Tour de France victory on stage 10
27-year-old Nick Schultz went agonisingly close to claiming an astonishing stage win in his debut appearance at the Tour de France today, as stage 10 came down to a head-to-head bike throw for victory, with Schultz taking a career best result, with a super second place.
The Australian made it into the main break of the day alongside Team BikeExchange-Jayco teammate Jack Bauer and almost walked away with the win after a fierce uphill sprint for the line in Megève.
It was a blistering start, as racing resumed after the rest day, and it wasn’t until after 70km of action when a group of 25 riders finally went clear and opened up a gap over the peloton of more than seven minutes.
Despite several attacks and a brief neutralisation, the stage came down to a fight between the breakaway riders on the final category two climb up to the finish. A number of riders launched moves on the lower slopes, but Schultz remained calm, biding his time before jumping across to a strong 10 rider move with 7km to go.
Veteran Luis Leon Sanchez then went clear and opened up a significant gap as the summit approached, but the Spaniard was reeled in by a charging Schultz. As the pace slowed, the front group grew to four, with the remains of the breakaway also closing in as they passed under the Flamme Rouge.
Schultz once again stayed patient before launching his sprint for the line with 250 metres to go. The Brisbane born rider powered away from the group, with only Magnus Cort able to follow his wheel and the stage came down to a photo finish.
It was a nervous wait for the final result but despite missing out the victory by the narrowest of margins, Schultz and Team BikeExchange-Jayco end the day full of pride and confidence, with more opportunities to come.
Nick Schultz – 2nd place
“I am really happy with second, but to be honest I am also really upset; it is not like every day you get to try and win a stage of the Tour de France. I will keep trying and see where we get to.
It was a hard day, to be honest I actually had really bad legs today after the rest day, at the start. Luckily I had the boys trying to help me get in the breakaway, I just had to bite the bullet and try to get in there. I was almost worried once I got in there, like oh no I don’t feel very good, so I really had to gamble, but thankfully I had Jack Bauer with me, he did an amazing job keeping the breakaway together and pulling.
I just had to sit tight and try and find the good legs again and it was just a matter of trying to do my best on the final climb. I tried to play poker, but I’ve never really been in that position before to contest a Tour de France stage win. It was almost perfect, but we know Magnus Cort, he has won stages in Grand Tours before, and he was just the better man.”
Matt White – Head Sport Director
“It’s been a pretty turbulent day for the boys today, obviously losing a teammate with Durbridge going positive with Covid. But the boys focussed on today’s stage and we knew it was a stage that suited Schultz to get into the breakaway. Nick had some great help there in the breakaway from Jack Bauer to keep that break moving, and give him every chance to do his thing in the final.
Nick rode a very calculated final and was just pipped on the line by Magnus Cort, so hats off to Magnus, but what an incredible ride from Schultz in his first ever Tour de France.”
2022 Tour de France Stage 10 – Results:
- Magnus Cort 3:18:50
- Nick Schultz (Team BikeExchange-Jayco) ST
- Luis Leon Sanchez +0:07
