Wout van Aert won the seventh stage of the Tour de France on Friday. The Jumbo-Visma rider was the strongest in a bunch sprint after a spectacular 168 kilometers ride, which was significantly influenced by fans in the final phase. Bauke Mollema and Tadej Pogacar, among others, lost a lot of time in the rankings.
At about 30 kilometers from the finish, the already thinned peloton broke in two due to the wind. Van Aert was left with sprinters like Peter Sagan, Edvald Boasson Hagen and Bryan Coquard, but the 25-year-old Belgian was clearly the strongest of that group. Boasson Hagen (second) and Coquard (third) completed the podium.
For Van Aert it is already his second stage victory in this Tour, after he won the fifth stage on Wednesday. Since his teammate Primoz Roglic was victorious on Tuesday, Jumbo-Visma is already on three day victories after seven stages.
Adam Yates did not see his yellow jersey in jeopardy, but the seventh stage did cause some shifts in the top ten. Mollema, Pogacar, Mikel Landa and Richie Porte, among others, missed the blow when the fans occurred and lost 1 minute and 21 seconds on the most important classification riders. The same goes for Richard Carapaz of INEOS Grenadiers, who suffered from material trouble.
Sam Bennett lost the lead in the points classification to Sagan. The Deceuninck-Quick-Step rider could not keep up with the pace in the initial phase and saw Sagan take enough points in the intermediate sprint to take over the green jersey.
The peloton is waiting for another mountain stage on Saturday. The riders will start from Cazères-sur-Garonne and will arrive 140 kilometers and three climbs further in Loudenvielle. There is also a mountain stage on Sunday, after which the riders will enjoy their first rest day on Monday.
Top ten in general classification
- 1. Adam Yates – Mitchelton-SCOTT
- 2. Primoz Roglic (+0.03) – Jumbo-Visma
- 3. Guillaume Martin (+0.09) – Cofidis
- 4. Egan Bernal (+0.13) – INEOS Grenadiers
- 5. Tom Dumoulin – Jumbo-Visma
- 6. Nairo Quintana -Arkéa-Samsic
- 7. Romain Bardet – AG2R La Mondiale
- 8. Miguel Ángel López – Astana
- 9. Thibaut Pinot – Groupama-FDJ
- 10. Rigoberto Urán – EF Pro Cycling
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BORA-hansgrohe provides a spectacle in the initial phase
The seventh stage from Millau to Lavaur was suitable for sprinters on paper, but with the Col de Peyronnenc and the Côte de Paulhe halfway through the stage, many riders were looking for a place in the flight of the day. In contrast to the sixth stage, it was direct race on Friday.
After an attack by Benoît Cosnefroy in the hunt for points for the mountains classification, BORA-hansgrohe – employed by Sagan – significantly increased the pace in the peloton. The BORA front work ensured that sprinters such as Cees Bol, Bennett, Caleb Ewan, Alexander Kristoff and André Greipel had to release, while Sagan, Matteo Trentin and the classification men, among others, were in that front group.
After the intermediate sprint – Sagan had to put up with Trentin ahead of him – BORA remained in the lead of the peloton, which put the chasing group (including Bennett) and the third group (Bol and Ewan) at an unbridgeable distance.
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BORA-hansgrohe did a lot of front work in the seventh stage. (Photo: Pro Shots)
De Gendt starts an attack, fans cause problems
With just under 100 kilometers to go Thomas De Gendt thought it was good and he took off alone. The Belgian from Lotto Soudal, who could go for his own chances due to Ewan’s dire position, was the first to top the Col de Peyronnenc and the Côte de Paulhe and cherished half a minute ahead of the peloton. Due to De Gendt’s flight, calm returned to the peloton for a while.
Still, the margin of the two-time stage winner in the Tour was limited and he was caught at 35 kilometers from the finish. This made it restless again immediately, because fans were lurking in the flat final phase due to the wind. It immediately resulted in a division in the already thinned peloton.
Julian Alaphilippe, Roglic, Tom Dumoulin and yellow jersey carrier Yates, among others, were all comfortable in the first group, while men like Mollema, Pogacar and Landa missed the shot and were a good minute behind.
In the absolute final phase there were again chances for fans, but it remained quiet in the front group. Pure sprinters like Sagan, Boasson Hagen and Coquard seemed to be favorites for the stage victory in the inevitable sprint, but it was Van Aert who impressed and crossed the line first for the second time this Tour.
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