Tadej Pogacar claimed a third stage win as he sprinted away from Jonas Vingegaard in the punishing last climb of a grueling 80.8-mile trek in the Pyrenees on Wednesday but failed to take significant time out of the Tour de France leader.

As so often in this year’s race, the pair were in a class of their own and were left fighting each other in the brutal final kilometer up to Peyragudes airstrip.

In the steep ramp leading to the finish, Pogacar accelerated with about 300 meters left. Vingegaard countered with ease but the two-time defending champ had the final say with a final kick that helped him surge ahead and cross first.

With just one big mountain stage left and an individual time trial before the race reaches Paris on Sunday, Vingegaard looks set for his first Tour de France win.

Pogacar will have one last chance to unsettle the Jumbo-Visma team leader in the mountains during Thursday’s grueling final Pyrenean stage between Lourdes and Hautacam.

After that, his last occasion to turn the race upside down will be Saturday’s time trial.

Pogacar’s hat-trick of stage wins this year took his career tally to nine.

Vingegaard was runner-up last year behind Pogacar. The Danish rider has been impressive since the start in Copenhagen and once again showed no sign of weakness during Wednesday’s tough ride featuring four big climbs.

With the time bonus awarded to the stage winner, Pogacar moved four seconds closer to Vingegaard, who now has an overall lead of 2 minutes, 18 seconds.

Football: Texas A&M WR Ainias Smith was arrested early Wednesday on charges of driving while intoxicated, unlawful carrying of a weapon and possession of less than 2 ounces of marijuana, according to Brazos County (Texas) jail records. Smith, 21, posted $8,000 bond and was released. He has been suspended from the team per athletic department policy following his arrest. Smith is the Aggies’ top returning receiver after grabbing 47 catches for 509 yards and six TDs last season. ... Charles Johnson, a star WR at Colorado and first-round draft pick of the Steelers in 1994, died at age 50. The cause of death wasn’t yet known. He’d been working as the assistant AD at Heritage High School in Wake Forest, N.C. Johnson played five seasons for Steelers. He also spent two seasons with the Eagles, one with the Patriots and one with the Bills.

NHL: Andrej Sekera retired Tuesday after 15 full seasons. The 36-year-old Slovak defenseman played 888 regular-season and playoff games combined for the Sabres, Hurricanes, Kings, Oilers and Stars. He was a key member of the Stars during their run to the Stanley Cup Final in the playoff bubble in 2020.

Soccer: Georgia Stanway scored an extra-time winner to seal a 2-1 comeback win for host England over Spain on Wednesday to send her team to the semifinals of the Women’s European Championship.

Tennis: Four-time Grand Slam champ Naomi Osaka ended her three-year partnership with coach Wim Fissette. Osaka, 24, won two of her Slam titles while working with Fissette.