Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) made up for yesterday’s near-miss by taking an easy victory in the 11th stage of the Tour de France out of a late, four-rider breakaway, denying other sprinters a chance to even vie for the win. It was a perfect example of the Tour’s unpredictability, where seemingly quiet days can quickly turn dramatic.
The classic transitional stage from Carcassonne to Montpellier was a “sprinter’s delight” on paper, but the Provence region’s notoriously fickle winds had other plans in store for the pack. With a stiff tramontane breeze blowing, the pack raced both aggressively and nervously, with multiple crashes and splits causing havoc. At one point, more than 80 riders were off the back, chasing furiously in echelons to re-catch the diminished main field.
A truce of sorts let the peloton regroup, but in the last 15km, Sagan and teammate Maciej Bodnar hit the gas as the winds shifted. The pair was joined, unusually, by the yellow jersey of Chris Froome (Sky) and teammate Geraint Thomas. The four unlikely escapees pressed a late-race advantage of 20 seconds at one point. After a haphazard chase the field brought back most of the advantage, but failed to completely close the gap, trailing the break by six seconds at the finish. Bodnar led out the sprint, which Sagan easily took. Froome finished second.
The field had come back together and a bunch sprint looked likely, when the wind shifted and the pack began to break up again. Sagan hit the front with Bonar and got a slight gap, which Froome himself bridged along with Thomas. Behind, no other riders could or would get across and the gap quickly grew to 20 seconds with a disorganized chase. While it was never assured the quartet would stay away, Sagan was the clear favorite to win if it did, as Froome’s chief objective was to take time, while Bodnar and Thomas worked for their leaders.
The late-race attack was a curious move for one jersey competition and a brilliant one for another. Opinions will differ on whether Froome’s aggression was smart. He gained six seconds, plus another six in time bonuses. But he also put his rivals on notice that he has some new tricks up his sleeve and will not be content to merely wait for summit finishes.
Froome also expended a tremendous amount of energy in the last 15km to gain a mere 12 seconds. Three of the next four stages look to be crucial, hard days, leading into a difficult final week, so there’s an open question whether the gain was worth it.
For Sagan, the attack was sheer brilliance. Today’s finish was one of just three likely field sprints left in the race, and by attacking early, Sagan stole any opportunity from his rivals while adding significantly to his lead in the green jersey competition. Sagan’s chief competitor, Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data-Qhubeka) was dropped late in the day with bike problems, and placed out of the points. Sagan now has a massive lead, 309 to Cav’s 219, and looks likely to win a record fifth-straight green jersey.
Despite Froome’s aggression, most of the overall contenders finished in the first chase, six seconds down, losing little time. Fifth-placed Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) and Lampre-Merida’s Louis Meintjes weren’t so lucky, conceding 1:09. Rodriguez tumbled to 12th, while Meintjes slipped from 9th to 13th.
Lawson Craddock (Cannondale-Drapac) was dropped from even the chase peloton mid-stage. But rather than quit, he kept riding and finished alone, 17 minutes down in last place. But he’s within the time cut and will start tomorrow. So far, all five American starters are still in the race.
The weather forecast for Thursday’s Ventoux finish is grim: so grim, in fact (40mph gusts atop the treeless Ventoux) that organizers shortened the route and will now finish 6km lower down the climb at the Chalet Reynard. That could make for a more aggressive finish, but it also reduces the opportunities to attack.