. The stage features a category four climb up the Cote de La Rochette-du-buis, with a category three ascent up the Col de la Sentinelle in the final 10km providing a challenging finish.
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