Cycling: The fifth stage over more than 180 kilometers from Ossingen to Büren was not just a matter for the sprinters on paper. However, the final was overshadowed by a fall. Sacha Modolo (Lampre-Merida) was unimpressed.
A trio had fled shortly after the start. Sander Armee (Lotto Belisol), Jaroslaw Marycz (CCC Polsat) and Frederik Veuchelen (Wanty-Groupe Goubert) were able to gain a lead of more than four minutes as the stage progressed.
When the final was heralded, however, the lead melted visibly. It was then up to the trio with ten kilometers to go. After that, the sprinter teams were at the top. Ag2R-La Mondiale took over from Garmin-Sharp before Katusha and Trek took the lead. However, in the final kilometer it was overall leader Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) himself who set the pace for his teammate Mark Cavendish. In the penultimate corner, however, he fell victim to a fall that he was no longer able to avoid.
More fortunate was Peter Sagan (Cannondale), who opened the sprint immediately after, launching the win for Modolo, who was lurking at his rear wheel. Third was John Degenkolb (Giant-Shimano), who had a serious fall yesterday.
In the overall standings, Martin defended his lead, which, however, will be put to the test tomorrow. On the next mountainous section, Björn Thurau (Europcar) will be in demand again, who is currently leading the ranking of the best climber.
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