But the Briton could not cope with Pogacar’s acceleration and when Matthews overtook Pidcock, the Slovene had flown.
So BikeExchange didn’t get a second Tour win after Dutchman Dylan Groeneveld’s sprint victory in the third stage.
Michael Matthews after not achieving the first stage victory of the Tour de France in five years. Credit: Getty
Pogacar’s victory in the longest stage – the seventh of his career – has put him in pole position to win a third consecutive Tour, as he now leads the overall standings with four seconds behind American driver Neilson Powless until all before it touches its favorite mountainous terrain.
“Every time I win it’s even better,” Pogacar said.
Their victory came after one of the other superstars in the race, Wout van Aert, made a heroic solo bet to keep his yellow jersey on as the group crossed Belgium and northern France.
He went with the breakaway, but his bold attempt ended with 11 kilometers to go and he vanished, losing seven minutes on the bumpy finish.
Van Aert will now focus on helping Jumbo-Visma teammate Jonas Vingegaard, who appears to be the main threat to Pogacar, who currently ranks third at 31 seconds.
The Ineos Grenadiers trio of Adam Yates, Pidcock and Geraint Thomas are also well placed in fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively, all 46 seconds behind Pogacar.
The first summit will arrive on Friday at La Planche des Belles Filles, where Pogacar is expected to try to demonstrate his global supremacy.
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Tour of Australia’s hopes were seriously dashed after Wednesday’s brutal stage at Arenberg as Jack Haig had to give up after crashing into a hay bale and leading overall leader Ben O’Connor had a mechanic.
Citroën AG2R leader O’Connor regained a few places in 59th place on stage to take over as Australian leader on Thursday, but is still seven minutes below the overall standings in 52nd place. .
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