Tour de France: Van Aert wins stage seven

Wout Van Aert once again proved his sprinting credentials, as he timed a late dash perfectly to take victory ahead of a pack of riders in a frantic finish to stage seven of the Tour de France on Friday.

The Belgian rider has already made a big impact on this year's Tour, winning stage five for Team Jumbo–Visma. The Dutch team have now been victorious in three of the last four races, with Primoz Roglic claiming stage four on Tuesday.

A number of high-class riders, including Julian Alaphilippe,  Adam Yates and last year's overall winner Egan Bernal were in with a chance as the riders neared the final stretch. But it was Van Aert who held his nerve while renowned sprinter Peter Sagan lost his chain late in the piece and finished out of the points in 13th.

"I’m really proud of this one. Straight from the gun it was hard. It was impressive from [Sagan's team] Bora-Hansgrohe," said Van Aert. 

"They made sure a lot of sprinters were dropped for the final sprint. I was up all the way with Primoz [Roglic]. It was a good day and a good finish, some GC [General Classification] contenders lost time. It would be a shame not to give it a try in a small bunch sprint. I was able to get some slipstream. I didn’t expect [to win] it this morning."

Strong winds were a major factor throughout stage seven but enabled Briton Adam Yates to strengthen his grip on the yellow jersey. His rivals Tadej Pogacar, who started the day in third, Spaniard Mikel Landa and Australian Richie Porte all lost time after crosswinds broke up the pack near the end of the flat 168km run from Millau.

The next stage: Saturday sees the riders hit the Pyrenees for the first time. The 141 kilometer course looks demanding and may favor a downhiller.