Defending champion Jonas Vingegaard pulled ahead with only 30 kilometers remaining to overtake leader Tadej Pogacar for the victory in the 11th stage of the Tour de France on Wednesday.

The Danish cyclist, 27, was coming back from crash-related injuries that left him unable to ride for three months leading up to the Tour. Vingegaard, who won the Tour in 2022 and 2023, fractured his collarbone, shoulder blade and several ribs as well as a punctured lung in the April accident.

“It’s, of course, very emotional for me,” Vingegaard told reporters after the stage to Le Lioran in France’s Massif Central region. “Coming back from the crash, it means a lot, and all the things I went through in the last three months, it makes you think of that. I would never have been able to do this without my family.”

“Now, sitting here with a stage win in the biggest race in the world, it’s incredible,” Vingegaard said.

UAE Team Emirates’ Pogacar, who has won the title twice, still leads overall, now with a lead of one minute and six seconds over Belgian Remco Evenepoel, who finished third in Stage 11. Vingegaard is eight seconds further back in the general classification.

–Field Level Media