Skujiņš and Neilands Finish Far Behind Winner in Tour de France Stage
Latvian cyclists Toms Skujiņš and Krists Neilands placed 66th and 130th respectively in Stage 9 of the Tour de France in the Pyrenees, losing over 31 and 42 minutes to winner Tadej Pogačar.
Stage 9 of the Tour de France on Saturday took riders 186.2 kilometers through the Pyrenees, featuring five climbs including a hors catégorie ascent and a final climb at the finish line.
Four-time Tour winner Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) launched a solo attack about 43 kilometers from the finish on the hors catégorie climb. He finished in 4 hours 32 minutes and 7 seconds. His main rival, Jonas Vingegaard (Visma/Lease a Bike), lost 2 minutes 38 seconds.
A group of six riders finished 19 seconds later, led by Pogačar's teammate Isaac del Toro (Mexico), with Skujiņš's teammates Juan Ayuso (Spain) and Mattias Skjelmose (Denmark) also in the group. Previous race leader Torstein Træen (Uno-X Mobility) dropped back on the toughest climb and later crashed during a descent.
Toms Skujiņš was in a group that lost 31 minutes 25 seconds, finishing 66th. Krists Neilands (NSN) lost 42 minutes 8 seconds, placing 130th. None of Neilands' teammates finished in the top 100.
In the general classification, Pogačar leads Vingegaard by 2 minutes 42 seconds, with del Toro 3 minutes 27 seconds behind. Skujiņš is 65th and Neilands 118th, both over an hour off the pace.
Skujiņš is competing in his eighth Tour de France, Neilands in his sixth. Neilands' best result is 4th in a 2023 stage, while Skujiņš finished 2nd in a 2020 stage. This is the 113th edition, concluding on July 26 on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. Last year Pogačar won, with the Latvians placing 88th and 95th.
