Ben Healy into yellow at Tour de France as Simon Yates wins on Bastille Day, Tadej Pogacar shows strength behind

Toulouse [France], July 16 (ANI): The reigning Giro d'Italia champion Simon Yates (Visma-Lease a Bike) soared to the third Tour de France stage win of his career - and first in six years - with victory atop the Puy de Sancy on Bastille Day as Ireland's Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) took over the race lead from Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG).
Just days after his Stage 6 win in Normandie, Healy became only the fourth Irishman in history to don the fabled maillot jaune after battling to a superb third place from the day's breakaway.
While his Visma team-mates further down the mountain tried their best to put Pogacar under pressure, Yates held off the Dutchman Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers) to add another notch to an already brilliant season, just weeks after his Giro heroics.
Defending champion Pogacar responded to a series of attacks and accelerations from Visma's American duo Sepp Kuss and Matteo Jorgenson by putting in a big one of his own on the eighth and last categorised climb of a relentlessly undulating 165km stage through the Massif Central.
The Slovenian's big rival Jonas Vingegaard (Visma) was the only one of the GC favourites capable of following Pogacar, although the duo eased up towards the finish - a reprieve to Belgium's Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step), who only lost a handful of seconds.
Healy now leads Pogacar in the standings by 29 seconds, with Evenepoel a further minute back in third. Visma duo Vingegaard and Jorgenson rise into the top five at the expense of Kevin Vauquelin (Arkea-B&B Hotels), who drops to sixth at 2'26''.
French fans had little to cheer on their national holiday of Quatorze Juillet - although pint-sized climber Lenny Martinez (Bahrain-Victorious) took over control in the polka dot jersey standings to ensure a French presence during the podium celebrations.
Martinez led the breakaway over the first five climbs of the day before finishing the stage as the best-placed Frenchman in eighth, just ahead of Pogacar and Vingegaard.
It was another Frenchman, Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor Pro Cycling), who looked to give the roadside fans something to celebrate with an early attack going onto the day's first climb.
If the lumpy terrain was ideally suited to Alaphilippe in his heyday, the veteran swashbuckler was one of the first of the day's 29-man move to feel the pinch as the succession of hills took their toll on weary legs eager for the rest day.
With no fewer than three EF Education-EasyPost teammates in support in Harrison Sweeny, Alex Baudin and Nielson Powless, Healy always looked like the favourite to take the stage spoils. And it was indeed the 24-year-old who put in one of his trademark attacks with 45km to go - a move which was swiftly closed down by the likes of Ben O'Connor (Jayco-AlUla) and Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek).
O'Connor had already helped to whittle down the breakaway after an early acceleration just over 100km from the finish, coaxing a select group of chasers to reel him in while spitting out the deadwood.
The major turning point proved to be the sixth climb, the Col de la Croix Morand - the first where Martinez failed to lead the break over in pole position. Here, Healy took the spoils, buoyed by the news that he was riding into yellow.
Trailing Pogacar by 3'55'' going into the stage, Healy formed a select leading group with Australians O'Connor and Michael Storer (Tudor Pro Cycling), the US champion Simmons, Dutch debutant Arensman and the double Grand Tour champion Yates ahead of the penultimate climb. The in-form Simmons enjoyed a brief foray off the front but was pegged back as the break's lead grew to six minutes.
As if in response to the accelerations behind in the GC group, Healy put in a sustained pull on the Col de la Croix Saint-Robert. Simmons was the first to fade with 15km to go before Healy pocketed the points that would put him in second place behind Martinez in the polka dot jersey standings.
On the final climb, the short but challenging Puy de Sancy, Yates, who had kept a low profile till this point, while enjoying the support of his Belgian team-mate Victor Campenaerts, rode clear. O'Connor briefly kept up but soon dropped back, with Arensman the only rider within striking distance.
Yates took the win by nine seconds over the Dutchman, with Healy battling back to finish third at 31 seconds. Australians O'Connor and Storer completed the top five ahead of impressive debutant Joe Blackmore (Israel-Premier Tech) and the Norwegian Anders Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility).
"I was not really expecting any opportunities here," Yates said after his win. "We came here fully focused on Jonas [Vingegaard] in the GC. But the stage played out in the way that I could be there in the end for the stage - and I took it with both hands."
Asked how he was coping with the demands of the Tour so soon after winning the Giro, the 32-year-old said: "It's not easy. I'm still a little tired [from the Giro]. But I've actually been getting a bit better every day since I've been here. I was a bit rusty at the start - the first stages were quite demanding - but I'm growing into it and I'm looking forward to the rest day."
While Yates pushed for the win, his Visma teammates were doing their best to put Pogacar under pressure. Jorgenson and Kuss took turns to attack on the penultimate climb before Campenaerts, coming back from the break, set a hefty tempo going onto the final climb, where Jorgenson struck again.
But each move was easily covered by Pogacar, despite the Slovenian being forced to ride without any UAE teammates for the final 15km. Belgium's Evenepoel attempted to throw the dice inside the final few kilometres, but it was Pogacar who had the final say, the yellow jersey powering clear of his rivals and taking only Vingegaard with him.
The duo caught Martinez on the approach to the finish, easing up towards the line, coming home just three seconds clear of a chase group being led by the German Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe). Evenepoel was a further two seconds back.
Healy enters the first rest day with the lead in both the yellow and white jersey standings, while Italy's Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) - who finished in the gruppetto almost 37 minutes in arrears - retains the green jersey.

The 112th edition of the Tour resumes on Wednesday with the Classics-style Stage 11, a 157km circuit around Toulouse that includes a few short climbs before the finish. The focus will then return to the battle for yellow with the first major summit finish of the race in Stage 12 to Hautacam on Thursday.
With two stage wins already in his back pocket - and the tactical relinquishing of the yellow jersey relieving him of any rest day duties - Pogacar is sitting pretty to snare a fourth Tour triumph in Paris in just under two weeks' time.
Action from the Tour de France 2025 continues on Eurosport. Catch all the cyclists in action during Stage 11: Toulouse - Toulouse, live from 19:30 hrs (7:30 PM IST) onwards on Wednesday. (ANI)