NEVERS, France — Soeren Waerenskjold attacked late and powered to victory in the fastest stage in Tour de France history Wednesday, while Tadej Pogacar protected his overall lead on the 11th day of competition in the 113th edition of cycling’s most prestigious race.
Waerenskjold, a 26-year-old Norwegian who rides for Uno-X Mobility, finished just ahead of Olav Kooij of the Netherlands, Jasper Philipsen of Belgium and a host of others in a sprint finish that seemed inevitable on the relatively short and flat 100.2-mile route from Vichy to Nevers in central France.
Pogacar, the 27-year-old Slovenian who rides for UAE Team Emirates XRG, stretched his lead to more than 3 1/2 minutes with his third stage win of this Tour de France a day earlier. He finished Wednesday’s stage among a bunch of riders that included his main challenger, Jonas Vingegaard of Team Visma-Lease a Bike, to maintain his advantage as he seeks a third straight victory in the Tour de France and his fifth overall.
For the 26-year-old Waerenskjold, it was his first stage win, and no one seemed more surprised by it than he did.
“It means everything,” he said. “It’s my biggest win so far, and like I said when I came here, I knew that there are two or three guys that are faster than me, but if I’m lucky and I have a good sprint like today, then it’s possible.”