Tour de France 2020: Sunweb’s Marc Hirschi wins his first Tour stage

Switzerland’s Marc Hirschi took stage 12 of the Tour de France for his first-ever stage win.

The Swiss rider, in his first Grand Tour, had led for more than 80km on Sunday’s ninth stage before being caught 1.5km from the end and finishing third.

Slovenia’s Primoz Roglic maintained his overall lead.

He finished 24th, two minutes and 30 seconds behind Hirschi, while Egal Bernal, second in the general classification, came 25th in the same time as Roglic, who keeps a 21-second overall advantage.

Hirschi, who also finished on the podium at the second stage, finished 47 seconds clear of France’s Pierre Rolland for the B&B Hotels-Vital Concept team.

He said: “It’s unbelievable. Two times I was really close so I never believed I could make it. I can’t describe it. It’s hard to find the words.

“I had the picture in my mind from the last two stages when I was close. Then in the last three kilometres, I believed I could make it. It’s my first pro victory and it’s in the Tour so it couldn’t be better.

“It’s like a dream and it feels incredible.”

Friday’s 13th stage is over 191.5km from Chatel-Guyon to Puy Mary.

More to follow.