Scotland’s Oscar Onley saw his podium dream fade at the Tour de France as Thymen Arensman won the final mountain stage of a punishing race in La Plagne.
A fourth overall crown now looks safe for Tadej Pogacar, who followed Jonas Vingegaard over the line just behind Arensman.
Pogacar has a four-minute 24-second lead over Vingegaard, who took back a couple of bonus seconds but nothing more on this final opportunity to change the standings.
Onley, 22, who is riding on only his second Tour, started the day 22 seconds behind third-placed Florian Lipowitz.
Both men are fighting for the best young rider’s white jersey, but the Scot fell back towards the summit of La Plagne to concede 41 seconds and remains fourth overall.
It was a second stage win of his debut Tour for Arensman, who had scored a much-needed victory for the Ineos Grenadiers on stage 14 on Superbagneres.
Scotland’s Oscar Onley finished fifth in La Plagne after falling away late on
The 22-year-old remains fourth overall having conceded 41 seconds to his rivals
Tadej Pogacar (left) looks set to clinch his fourth Tour de France title in Paris this weekend
UAE Team Emirates-XRG had looked determined to set up Pogacar for what would have been a fifth stage victory of this race on the final climb, but Arensman tried a number of attacks and, when he went clear with 13km of the climb remaining, he opened a gap.
His advantage over Pogacar, Vingegaard, Onley and Lipowitz hovered at around 30 seconds, the sort of margin a fully-fresh Pogacar would be able to close at will.
The fatigue in everyone’s legs told as the anticipated attack from behind never really materialised.
It was only when Onley began to struggle that Lipowitz saw his opportunity to finish him off, moving to the front and upping the pace. Even so, Arensman hung on to win by a couple of seconds.
‘I feel absolutely destroyed,’ said Arensman. ‘I can’t believe it. Already to win one stage in the Tour was unbelievable from a breakaway, but now to do it against the GC group, against the strongest riders in the world, it feels like I’m dreaming.’
The discovery of a contagious disease amongst cattle in the area had forced changes to the route. It was shortened from 129.9 kilometres to 95km, removing two climbs but leaving the main tests of the Col du Pre and the finish to La Plagne, still with 3,250m of climbing packed in.
Primoz Roglic had been immediately on the attack in an all-or-nothing attempt to move up from fifth overall. He was caught before the final climb and quickly moved down the general classification.
With a hilly but not mountainous stage from Nantua to Pontarlier on the menu today before tomorrow’s run into Paris — which this year includes the Montmartre climb — there could still be some changes at the sharp end of the general classification but it’s difficult to see the podium changing.
