cycling: Tour de France stage #16: Sagan strides to victory

Cycling: Again Peter Sagan (Tinkoff)! The world champion again won a race in Switzerland. But this time at the Tour de France. He prevailed in the photo finish with his perfectly executed tiger jump against the Norwegian Alexander Kristoff (Katusha). John Degenkolb finished fourth.

The Etixx-Quick Step team shapes the race

The remaining 183 drivers made their way to Switzerland today. The stage from Moirans-en-Montagne to Bern took them over 209 km over more or less undulating terrain. Especially in the last kilometers it was expected that the pure sprinters could have problems, so that the chances of a successful breakaway were not assessed as bad. The Etixx-Quick Step team probably thought so too. With Tony Martin and Julian Alaphilippe two men were immediately sent on the offensive. The special thing about it was that no one wanted to go away with them. The duo was in the lead today over 100 km. There was a chasing group for a short time, but since the peloton knew Tony Martin's qualities, they constantly let the lead fluctuate between three and four minutes, so that the pursuers were quickly caught again. However, the fun was over around 20 km from the finish line and the peloton closed the gap early on. First became Julian Alaphilippe passed, later also Tony Martin. Another teammate was also behind the field at this point: Marcel Kittel. The German sprinter didn't seem at all comfortable today. For him, hope remains the last stage in Paris.

Peter Sagan is tackling his next success in Switzerland

No sooner had the leading duo been caught than Rui Costa (Lampre-Merida) scrambled away. However, he didn't get far, because especially the moves of Katusha and Tinkoff didn't really let anyone pull away anymore. He was able to gain a lead of around 13 seconds before being caught again about three kilometers from the finish line. Now a small climb had to be mastered, which also led over smaller cobblestone passages. John Degenkolb (Giant-Alpecin) grabbed the rear wheel from Peter Sagan (Tinkoff), which certainly wasn't a bad idea. In the end, however, the duel for the day's win was called Sagan versus Kristoff. The Norwegian cheered after crossing the finish line, but in the photo finish he also had to realize that Sagan was still passing. Peter Sagan seems to simply like racing in Switzerland, after all he already holds the record for stage wins at the Tour de Suisse. For John Degenkolb it was enough for a respectable fourth place in front of Michael Matthews (Orica-BikeExchange) and behind the young Sondre Holst Enger (IAM).

Tour de France stage #16: The day's result

Tour de France Stage #16: The overall standings