ROCAMADOUR, France (Reuters) – Jonas Vingegaard was poised to claim his maiden Tour de France title as the Dane retained his overall lead following the final time trial, a 40.7km solo effort from Lacapelle-Marival on Saturday.
The 25-year-old Jumbo-Visma rider finished second in the 20th stage won by his Belgian team mate Wout van Aert, who clocked a best time of 47 minutes 59 seconds.
Vingegaard, who nearly crashed into rocks after overcooking a turn on a descent, finished 19 seconds behind Van Aert with defending champion Tadej Pogacar taking third place, 27 seconds off the pace.
Overall, Vingegaard leads Pogacar of Slovenia by 3:34 and Britain’s Geraint Thomas by 8:13 ahead of Sunday’s final stage, a largely processional ride from La Defense to the Champs Elysees in Paris.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Ed Osmond)
