Matthews at the double on Tour de France stage 16
Print Edition
AUSTRALIAN Michael Matthews won his second stage of the 2017 Tour de France yesterday and closed in on the green jersey held by Marcel Kittel.
Chris Froome retained the overall lead in a hectic finale baulked by crosswinds that saw contenders Daniel Martin and Alberto Contador lose time.
Matthews edged a photo finish ahead of Norway’s Edvald Boasson Hagen, already denied by the cameras in stage seven when Kittel won, with John Degenkolb of Germany third at the end of 165-kilometer ride from Le-Puy-en-Velay to Romans-sur-Isere.
It was a selective group that reached the finish together after Matthews’s Team Sunweb set a fast early pace to drop Kittel of the Quick-Step Floors team on the opening third category climb, and then crosswinds in the final 15km scattered groups all over the road.
The crosswinds got rid of other top sprinters Andre Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) and Alexander Kristoff (Katusha-Alpecin), leaving little competition for Matthews at the finish.
But there were casualties amongst the top 10 as Martin (Quick-Step), South African Louis Meintjes (UAE Team Emirates) and Contador (Trek Segafredo) were all caught out in the wind, the first two losing 51 seconds and the Spaniard giving up 1 minute and 33 seconds.
Frenchman Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) was almost caught out but was paced back to the lead group by teammate Oliver Naesen, while Fabio Aru (Astana) had to bridge a small gap by himself.
The Italian remains second, 18 seconds behind with Bardet third at 23 seconds, ahead of a couple of brutal stages of the Tour in the Alps today and tomorrow.
Froome’s Sky teammate Mikel Landa of Spain reclaimed fifth place from Martin, who dropped to seventh, while Colombian Nairo Quintana (Moviestar) climbed back into the top 10 at the expense of Contador.
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