16-07-2016, 23:31
And the Cav show rolls on! With today's stage win, he now has 4 wins on this Tour and 30 altogether. Once again he followed Kittel and perfectly timed his move, passing him in the last 50 metres and held off Kristoff and Sagan on the line. The peloton swallowed up all the breakaway riders shortly before the finish, resulting in the first 121 riders all being given the same time. A strong headwind ensured that the riders set a fairly pedestrian pace, although it would be much harder work than usual.
As far as the yellow jersey goes, there is no change at the top. Froome has only 3 riders within 3 minutes of him and, given his command of any situation so far, he must be a strong favourite to win. Still, a mechanical problem or a racing accident could strike at any time, so Mollema, Yates and Quintana must pile on the pressure as much as possible.
In the green jersey competition, Cavendish has cut Sagan's lead to 62 points, but as I still feel that Cavendish is only interested in stage wins, allowing Sagan to pick up intermediate points, time will run out for him.
Thibault Pinot has withdrawn from the Tour, so De Gendt has a 13 point lead over Majka, but there will be plenty of points available tomorrow with 6 classified climbs.
Adam Yates has a lead of 3'03" over Meintjes and 5'38" over Barguil in the white jersey race, which he should be able to defend, judging by his performances so far. 4th best is more than 10 minutes behind Barguil, so the 3 leaders should be safe.
Tomorrow's stage is only 160km long but it involves steep climbs and hairy descents, so the stage is set for a lot of breakaways and a lot of riders dropping off the back of the peleton. Caginess might give way to desperation by some of the GC contenders, because any time lost now will be all the harder to get back with only 5 competitive stages left to ride.
As far as the yellow jersey goes, there is no change at the top. Froome has only 3 riders within 3 minutes of him and, given his command of any situation so far, he must be a strong favourite to win. Still, a mechanical problem or a racing accident could strike at any time, so Mollema, Yates and Quintana must pile on the pressure as much as possible.
In the green jersey competition, Cavendish has cut Sagan's lead to 62 points, but as I still feel that Cavendish is only interested in stage wins, allowing Sagan to pick up intermediate points, time will run out for him.
Thibault Pinot has withdrawn from the Tour, so De Gendt has a 13 point lead over Majka, but there will be plenty of points available tomorrow with 6 classified climbs.
Adam Yates has a lead of 3'03" over Meintjes and 5'38" over Barguil in the white jersey race, which he should be able to defend, judging by his performances so far. 4th best is more than 10 minutes behind Barguil, so the 3 leaders should be safe.
Tomorrow's stage is only 160km long but it involves steep climbs and hairy descents, so the stage is set for a lot of breakaways and a lot of riders dropping off the back of the peleton. Caginess might give way to desperation by some of the GC contenders, because any time lost now will be all the harder to get back with only 5 competitive stages left to ride.
Cabbage is still good for you