Two years after the 2018 Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España, Colombia's Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) is on his way to his third career Grand Tour podium following his stunning solo victory in the Col de la Rose on stage 17 of the Tour de France. He took a big step forward.

Lopez followed Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma) into the breakaway with a few kilometers to go on the Col de la Rosse and successfully rode alone behind teammate Primos Roglic (USA).

While Roglic failed in his attempts to close the gap, he stubbornly held on to his narrow advantage, building a 15-second advantage over the Slovenian at the finish.

As a result of his victory, Lopez moved into third place overall by 1:26, nearly 2 minutes ahead of Richie Porte (Trek-Segafredo), who was in fourth place by 3:05. Next Sunday, the Colombian's third podium will be his first Tour de France.

"Maybe it's possible," Lopez insisted, "I'm keeping things as calm as possible, but it's certainly possible."

"This is my first Tour, and my first goal was to get to Paris and finish. But I'm getting stronger and stronger and this last week is going to be good for me."

"This is the most important win of my career, so it's also inspiring.

Lopez's victory follows Alexey Lutsenko's victory in Mont-Aigual in the opening week of the Tour de France, which was a huge success for Astana. It was also Colombia's second Tour win, following Dani Martinez's victory in Puy Marie last Friday.

On how to break Jumbo Visma's stronghold on the climb and shake off Tadej Pogachar (UAE Team Emirates), considered the strongest climber in the race, Lopez claimed that the altitude of the Alps was quite advantageous.

"Being at 2,000 meters altitude is like being at home, and these long, difficult climbs are what we Colombians like too.

"Also, having my teammates with me for so long gave me confidence. Omar [Freire] stayed with me all the way to the last climb.

Lopez's chances for a final Grand Tour podium will probably depend on his performance in the time trial next Saturday.

"In any other situation, I would need at least a minute advantage," he recalled.