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 visited the Hell of the North. On the 156,5-kilometer ninth stage, the professionals had to cover a total of 21,7 kilometers of cobblestones across 15 sectors. A day that few riders had been looking forward to. After the start at the Citadel of Arras, the riders initially covered 47,5 kilometers on paved roads before the real fun began with sector 15. On this terrain, after a hard-fought battle, the first breakaway group 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 of Lilian Calmejane, Damien Gaudin, and Jerome Cousin. Meanwhile, a crash occurred in the peloton. Richie Porte (BMC) had to abandon the race, as did Jose Joaquin Rojas (Movistar) and Tomasz Marczynski (Lotto Soudal).
Sky succeeds in a first selection
Fortunately, the peloton entered the cobbled sector #15 at a moderate pace, thus avoiding crashes. Only Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) had to change his bike three times, but was brought back to the main group with the help of Swiss rider Silvan Dillier. The leading group secured the first ten places in the intermediate sprint before Peter Sagan grabbed five points. After the feed zone, the decisive phase began with sector #12, 70 kilometers from the finish. Team Sky, along with Bora-Hansgrohe and BMC, took over the pace. The peloton promptly split into several groups, with Team Sky immediately represented at the front by five riders. However, Mikel Landa and Nairo Quintana of Movistar, as well as Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb) and Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale), were also alert.
Peter Sagan misses the decisive attack
Between the individual cobbled sectors, many dropped riders repeatedly found their way back into the peloton. But now the action was coming thick and fast. Romain Bardet suffered another puncture, while Chris Froome (Sky), Tejay Van Garderen (BMC), Rigoberto Uran (EF Education), and Mikel Landa (Movistar) all crashed – albeit in different places. Meanwhile, both Greg Van Avermaet and the Quick-Step Floors team launched attacks. Team Astana was particularly strong during this phase. They kept the pace high for their captain, Jakob Fuglsang, preventing Romain Bardet, Rigoberto Uran, and Mikel Landa from catching him. Meanwhile, the leading duo of Reinhardt Janse Van Rensburg and Damien Gaudin were caught with 20 kilometers to go. This allowed Greg Van Avermaet to gain three seconds in 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 by Degenkolb, Lampaert, and Van Avermaet, the peloton lost some momentum. No one wanted to support Peter Sagan in his chase. This allowed Romain Bardet to rejoin the leading group, and Rigoberto Uran and Mikel Landa also closed the gap. Six kilometers from the finish, Romain Bardet suffered another mechanical problem – he must have had at least five punctures today. This dropped the Frenchman back into the group containing Landa and Uran. The stage win would be contested by the leading trio at the Roubaix velodrome. Yves Lampaert had long since abandoned the leading role. Greg Van Avermaet also refused to relinquish John Degenkolb's wheel. This led to a gamble on the finishing straight. John Degenkolb launched his sprint from the front and held off his two rivals. The German thus celebrated his first victory at the Tour de France. What a triumph!
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 Arcoíris (@MaillotArcoiris) July 15, 2018