On the morning of the fifth and last day of the Tour of Denmark disputed between Give and Vejle, Christophe Laporte faced a very simple equation: tied with Magnus Sheffield in the standings, he absolutely had to get ahead of the American to win.
The Frenchman from Jumbo-Visma fulfilled his mission brilliantly, since he won the stage in the sprint, this Saturday, pocketing the necessary bonuses to afford the general classification.
🏅🇬🇧Christophe Laporte (Jumbo-Visma) won the Ultima Etapa del Tour de Dinamarca 2022 y se 🏆Proclama Campeón de la Carrera 🇩🇰 #PNDKR22 #Ciclismo #Noticiclismo pic.twitter.com/RjOMqkxx9w
— NotiCiclismo ▶ #LaVuelta22 (@Noticiclismo1) August 20, 2022
Cut for punchers-sprinters in his style, the course of this last day perfectly smiled on Laporte.
The only tricolor stage winner of the last Tour de France found himself in a leading trio in the final package, with Mattias Skjelmose Jensen (Trek Segafredo) and Sheffield, his main rival.
Two opponents that he perfectly overflowed on the right of the road, in force in the last meters, to raise his arms.
Bernal has made his comeback
This is the third stage race won by Christophe Laporte since the start of his career, the first outside French borders, after the Étoile de Bessèges and the Tour Poitou-Charentes in 2019. A victory that rewards his regularity this week, since he had finished on the podium of the second and third stages, a little earlier.
He will continue this Sunday with the BEMER Cyclassics, where he will serve as a teammate for Wout Van Aert, in recovery after the Tour de France.
The Tour of Denmark also marked the return to competition of Egan Bernal, who was taking part in his first race of the year.
The Colombian did not see the finish line of the last stage, which he abandoned along the way, after taking care to greet the public.
But the main thing was elsewhere for the winner of the 2019 Tour: seriously fallen in training on January 24, in an accident which almost cost him his life, he was able to ride for four days without incident in the peloton.