Poland’s Rafal Majka (Tinkoff-Saxo) took a superb debut win on the Tour de France as Italy’s Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) strengthened his grip on the yellow jersey in the Alps.
The pack of riders including race leader yellow jersey holder Astana team rider Vincenzo Nibali of Italy cycles on its way during the 197.5km 13th stage
Majka was the only rider of a large breakaway to hold off the habitual charge of Nibali, the 24-year-old Polish climber crossing the summit in Risoul 24 seconds ahead of the increasingly bullish Sicilian.
Frenchmen Jean-Christophe Peraud (Ag2R-La Mondiale), Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) and Romain Bardet (Ag2R) competed the top five on the 177km stage from Grenoble, which featured the gruelling ascents of the Col du Lautaret and the Col d’Izoard ahead of a first ever summit finish in the ski resort of Risoul.
Nibali extended his lead in the overall standings to 4:37 over the Spain’s Alejandro Valverde, who faded on the final climb to concede exactly a minute to the race leader. Movistar’s Valverde will now be looking over his shoulder at youngster Bardet, the white jersey, who trails the Spaniard by just 13 seconds on GC.
