Cycling: John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo) got it! The German won the ninth stage of the Tour de France over 21,7 kilometers of cobblestones. He celebrates his first stage victory in the Tour of France. Things went much worse for Richie Porte (BMC): The Australian had to give up the race after a fall.
3 tasks before the cobblestones: Richie Porte is out
Today the Tour de France was a guest in the hell of the north. On the 156,5-kilometer ninth stage, the pros had to cover a total of 15 kilometers on 21,7 sectors on cobblestones. A day that only a few drivers were looking forward to in advance. After starting at the citadel of Arras, 47,5 kilometers had to be driven on paved roads before the fun started in sector 15. On this terrain, after a hard fight, the first breakaway of the day formed: Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal), Chad Haga (Sunweb), Nicolas Edet (Cofidis), Reinhard Janse Van Rensburg (Dimension Data), Omar Fraile (Astana) Olivier Le Gac (Groupama-FDJ) and Antwan Tolhoek (LottoNL-Jumbo), as well as the Direct Energie trio with Lilian Calmejane, Damien Gaudin and Jerome Cousin. Meanwhile, there was a fall in the peloton. Richie porte (BMC) had to retire from the race as well as Jose Joaquin Rojas (Movistar) and Tomasz Marczynski (Lotto Soudal).
Sky succeeds in a first selection
Luckily, the peloton entered the #15 pavé sector at a moderate pace. In this way, falls could be avoided. Only Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) had to change his bike three times but was pushed back into the peloton with the help of Swiss rider Silvan Dillier. The leading group secured the first ten places in the intermediate sprint before Peter Sagan snatched five points. After the aid zone, the decisive phase began with section #70 with 12 kilometers to go. Team Sky set the pace along with Bora-hangrohe and BMC. The peloton promptly tore into several parts, with Team Sky being represented with five men at the front. But also Mikel Landa and Nairo Quintana from Movistar, as well as Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb) and Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) have been attentive.
Peter Sagan misses the decisive attack
Between the individual pavé sectors, many drivers who had been left behind always found their way back into the main field. But now things were happening in quick succession. Romain Bardet broke down again, while Chris Froome (Sky) fell, as did Tejay Van Garderen (BMC), Rigoberto Uran (EF Education) and Mikel Landa (Movistar), but all in different places. Meanwhile, both Greg Van Avermaet and the Quick-Step Floors team launched attacks. The Astana team was particularly strong in this phase. They kept the pace high for their captain Jakob Fuglsang so that Romain Bardet, Rigoberto Uran and Mikel Landa could no longer catch up. Meanwhile, the top duo Reinhardt Janse Van Rensburg and Damien Gaudin were caught 20 kilometers from the finish. So could himself greg van avermaet save three seconds on the bonus sprint. Immediately afterwards he attacked together with Yves Lampaert (Quick-Step Floors) and John Degenkolb (Trek Segafredo). The gap opened up for the strong trio.
💥 Froome's caida
(📸 @Eurosport_UK) #TdF2018#TourEnCOPE pic.twitter.com/1AJ1YN4yWS
— COPEdaleando (@Copedaleando) July 15, 2018
John Degenkolb wins his first stage in the Tour de France
After the attack of Degenkolb, Lampaert and Van Avermaet the air in the main field was a bit out. No one wanted to support Peter Sagan in catching up. As a result, Romain Bardet was able to reconnect and Rigoberto Uran and Mikel Landa also came closer. Six kilometers from the finish suffered Romain Bardet again a technical defect – there must have been at least five breakdowns for him today. As a result, the French fell back into the group around Landa and Uran. The top trio at the Roubaix velodrome should decide the stage win among themselves. Yves Lampaert has long since retired from management work. Greg Van Avermaet didn't want to give up John Degenkolb's rear wheel either. So it came to poker on the home stretch. John Degenkolb started the sprint in first position and didn't let his two opponents pass. The German celebrates his first victory in the Tour de France. What a success!
Uran, Landa & Bardet lose time
In addition to the big winner John Degenkolb, there are also a few drivers who will go to bed happy tonight in terms of the overall standings. Chris Froome, Tom Dumoulin, Alejandro Valverde and everyone else who reached the finish line at the same time as the first large group should be mentioned here. Bob jungels (Quick-Step Floors) was even able to gain eight seconds. Just got off with a black eye Romain Bardet and Mikel Landa, who were both up front, but then fell behind due to breakdowns or falls. They lost just 7 seconds to the peloton at the end of the day. It went worse for Rigoberto Urán, who got a full 81 seconds more. The unlucky guy of the day, however, is once more Richie Porte. The captain of the BMC team had to give up the Tour de France again early. All in all, the pavé stage to Roubaix caused less chaos than expected. The time gaps between most of the classification drivers are limited. It remains exciting.
Fantastic esprint de 🇩🇪 John Degenkolb (TFS)!!
2. 🇧🇪 Greg Van Avermaet (BMC)
3. 🇧🇪 Yves Lampaert (QST)#TDF2018 #TourTVE #Roubaixpic.twitter.com/iuXhf8cfYi— Maillot Arcoiris (@MaillotArcoiris) July 15, 2018