Sagan nips Kristoff to win Stage 16
Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) won a thrilling sprint finish in a photo finish over Alexander Kristoff (Team Katusha). The finish was so close that Kristoff initially thought that he had won the stage. The final portion of the stage in Berne, the capital of Switzerland, had a number of turns, a cobblestone section and covered tramline tracks leading up to the finish.This is Sagan’s third victory of this year’s Tour and he is now 114 points ahead of Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) in the Green Jersey competition. Chris Froome Team Sky) maintained his lead in the General Classification standings over surprising Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) of 1 minute 47 seconds.
The rolling 209 km (130 mile) stage passed into Switzerland today to Fabian Cancellara’s (Trek-Segafredo) hometown of Berne.this type of stage was tailor-made for a Spring Classics champion like Cancellara. The route had only one Category 4 climb, but it had a number of uncategorized climbs along the way. Plus, since this is Cancellara’s last Tour before retiring at the end of this season, he was the sentimental favorite to win today. It was a warm sunny day in the saddle (29 C, 84 F).
Tony Martin and Julian Alaphilippe, both of Etixx-QuickStep, formed a breakaway early in the stage at the 13 km (8 mile ) mark. A chase group of four riders; Timo Roosen (Lotto NL - Jumbo), Lawson Craddock (Cannondale-Drapac), Pierre-Luc Périchon (Fortuneo-Vital Concept) and Nicolas Edet (Team Cofidis), tried to join the lead group, however Martin powered away with this teammate in tow. The gap to the peloton grew to 6 minutes at one point. At the 101 km mark, the chasing group of four were reeled in by the peloton. The peloton then began to reel in the Etixx-QuickStep duo. At 25 km and 22 km, the two leaders were caught by the peloton. The peloton then began organizing for the run to the finish line. Froome and Team Sky stayed in among the lead group.
Rui Costa (Lampre–Merida) tried to move off of the front. He briefly led the riders into Berne. Sep Vanmarcke of LottoNL-Jumbo then attacked after Costa was caught. Sagan was close behind with Michael Matthews (Orica BikeExchange), Edvald Boasson Hagen (Dimension Data) and Mark Cavendish. Kristoff and Sagan sprinted for the finish line. Sagan pushed his bicycle across the line, winning the stage by a tire width. Sagan himself thought that he had come in second.
Stage 16 Results
1
|
Peter Sagan
|
Tinkoff Team
|
4:26:02
|
2
|
Alexander Kristoff
|
Team Katusha
| |
3
|
Sondre Holst Enger
|
IAM Cycling
| |
4
|
John Degenkolb
|
Team Giant-Alpecin
| |
5
|
Michael Matthews
|
Orica-BikeExchange
| |
6
|
Fabian Cancellara
|
Trek-Segafredo
| |
7
|
Sep Vanmarcke
|
Team LottoNl-Jumbo
| |
8
|
Maximiliano Richeze
|
Etixx - Quick-Step
| |
9
|
Edvald Boasson Hagen
|
Dimension Data
| |
10
|
Greg Van Avermaet
|
BMC Racing Team
|
General Classification Results
1
|
Chris Froome
|
Team Sky
|
72:40:38
|
2
|
Bauke Mollema
|
Trek-Segafredo
|
0:01:47
|
3
|
Adam Yates
|
Orica-BikeExchange
|
0:02:45
|
4
|
Nairo Quintana
|
Movistar Team
|
0:02:59
|
5
|
Alejandro Valverde
|
Movistar Team
|
0:03:17
|
6
|
Romain Bardet
|
AG2R La Mondiale
|
0:04:04
|
7
|
Richie Porte
|
BMC Racing Team
|
0:04:27
|
8
|
Tejay Van Garderen
|
BMC Racing Team
|
0:04:47
|
9
|
Dan Martin
|
Etixx - Quick-Step
|
0:05:03
|
10
|
Fabio Aru
|
Astana Pro Team
|
0:05:16
|
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