LE MONT-DORE, France (AP) — British rider Simon Yates won the first mountainous stage of the Tour de France on Monday and Irish rider Ben Healy was consoled by taking the yellow jersey.
Healy was nominated the most combative rider of the day after forcing the initiative on the 10th stage, but Yates - who won the Giro d’Italia last month – timed his break perfectly on the final climb to win a stage for the third time.
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Stage winner Britain's Simon Yates climbs breakaway during the tenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 165.3 kilometers (102.7 miles) with start in Ennezat and finish in Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy, France, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Quinn Simmons of the U.S., center, and Ireland's Ben Healy ride in the breakaway during the tenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 165.3 kilometers (102.7 miles) with start in Ennezat and finish in Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy, France, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Ireland's Ben Healy leads the breakaway with Netherlands' Thymen Arensman, Australia's Ben O'Connor, Australia's Michael Storer, and Britain's Simon Yates, from right to left, during the tenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 165.3 kilometers (102.7 miles) with start in Ennezat and finish in Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy, France, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, and teammate Britain's Adam Yates ride on the Charade Circuit during the tenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 165.3 kilometers (102.7 miles) with start in Ennezat and finish in Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy, France, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Britain's Simon Yates crosses the finish line to win the the tenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 165.3 kilometers (102.7 miles) with start in Ennezat and finish in Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy, France, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
“It’s been a long time, but actually I also was not really expecting any opportunities here,” said Yates, a teammate of two-time Tour champion Jonas Vingegaard. “We came here fully focused on Jonas and the GC (general classification), so the stage played out in a way that I could be there for the stage. I took it with both hands.”
Dutch rider Thymen Arensman was 9 seconds behind, while Healy finished third, 31 seconds behind Yates.
Three-time Tour champion Tadej Pogačar finished farther back alongside main rival Vingegaard and French rider Lenny Martinez with a gap of 4 minutes, 51 seconds.
It meant Healy, who claimed his first stage victory on Thursday, took the overall lead, 29 seconds ahead of Pogačar.
“It’s a fairy tale,” said Healy, the fourth Irish rider to wear the yellow jersey.
Remco Evenepoel was third in the general ranking, 1:29 behind, and Vingegaard 1:46 behind in fourth.
“I’m still behind and I have to take time at one point,” said Vingegaard, who remained positive that Pogačar wasn't too far ahead.
“So far I’ve been able to follow all his attacks which I couldn’t do in (Critérium du) Dauphiné," Vingegaard said, referring to the traditional Tour curtain-raiser. “I think that that shows that I have a better level now than I had in Dauphiné.”
Stage 10 took the riders on an arduous 165.3-kilometer route in the Massif Central — France’s south-central highland region — from Ennezat through seven category two climbs. It finished on the ascent of Puy de Sancy — the region’s highest peak — after 3.3 kilometers of an 8% gradient climb.
French rider Julian Alaphilippe lived up to expectations with the first break on France’s national day, Bastille Day, carving out a 10-second lead before he was caught on the first climb up Côte de Loubeyrat.
Norwegian rider Søren Wærenskjold had to withdraw early as the tough start proved too much after his crash the day before.
German rider Georg Zimmermann withdrew before the start following his crash on Sunday. His team, Intermarché-Wanty, said he “developed signs of a concussion during the night.”
Dutch sprinter Marijn van den Berg also retired due to injuries from his crash on Stage 1, EF Education-Easypost said.
The riders can look forward to their first rest day on Tuesday.
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Stage winner Britain's Simon Yates climbs breakaway during the tenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 165.3 kilometers (102.7 miles) with start in Ennezat and finish in Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy, France, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Quinn Simmons of the U.S., center, and Ireland's Ben Healy ride in the breakaway during the tenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 165.3 kilometers (102.7 miles) with start in Ennezat and finish in Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy, France, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Ireland's Ben Healy leads the breakaway with Netherlands' Thymen Arensman, Australia's Ben O'Connor, Australia's Michael Storer, and Britain's Simon Yates, from right to left, during the tenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 165.3 kilometers (102.7 miles) with start in Ennezat and finish in Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy, France, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, and teammate Britain's Adam Yates ride on the Charade Circuit during the tenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 165.3 kilometers (102.7 miles) with start in Ennezat and finish in Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy, France, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Britain's Simon Yates crosses the finish line to win the the tenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 165.3 kilometers (102.7 miles) with start in Ennezat and finish in Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy, France, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday voiced confidence of victory in Ukraine as he oversaw a military parade on Red Square commemorating the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II — a show that didn't include heavy weapons for the first time in nearly two decades.
Security was tight in Moscow as Putin and several foreign leaders attended the parade, which was scaled down even as a U.S.-brokered three-day ceasefire eased concerns about possible Ukrainian attempts to disrupt the festivities.
Putin, in power for more than a quarter-century, has used Victory Day, Russia’s most important secular holiday, to showcase the country’s military might and rally support for his military action in Ukraine, now in its fifth year.
Speaking at the parade, Putin hailed Russian troops fighting in Ukraine, declaring that they “face an aggressive force that is armed and supported by the entire bloc of NATO," and are fighting for a “just cause.”
“Victory has always been and will be ours,” Putin said, as columns of troops lined up on Red Square. “The key to success is our moral strength, courage and valor, our unity and ability to endure anything and overcome any challenge.”
But in a notable shift this year, the parade took place without tanks, missiles and other heavy equipment, aside from a traditional flyover of combat jets.
Officials explained the sudden change of format by the “current operational situation” and said that additional security measures have been taken in response to the threat of Ukrainian attacks. State television commentators said that the heavy weaponry was more needed at the battlefield in Ukraine.
For the first time, Saturday's parade featured troops from North Korea, a tribute to Pyongyang that sent its soldiers to fight alongside Moscow forces to repel a Ukrainian incursion into Russia's Kursk region.
Russia declared a unilateral ceasefire for Friday and Saturday, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced a truce that was supposed to begin on May 6, but neither of them held as the parties traded blame for continuing attacks.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced Friday that Russia and Ukraine have bowed to his request for a ceasefire running Saturday through Monday and an exchange of prisoners, declaring that the break in fighting could be the “beginning of the end” of the war.
Zelenskyy, who said earlier this week that the Russian authorities “fear drones may buzz over Red Square” on May 9, followed up on Trump's statement by issuing a decree mockingly permitting Russia to hold its Victory Day celebrations on Saturday, declaring Red Square temporarily off-limits for Ukrainian strikes.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov shrugged off Zelenskyy’s decree as a “silly joke.” “We don’t need anyone’s permission to be proud of our Victory Day,” Peskov told reporters.
Russia’s bigger and better-equipped military has been making slow but steady gains along the more than 1,000-kilometer (over 600-mile) front line. Ukraine has hit back with increasingly efficient long-range attacks, striking Russian energy facilities, manufacturing plants and military depots. It has developed drones capable of reaching targets over 1,000 kilometers (more than 600 miles) deep into Russia, far beyond its capabilities before 2022.
Russian authorities warned that if Ukraine attempts to disrupt Saturday’s festivities, Russia will carry out a “massive missile strike on the center of Kyiv.” The Russian Defense Ministry warned the civilian population there and employees of foreign diplomatic missions of “the need to leave the city promptly.” The EU said its diplomats wouldn’t leave the Ukrainian capital despite Russian threats.
Putin has used Victory Day celebrations to encourage national pride and underline Russia’s position as a global power. The Soviet Union lost 27 million people in 1941-45 in what it calls the Great Patriotic War, an enormous sacrifice that left a deep scar in the national psyche and remains a rare point of consensus in the nation’s divisive history under Communist rule.
“We celebrate it with feelings of pride and love for our country, with understanding of our shared duty to defend the interests and future of our Motherland,” Putin said at the parade.
“Our soldiers suffered colossal losses, made a colossal sacrifice in the name of freedom and dignity of the peoples of Europe, became the embodiment of courage and nobility, fortitude and humanity, and crowned themselves with the great glory of a grandiose victory.”
Victory Day parades on Red Square have involved a broad array of heavy weapons — from armored vehicles to nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles — every year since 2008. Smaller parades are held elsewhere across the country, but this time many of them have also been pared down or even canceled altogether for security reasons.
The authorities on Saturday ordered restrictions on all mobile internet access and text messaging services in the Russian capital, citing the need to ensure public safety. The government has methodically tightened internet censorship and established increasingly stringent controls over online activities, causing rumblings and rare public expressions of discontent.
Malaysia’s King Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, Laos President Thongloun Sisoulith, Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Belarus’ authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko attended the festivities in the Russian capital.
Prime Minister Robert Fico of Slovakia, a European Union member, laid flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier memorial just outside the Kremlin walls but stayed away from the Red Square parade. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticized Fico’s trip, saying, "I deeply regret this, and we will discuss his visit to Moscow with him.”
Speaking at a meeting with Putin in the Kremlin, Fico bemoaned what he called a new “Iron Curtain” in Europe that hampered trade, and emphasized the importance of Russia's energy supplies to Slovakia. Putin hailed the Slovak leader for conducting a “sovereign” foreign policy and honoring the memory of fallen Red Army soldiers.
Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said that Fico informed Putin about his discussions with Zelenskyy but didn't convey any message from the Ukrainian leader.
Russian servicemen march as they attend the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Saturday, May 9, 2026, during celebrations of the 81st anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany during World War II. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov, Pool)
Russian President Vladimir Putin, centre foreground, attends a ceremony to lay flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by the Kremlin wall inMoscow, Saturday, May 9, 2026, during celebrations of the 81st anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany during the World War II. (Alexander Nemenov/Pool Photo via AP)
Russian servicemen attend the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Saturday, May 9, 2026, during celebrations of the 81st anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany during World War II. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool)
Russian servicemen attend the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Saturday, May 9, 2026, during celebrations of the 81st anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany during the World War II. (Shamil Zhumatov/Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin, centre foreground, attends a ceremony to lay flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by the Kremlin wall inMoscow, Saturday, May 9, 2026, during celebrations of the 81st anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany during the World War II. (Alexander Nemenov/Pool Photo via AP)
Russia's Su-25 jet aircraft release smoke in the colours of the Russian state flag during the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Saturday, May 9, 2026, during celebrations of the 81st anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany during the World War II. (Shamil Zhumatov/Pool Photo via AP)
North Korea's servicemen attend the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Saturday, May 9, 2026, during celebrations of the 81st anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany during the World War II. (Maxim Shipenkov/Pool Photo via AP)
Russian servicemen march as they attend the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Saturday, May 9, 2026, during celebrations of the 81st anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany during the World War II. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov, Pool)
Russian servicemen attend the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Saturday, May 9, 2026, during celebrations of the 81st anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany during World War II. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool)
Russian President Vladimir Putin, centre foreground, attends a ceremony to lay flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by the Kremlin wall inMoscow, Saturday, May 9, 2026, during celebrations of the 81st anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany during the World War II. (Alexander Nemenov/Pool Photo via AP)
North Korea's servicemen stand in a formation before the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Saturday, May 9, 2026, during celebrations of the 81st anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany during the World War II. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov, Pool)
North Korea's servicemen wait for the start of the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Saturday, May 9, 2026, during celebrations of the 81st anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany during the World War II. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov, Pool)
Russian servicemen stand in a formation before the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Saturday, May 9, 2026, during celebrations of the 81st anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany during the World War II. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov, Pool)
Russian servicemen stand in a formation before the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Saturday, May 9, 2026, during celebrations of the 81st anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany during the World War II. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov, Pool)
Russian servicemen stand in a formation before the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Saturday, May 9, 2026, during celebrations of the 81st anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany during the World War II. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov, Pool)
Troops attend a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade at the Dvortsovaya (Palace) Square in St. Petersburg, Russia, Tuesday, May 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
Honour guard soldiers prepare for a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade at the Dvortsovaya (Palace) Square in St. Petersburg, Russia, Tuesday, May 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
Honour guard soldiers perform with rifles during a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade at the Dvortsovaya (Palace) Square in St. Petersburg, Russia, Tuesday, May 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
Troops march during a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade at the Dvortsovaya (Palace) Square in St. Petersburg, Russia, Tuesday, May 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
