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Delayed by protest, Tour escapee Magnus Cort prevails before two brutal days in the Alps

Demonstration holds up race for 20 minutes

July 12, 2022
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Despite being held up by a protest in the final 30 km, fugitive Magnus Cort (Denmark/EF Education-Easypost) won Tuesday’s 10th stage of the Tour de France, the Alps calm before the storm. Cort, who was in polka dots until Sunday, outsprinted Nick Schultz atop a Cat. 2 summit finish for his second career Tour victory. Pogačar kept the yellow jersey.

You can watch the 2022 Tour de France at FloBikes.

The Course

The second day in the Alps was a relatively mild one after the second rest day. Three categorized climbs were spread out evenly over the 148-km route. The final climb, Cat. 2 Montée de l’altiport de Megève, was long but not very steep: 19.3 km of 4 percent.

There was more bad news for Tadej Pogačar’s UAE-Emirates squad, as George Bennett, a key mountains worker, withdrew from the race after a COVID-19 positive. UAE and AG2R-Citroën Team are both two riders down.

There were several breakaway attempts before and after the opening climb, Cat. 4 Côte de Chevenoz, but nothing stuck. There was a lot of action on the long drag leading to the second categorized climb. By the start of Col de Jambaz, there was a 25-strong breakaway up the road, with only four teams not represented. The peloton chilled right out.

The platoon of fugitives were 6:00 clear when it nudged over Cat. 4 Côte de Châtillon-sur-Cluses. The escape clipped along towards Montée de l’altiport de Megève where its members would vie for the day’s win.

Alberto Bettiol took his leave from the other escape and then had to wait after he skirted some protestors on the course, as the race was neutralized.

Once the coloured smoke had cleared, Bettiol continued ahead of his breakmates and the peloton slogged on 7:00 in arrears.

Peloton stopped with 30 km to go.

Bettiol started up the long, gradual climb with a small gap over his chasers. The peloton was so far back that escapee Lennard Kämna was in the virtual yellow jersey. Bettiol received three reinforcements with 11.5 km to go and four more soon after. The Italian EF Education-Easypost rider then attacked again, bringing along Georg Zimmermann, but they would be caught by a growing chase group.

LL Sanchez surged clear with 6 km remaining. Matteo Jorgensen and Schultz lit out to catch him. Schultz reached the Spaniard with 2 km to go. Jorgensen found them 500 metres later. Then Paris-Roubaix champion Dylan van Baarle made it a quartet at the red kite. Van Baarle immediately attacked.

With 500 metres to go eight others joined the fun.

Sanchez led out Schultz, but Cort came alongside the Australian and threw the bike to take the win.

Pogačar was first from the yellow jersey group.

Kämna is now in second place on GC and Sanchez moved into the top-10.

Wednesday is when things get grippy in the Alps. Two HC-rated climbs dominate the second half of 151 km: the Col du Galibier and the Col de Glandon, the latter of which will be a summit finish for the first time since 1986 when Genesis’s “Invisible Touch” was number one on Billboard.


2022 Tour de France, Stage 10
1) Magnus Cort (Denmark/EF Education-Easypost) 3:18:50
2) Nick Schultz (Australia/BikeExchange-Jayco) s.t.
3) LL Sanchez (Spain/Bahrain-Victorious) +0:07

2022 Tour de France GC
1) Tadej Pogačar (Slovenia/UAE-Emirates) 33:43:44
2) Lennard Kämna (Germany/Bora-Hansgrohe) +0:11
3) Jonas Vingegaard (Denmark/Jumbo-Visma) +0:39