19-07-2017, 10:48
Michael Matthews made a determined bid for the Green Jersey winning both the intermediate sprint and the stage, just pipping Edvald Boasson Hagen on the line with a group of 20 more riders being given the same time. A decidedly under par Marcel Kittel was nowhere to be seen all day. His teammate, Phillippe Gilbert, was forced to withdraw before the start suffering from gastro-enteritis and the suspicion is that the Quickstep team is definitely under the weather with even Dan Martin struggling to keep pace.
Matthews is now only 29 points behind Kittel and must now have massive belief that he can win in Paris. The Yellow Jersey rankings are unchanged at the top, but Martin has slipped back to 2m 3s behind. Warren Barguil still has a big lead in the Polka Dot Jersey and a good performance today will consolidate that lead.
Today's stage in the Alps is from La Mure to Serre-Chevalier and features a Category 2 climb, an intermediate sprint and then 3 massive climbs -
Matthews is now only 29 points behind Kittel and must now have massive belief that he can win in Paris. The Yellow Jersey rankings are unchanged at the top, but Martin has slipped back to 2m 3s behind. Warren Barguil still has a big lead in the Polka Dot Jersey and a good performance today will consolidate that lead.
Today's stage in the Alps is from La Mure to Serre-Chevalier and features a Category 2 climb, an intermediate sprint and then 3 massive climbs -
Cabbage is still good for you