After two agonising near misses, Swiss Marc Hirschi has finally claimed his maiden Tour de France win - and his first as a professional - when he completed a solo break to take the 12th stage.
After finishing second in the second stage in Nice and third in the ninth stage in Laruns, after a long solo breakaway in the Pyrenees, the former U23 world champion held off a group of chasers, after a bumpy 218km trek that ended in former French president Jacques Chirac's hometown.
France's Pierre Rolland was second and Hirschi's Sunweb team mate, Soren Kragh Andersen of Denmark, took third place, as Slovenian Primoz Roglic retained the overall leader's yellow jersey.
"It's unbelievable," says Hirschi. "I was twice really close and, actually today, I never believed that I could make it,"
"I went full gas, it's super nice. Actually, I was always doubting, I had the picture in my mind of the last two stages.
"My first victory as a professional, it's incredible. I know I'm strong.
"It just gave me extra power, it was now or never."
The longest stage of this year's Tour was a quiet day for the main contenders, but sparks could fly on Saturday, when the 13th stage takes the peloton to Puy Mary, at the top of the Pas de Peyrol (5.4km at an average gradient of 8.1 percent).
Kiwi George Bennett crossed the line in 72nd and now sits 29th in general classification, more than 40 minutes behind teammate Roglic.
"I think it looks like a really hard stage," says Roglic. "It's going to be a nice challenge and we can expect some battle in the end.
"We need to focus on ourselves and do our job, but in the end, a lot of things can happen."
After a very fast start, six riders - including four-time Tour stage winner Luis Leon Sanchez - formed the early breakaway, but the peloton kept them on a tight leash.
Their run ended when Spain's Marc Soler attacked in the Cote du Pey. The Movistar rider was joined by five riders, including Hirschi and two of his Sunweb teammates.
Soler jumped away in the brutal climb of the Suc au May (3.8km at an average gradient of 7.7 percent), but Hirschi counter-attacked and crested the summit alone. He extended his lead in the descent and never looked back.
Reuters
