Richard Carapaz of EF Education-EasyPost secured a solo victory on stage 17 of the Tour de France, covering a 178km route from Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux to Superdevoluy on Wednesday.
Carapaz, who has previously won stages in the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España, finished 37 seconds ahead of Jayco Alula's Simon Yates, marking his first win in the Tour de France, with Movistar's Enric Mas placing third, nearly a minute behind.
At 31, Carapaz also became the first Ecuadorian to win a stage at the Tour. "This victory is incredibly significant to me. We've been aiming for this since the start. Our primary goal was to secure a stage win," Carapaz stated.
"Today was extremely challenging, with continuous attacks until a large group formed. It's a day I'll cherish forever." He added, "I had to bide my time and seize the perfect moment. We analyzed the course with our sports director this morning, and I knew my strategy. It's a tremendous win."
His strategic move in the mountains, approximately 13km from the finish, propelled the Olympic champion to an easy victory. Meanwhile, behind him, there was intense competition in the general classification, where Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar of UAE Team Emirates maintained his yellow jersey.
Pogacar launched an attack near the end of the stage, compelling rivals Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel to react. Evenepoel, currently third in the overall standings, initiated an attack on the climb, surpassing both Pogacar and second-placed Vingegaard to lead the contenders across the finish line.
Pogacar, on the other hand, waited for the optimal moment and made his move in the final 300 meters, extending his lead by an additional two seconds in the general classification. "I'm not even sure why I attempted it today, but I gained two more seconds on Jonas, and I'm pleased with that," Pogacar commented.
"Remco executed a superb attack, but our teamwork today was outstanding."
