Cycling: Sorry guys, that wasn't an ad for cycling. The seventh stage of the Tour de France was converted into a boring stroll by the peloton. After more than six hours of driving, the expected mass sprint took place on this year's longest stage. This could then at least at the end of the day for excitement. Dylan Groenewegen (LottoNL-Jumbo) was able to celebrate the stage win ahead of Fernando Gaviria (Quick-Step Floors).
The longest stage starts at a snail's pace
On Friday the 13th, the riders covered 231,0 kilometers from Fougères to Chartres. On the longest stage of the 2018 Tour de France, Yoann Offredo (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) decided to go solo in search of a stage win. The Frenchman certainly would have preferred a better outcome. He attacked right from kilometer zero but abandoned the attempt after no one wanted to follow him. His teammate Thomas Degand then tried his luck. No one wanted to ride with him either, so he was caught. Since the peloton was moving at a snail's pace, he almost had to stop to get back into the group. Finally, Yoann Offredo launched another attempt. After once again no one wanted to join him, he adopted a time trial position and tackled the remaining 200 kilometers solo.
No chance for the soloists Offredo and Pichon
With around 100 kilometers to go, the Trek-Segafredo and AG2R La Mondiale teams used a crosswind to split the peloton. Several prominent riders, including Marcel Kittel (Katusha-Alpecin) and Daniel Martin (UAE Team Emirates), were briefly dropped. However, they were able to rejoin the peloton. The increased pace reduced Yoann Offredo 's nine-minute lead , and he was eventually caught. The Frenchman had, however, won the mountain classification on the Côte du Buisson de Perseigne earlier in the race. After being caught, the race restarted from the front, and the same situation arose. Only Laurent Pichon (Fortuneo-Samsic) managed to break away from the main group, but he too was caught before the finish line, as expected. In the sprint classification at Berd'huis , Fernando Gaviria (Quick-Step Floors) secured second place ahead of Peter Sagan (Bora-hansgrohe) and Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates). The three-second time bonus in the bonus sprint at Nonvilliers-Grandhoux went relatively uncontested to race leader Greg Van Avermaet (BMC).
Groenewegen sovereign today
After a ride of around six hours, the spectators and riders were finally relieved at the finish line. In the final ten kilometers, the teams prepared for the mass sprint. Quick-Step Floors once again took their time, but moved to the front in the last 600 meters, perfectly setting up Fernando Gaviria . However, this time he would not be the triumphant winner. Dylan Groenewegen (LottoNL-Jumbo) leapt from the shadows . The Dutchman, who won the final stage last year, sprinted confidently past Fernando Gaviria to claim his first victory in this year's Tour de France. Peter Sagan secured third place, thus retaining his green jersey. The best German finisher was André Greipel (Lotto Soudal) in sixth place. John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo) sprinted to eighth place.
DYLAN GROENEWEGEN PACT ZE ALWAYS! The racer from @LottoJumbo_road wins this stage in the Tour de France! #TDF2018 pic.twitter.com/TSHfqeNiOf
— Eurosport Nederland (@Eurosport_NL) July 13, 2018