Waerenskjold takes maiden win in fastest-ever stage

Soren Waerenskjold caught the large guns by astonishment with a long-range sprint to triumph the fastest-ever signifier of the Tour de France.

Racing successful his 4th Tour, the 26-year-old Norwegian claimed his archetypal signifier triumph and conscionable the 2nd for his team, Uno-X Mobility.

Overall contention person Tadej Pogacar remains 3 minutes and 36 seconds up of Jonas Vingegaard successful the wide classification standings.

The peloton completed signifier 11 astatine an mean velocity of 50.9km per hour, beating the erstwhile grounds of 50.3kph from 1999.

A sprint decorativeness was expected connected Wednesday, a level 161.3km way from Vichy to Nevers, and Cees Bol made the archetypal determination arsenic the peloton rolled into the last 500m aft catching the day's breakaway.

But team-mate Olav Kooij did not travel and arsenic the riders hesitated, Waerenskjold sneaked done a spread beside the barriers to motorboat a counter-attack with 400m remaining.

He charged past Bol, earlier Kooij and Jasper Philipsen acceptable disconnected successful pursuit, but they had near themselves excessively overmuch to bash arsenic Waerenskjold won by astir a bike's magnitude from Kooij.

Philipsen crossed the enactment 3rd but was relegated for moving successful the sprint, with Milan Fretin promoted to the podium.

Waerenskjold, who was 2nd to Tim Merlier connected signifier seven, said: "I saw Cees Bol had a spread and I tried to sprint up to him and clasp a small spot backmost to spell from his wheel.

"Then I saw determination were 250 to go. I was conscionable waiting for the aforesaid happening to hap erstwhile Merlier passed me, but it didn't hap this time.

"It means everything, it's my biggest triumph truthful far. There are 2 oregon 3 guys present who are faster, but if I'm fortunate and person a bully sprint similar contiguous past it's possible.

"I conscionable person to fto it descend successful and past I volition astir apt beryllium much blessed than I look now, but it's a large astonishment for myself."