Ion Izagirre emerged victorious from the gripping Tour de France stage in the middle of the mountain, which began with a flurry of attack that ended on Thursday.

The Cofidis driver announced his second career Tour stage win on stage 12.

The 169km stage took riders through the Beaujolais vineyards with two major climbs in the second half. The first two hours of the race, the first 25 kilometers, passed several dozen riders crashing and furious.

On the final ascent, the brutal ascent of the 5.3km Col de la Croix Rosier, Izagirre was attacked by a group of strong and experienced breakaway riders. Stuck in an aerodynamic position, the Basque rider took all the risks downhill and then used his powerful time trial skills to thwart his opponents’ chase after a massive 31km solo effort.

“It’s unbelievable. I tried to escape throughout the tour so far and it didn’t work, but today yes,” he said. “I was relying on my strength in my sight and that would play in my favor.

It was also the second stage win for a Basque driver after Pello Bilbao won Stage 10.

“This is a Basque Tour de France. “It started at home for us and we got two stage wins,” said Izagirre, referring to the Tour that started in Bilbao, Spain this year.

Ion Izagirre of Spain celebrates the twelfth stage of the Tour de France cycling race, starting from Roanne as he crosses the finish line.

Mathieu Burgaudeau finished the stage second and Matteo Jorgenson finished the podium.

Izagirre’s previous Tour win was in the Alps town of Morzine in 2016. He also won stages in the Giro d’Italia and the Spanish Vuelta.

There was no significant change in the overall classification. Jonas Vingegaard held the 17-second lead over two-time champion Tadej Pogacar after their opponents held together for the day. Jai Hindley was third, trailing 2 minutes 40 seconds.

The fight for the yellow jersey is expected to resume on Friday at the ascent of the Grand Colombier, a giant climb that completed stage 13 in the Jura.

After a high-speed crash involving David De La Cruz and Quentin Pacher split the peloton in two, it took a long time for a break to form on a route with constant ups and downs. The Spanish driver left the team, joining teammates Luis Leon Sanchez and Mark Cavendish from Astana-Kazakhstan.

Pogacar and Vingegaard took the lead and were among the most attacking of the leading group, along with the fiery Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert.

Dylan Teuns and Tiesj Benoot finally cleared after 65 kilometers as the lead group entered the Beaujolais wine region. The pace did not slow down and the riders scattered everywhere.

A dozen opponents joined the Belgian double, and the attackers finally managed to open a good gap. The breakup included one-day classical experts, which gave him a great chance to succeed.

The 15 men cooperated well and quickly brought a two-minute lead over the yellow jersey group, who were happy to let them go after a tough two-hour bike race.

The fight for the stage win began downhill from the Col de la Casse Froide, where Van der Poel and Andrey Amador went on their own. Amador then tried to take down Van der Poel, but the Dutch driver objected and went on his own.

Van der Poel topped the Col de la Croix Montmain first and pressed hard on the technical descent to get ahead of the Col de la Croix Rosier. He failed to extend his effort on the climb and was caught 32 kilometers before Izagirre made his decisive move.