A Third for Kittel

Stage 12: Fougeres - Tours

A flat stage in the Tour is always a target for the sprinters, and today was no different. The 218 kilometre route to Tours was all just to set up a sprint to the line, to collect a stage win and some points in the green jersey classification. Marcel Kittel has been sprinting superbly in this year's Tour and, in a powerful dash for the line, he bested Cavendish to claim his third stage win in the Tour.

Mark Cavendish will probably be somewhat disappointed with his sprint to the line today, not because he didn't sprint well but because he didn't realise Kittel was coming up on his inside. Cavendish's lead out was almost perfect, and he was launched to the line at the perfect time and in the perfect position. He simply does not lose sprints like today's. Perhaps his finish was a lapse in concentration, thinking that the sprint was won, but even so that does not detract from the great sprint by Marcel Kittel. The German rider locked on to Cavendish's wheel as he came past and used him as his lead out, sprinting to the line to get ahead of Cavendish by just half a wheel length.

Kittel's win today was his third win of this year's Tour, and it really announced his presence as one of the world class sprinters. The other sprinters seem not to have been taking him too seriously as he had fallen down in the standings in the green jersey classification, but they will now know that he is a serious contender, and a seriously talented sprinter. With wins over both Greipel and Cavendish in the last two sprint finishes, he is surely brimming with confidence and will definitely be looking for more stage wins before this Tour is over.

Sagan finished third on the day's stage, but in doing so effectively wrapped up the green jersey classification. His third place finish puts him 94 points ahead of second-placed Cavendish. I have said before that it would take a crash from Sagan to allow his competitors back into contention, but the same logic applies to his competitors. A crash would take them out of the running for the green jersey. Sagan's green jersey is seemingly safe now, following a crash that involved Greipel in the last 2 kilometres of the race. The sprinter on Lotto-Belisol fell heavily in a crash near the front end of the peloton as his teammates tried to move him into a position to sprint for the line. His crash meant he was unable to contend for points at the end of the stage and fell into third in the points classification, more than 100 points behind Sagan.

The crash happened in the last 3 kilometres, and all the riders caught out were given the same time at the end of the stage. No contenders for the overall classification were involved in the crash and so they won't be sporting any injuries on tomorrow's stage, or in the mountains that follow. The race for the yellow jersey wasn't affected by the crash, so the race is still open. But Froome's grip on the maillot jaune  is tight and it will take a huge effort to dislodge him from the top spot.

A Breakaway

Tomorrow's stage will probably come down to a sprint again, with the likely contenders for the sprint victory being the those riders I have mentioned so far. Cavendish, Greipel, Sagan and Kittel should all be present at the end of the stage and will probably fight it out for a stage victory. Cavendish and Greipel will be smarting after being beaten in the last few metres by Kittel and will probably be looking to dominate the peloton on tomorrow's stage. Their lead outs will fight against each other for control and could just provide the chaos needed for Sagan or Kittel to break free and take the win.

But why did I entitle this section 'A Breakaway?' Well, I'm traveling for the whole day tomorrow and won't be able to watch most of the stage. I might catch the finish if I'm lucky, but in all likelihood I won't. This means I won't have the material I need to write a blog post. I'll be back and writing on Saturday, where I'll probably be doing a preview of the epic Bastille day ascent of the Mont Ventoux. It's going to be an incredible first day in the Alps, and I can barely wait.