Tour de France Stage 10 recap - Ben Healy takes yellow from Tadej Pogacar as Simon Yates wins tough stage on Bastille Day

The reigning Giro d’Italia champion Simon Yates (Visma-Lease a Bike) soared to the third Tour de France stage win of his career – and first in six years – with victory atop the Puy de Sancy on Bastille Day as Ireland’s Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) took over the race lead from Tadej Pogacar.

Just days after his Stage 6 win in Normandie, Healy became only the fourth Irishman in history to don the fabled maillot jaune after battling to a superb third place from the day’s breakaway.

While his Visma-Lease a Bike team-mates further down the mountain tried their best to put Pogacar under pressure, Yates held off the Dutchman Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers) to add another notch in an already brilliant season – just weeks after his Giro heroics.

Defending champion Pogacar responded to a series of attacks and accelerations from Visma’s American duo Sepp Kuss and Matteo Jorgenson by putting in a big one of his own on the eighth and last categorised climb of a relentlessly undulating 165km stage through the Massif Central.

The Slovenian’s big rival Jonas Vingegaard was the only of the GC favourites capable of following Pogacar, although the duo eased up towards the finish – a reprieve to Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step), who only lost a handful of seconds.

Healy now leads Pogacar in the standings by 29 seconds, with Evenepoel a further minute back in third. Visma duo Vingegaard and Jorgenson rise into the top five at the expense of Kevin Vauquelin (Arkea-B&B Hotels) , who drops to sixth at 2:26.

French fans had little to cheer on their national holiday of Quartorze Juillet – although pint-sized climber Lenny Martinez (Bahrain-Victorious) took over control in the polka dot jersey standings to ensure a French presence during the podium celebrations.

Martinez led the breakaway over the first five climbs of the day before finishing the stage as the best-place Frenchman in eighth – just ahead of Pogacar and Vingegaard.

It’s all change at the top as we witness Ireland’s fourth ever yellow jersey…

Elsewhere, Evenepoel loses a few seconds, Vingegaard and Jorgenson jump above Vauquelin, while Van der Poel disappears from the reckoning, ditto Mattias Skjelmose.

1. Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost)
2. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) +29
3. Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) +1:29
4. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) +1:46
5. Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) +2:06
6. Kevin Vauquelin (Arkea-B&B Hotels) +2:26
7. Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL) +3:34
8. Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe) +3:34
9. Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe) +3:41
10. Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) +5:03

1. Simon Yates (Visma-Lease a Bike)
2. Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers) +09
3. Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) +31
4. Ben O’Connor (Jayco-AlUla) +49
5. Michael Storer (Tudor Pro Cycling) +1:23
6. Joe Blackmore (Israel-Premier Tech) +3:57
7. Anders Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) +4:38
8. Lenny Martinez (Bahrain-Victorious) +4:51
9. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) "
10. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) "

I didn’t feel like it out there – it was a real hard start and a lot of strong guys. I only got into the breakaway because I looked to take advantage on the first descent to get a little bit ahead.

I was not really expecting any opportunities here. We came here fully focussed on Jonas in the GC. But the stage played out in the way that I could be there in the end for the stage – and I took it with both hands.

It’s not easy. I’m still a little tired [from the Giro]. But I’ve actually been getting a bit better every day since I’ve been here. I was a bit rusty at the start – the first stages were quite demanding – but I’m growing into it and I’m looking forward to the rest day.

The EF Education-EasyPost rider missed out on the stage win but he has become the fourth Irishman in history to take the Tour’s yellow jersey. Pogacar and Vingegaard dropped tools there and coasted to the line – with Lipowitz and Jorgenson practically dragging the others back onto their wheel, with Evenepoel in the end only losing a handful of seconds.

He will lose the white jersey to Healy tonight, but will the Irishman be in yellow? I think he can do it, even if Lenny Martinez is pulling for Pogacar and Vingegaard…

Is that going to end Healy’s yellow dream? The Slovenian responds to all these attacks by putting in one of his own – and only his big rival Vingegaard can follow.

The Belgian makes the first move and Oscar Onley responds. Not much happens for a whole before they’re reeled in by the likes of Roglic and the Visma train.

It’s a third Tour de France stage win for Simon Yates – and a first in six years for the man from Bury. Thymen Arensman takes second place and Ben Healy will be third. But is it enough for yellow?

Arensman hasn’t given up but it looks like Simon Yates is going to pick up a third career stage win on the Tour de France, weeks after he won the Tour. Healy, meanwhile, has dropped O’Connor, while further back it’s… Carlos Rodriguez of Ineos Grenadiers who is on the front of the GC group.

They’re 20 seconds behind Yates, who has five seconds on Arensman. Nail-biting finale!

The main contenders, meanwhile, have just started the final climb. Campenaerts is burying himself on the front – can Visma get a second win in the GC battle today?

The Australian hits the wall and now it’s Arensman who is chasing Yates on the front of the race, with Healy in his own battle to secure the yellow jersey behind.

The Belgian, who was in the break, is now pacing Vingegaard and Jorgenson to the foot of the final climb – perfect timing, but they are unlikely to do damage to Pogacar today. Still, Visma could get something from this with Simon Yates pushing for the win.

O’Connor joins Yates on the front, with Arensman chasing behind ahead of Healy and Storer, who are feeling the pinch.

It’s first blood to the Giro champion as the leaders start the final climb, the Cat.2 Puy de Sancy, which is 3.3km long at 8%. Ben Healy leads the chase behind, with the yellow jersey group still 5’20" in arrears.

The American accelerates once again as the yellow jersey group approaches the summit – this thins down the group, but proves no difficulty for the yellow jersey. That said, Pogacar no longer has any UAE team-mates and so it’s isolated for the first time in this Tour. Not that this will be a problem so close to the finish.

Kuss, Jorgenson and Vingegaard lead this yellow jersey group, with Pogacar happy to follow in the Dane’s back wheel. The triple champion has been put under no real pressure today despite the attacks and accelerations from Visma.

Another five points for Ben Healy over the top of the penultimate climb ahead of Arensman, Storer, Yates and O’Connor. You know what, Healy won’t be far behind Lenny Martinez’s KOM lead tonight, either.

And it’s that man Matteo Jorgenson for Visma, again. Pogacar reacts fastest and puts out the fire – but many riders are off the back, including Mattias Skjelmose. Red Bull duo Lipowitz and Roglic are still here, ditto Mas, Gall, Evenepoel, Narvaez, Adam Yates, Vauquelin and half a dozen others.

This relentless pull from Healy has seen the gap back to the yellow and white jersey group grow to six minutes – so the Irishman could have both those jerseys in his control even if he doesn’t win a second stage on the Puy de Sancy.