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Pogacar further cements dominance with stage win after Tour rocked by doping raid

Slovenian rider takes another stage win, as Team Bahrain Victorious's hotel and bus hit by French cops

TADEJ POGACAR won the final mountain stage of the Tour de France today to further cement his firm grip on the race.

The UAE Team Emirates rider’s dominant win on stage 18 — a short trek in the Pyrenees featuring a daunting combination of the Col du Tourmalet and the final sharp climb to the Luz-Ardiden ski resort — came after the Tour was rocked by a raid on Team Bahrain Victorious as part of a doping investigation.

The team issued a statement this morning acknowledging that French police had searched their hotel and team bus the night prior, with officers requesting copies of training files.

The Marseille prosecutor’s office said the raid was part of a preliminary investigation launched on July 3 into the possible “acquisition, transportation, possession and importing of a prohibited substance.”

The team’s technical director Vladimir Miholjevic said riders had complied with all the officers’ requests.

“We are committed to [the] highest level of professionalism and adherence to all regulatory requirements and will always be co-operating in a professional manner,” he said in a statement.

Now with an advantage of five minutes and 45 seconds from Jonas Vingegaard and with only one flat stage and a time trial to negotiate before Paris, Pogacar — still only 22 — looks all but certain to defend his overall title.

The stage win, his third of the Tour and second in as many days as he once again raced away from Jonas Vingegaard and Richard Carapaz in the final ascent, moved him to the top of the king of the mountains classification.

It means he could arrive into Paris as the owner of three of the four race jerseys — overall yellow, the climber’s polka dots, and the best young rider’s white — for a second year in a row.

“It’s unbelievable,” Pogacar said. “After [Wednesday] I felt really good, and I’m really happy with the win. It’s crazy.

“There’s still three days to go so you never know, but it looks good.”

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