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Carapaz eyes polkadot mountains jersey after stage win / Photo: Jeff PACHOUD - AFP
Carapaz eyes polkadot mountains jersey after stage win
Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz said he would now target the King of the Mountains polkadot jersey after claiming victory on the 18th stage of the Tour de France on Thursday.
Carapaz surged clear of his five breakaway companions with just over three kilometres remaining in the 185.2km stage from Voiron to Orcieres-Merlette in the Alps.
The points he gained on the line saw him move to just seven behind overall race leader Tadej Pogacar in the King of the Mountains competition.
Two years ago, the 33-year-old won both a stage and the mountains jersey.
Now, he wants to emulate that feat, although he admitted it would be a tough ask with two brutal mountain stages finishing atop the iconic Alpe d'Huez climb to come.
"I knew that today was a good stage for a breakaway but the coming two days will be decisive for the GC (general classification) and will be more of a UAE stage," he said in reference to Pogacar's powerful team.
"To win at Alpe d'Huez would be mythical -- many riders want to win there.
"At the start in Barcelona, I said that the GC was not important to me and I lost a lot of time.
"In the end, I'm in the top 10 and I deserve it.
"We came to the Tour to win a stage and the polkadot jersey.
"There are a lot of points coming up in the next couple of days.
"We'll try, and we'll see if I have the legs."
One rider is even closer to Pogacar in the polkadot competition -- Frenchman Valentin Paret-Peintre is just one point behind the Slovenian.
He picked up a lot of points during Thursday's stage and would have taken the jersey had he finished in the top three -- he came home in fourth.
"I'm not really disappointed. I suffered so much today, it really was very difficult," said Paret-Peintre.
"I was dead, I was empty," he added.
"We were all on our limits and I finished where I deserved to."
Pogacar seemed like he was rooting for Paret-Peintre to take the jersey when he spoke at the finish, even encouraging the Frenchman to keep fighting for it.
"Obviously we are very close with Valentin, he took very good points today," said the reigning champion.
"In Alps days it's a lot of points -- Croix de Fer, Galibier, Telegraphe, it's a lot of points.
"I think Valentin has to fight both days, take maximum points he can and then we'll see who will take the polka home.
"But, it's not my priority. It's a nice, tight fight for the viewers."
L.Bautista--HdM
