Joachim Rodriguez Wins Stage 12, GC Contenders Test Each Other on the Final Slope
Joachim Rodriguez, Team Katusha, won a difficult Stage 12 in the last of three days in the Pyrenees Mountains in the south of France for the Tour. Rodriguez won by 1:12 over Jakob Fuglsang, Astana Pro Team, on the final rain-soaked Hors Categorie climb up the Plateau De Beille for his second win of the Tour. Although the top GC contenders tested each other in the final kilometers of the stage, Chris Froome retained the Yellow Jersey. André Greipel, Lotto-Soudal, beat Peter Sagan, Tinkoff-Saxo, in the intermediate sprint point 20 km into the stage. Sagan retains the Green Jersey with a slimmer lead over Greipel.
Stage 12 promised to be a challenging 195 km (119 mile) stage from Lannemezan to Plateau De Beille that included one Category 2, to Category 1 and one Hors Categorie climb to finish the stage. A warm, cloudy day with light rain on portions of the route. At the finish line, there was heavy rain and hailstones. At the end of the stage, the hail had stopped, but a light rain continued on portions of the end of the route.
Four breakaway groups were ahead of the peloton for a good part of the stage. None of these groups had GC contenders, so the peloton did not actively chase them. Team Sky led the peloton, keeping the pace high that prevented attacks from the other top GC contenders until the final climb.
The two leaders, Kwiatkowski and Sep Vanmarcke, Team Lotto NL - Jumbo, started the final 15.8 km climb in the rain 11 minutes ahead of the main peloton. Kwiatkowski broke away from Vanmarcke to lead the stage alone. Movistar moved to the front of the peloton at the start of the final climb, hoping to launch an attack with Nairo Quintana. Team Sky moved back to the front of the peloton with Movistar and Tejay Van Garderen very close behind.
Rodriguez broke away from Fuglsang and Romain Bardet, AG2R-La Mondiale, to catch up to Kwiatkowski with 6.9 km to go. Rodriguez soon passed Kwiatkowski, and Fuglsang and Bardet followed Rodriguez to the finish line.
In the last 5km of the stage, the top contenders took turns attacking. Each attack was eventually caught, and the group of GC contenders mostly crossed the line together, except for Valverde, who crossed the line one second ahead of Froome. Despite the lead in time that Froome has over his rivals, the other contenders do show some spirit in the final climb today.
Stage 12 Results
1.
|
Joachim Rodriguez
|
Team Katusha
|
05h 40' 14''
| |
2.
|
Jakob Fuglsang
|
Astana Pro Team
|
05h 41' 26''
|
+ 01' 12''
|
3.
|
Romain Bardet
|
AG2R-La Mondiale
|
05h 42' 03''
|
+ 01' 49''
|
4.
|
Gorka Izagirre
|
Movistar Team
|
05h 44' 48''
|
+ 04' 34''
|
5.
|
Louis Meintjes
|
MTN-Qhubeka
|
05h 44' 52''
|
+ 04' 38''
|
6.
|
Jan Barta
|
Bora-Argon 18
|
05h 46' 01''
|
+ 05' 47''
|
7.
|
Romain Sicard
|
Team Europcar
|
05h 46' 17''
|
+ 06' 03''
|
8.
|
Mikael Cherel
|
AG2R-La Mondiale
|
05h 46' 42''
|
+ 06' 28''
|
9.
|
Alejandro Valverde
|
Movistar Team
|
05h 47' 00''
|
+ 06' 46''
|
10.
|
Chris Froome
|
Team Sky
|
05h 47' 01''
|
+ 06' 47''
|
11.
|
Nairo Quintana
|
Movistar Team
|
05h 47' 01''
|
+ 06' 47''
|
12.
|
Thibaut Pinot
|
FDJ
|
05h 47' 01''
|
+ 06' 47''
|
13.
|
Tejay Van Garderen
|
BMC Racing Team
|
05h 47' 01''
|
+ 06' 47''
|
14.
|
Alberto Contador
|
Tinkoff-Saxo
|
05h 47' 01''
|
+ 06' 47''
|
15.
|
Pierre Rolland
|
Team Europcar
|
05h 47' 01''
|
+ 06' 47''
|
16.
|
Vincenzo Nibali
|
Astana Pro Team
|
05h 47' 01''
|
+ 06' 47''
|
17.
|
Geraint Thomas
|
Team Sky
|
05h 47' 01''
|
+ 06' 47''
|
18.
|
Robert Gesink
|
Team Lotto NL - Jumbo
|
05h 47' 58''
|
+ 07' 44''
|
Points Competition Standings
1.
|
Peter Sagan
|
Tinkoff-Saxo
|
254 pts
|
2.
|
André Greipel
|
Lotto-Soudal
|
252 pts
|
3.
|
John Degenkolb
|
Team Giant-Alpecin
|
201 pts
|
4.
|
Mark Cavendish
|
Etixx-Quick Step
|
185 pts
|
King of the Mountains Standings
1.
|
Chris Froome
|
Team Sky
|
61 pts
|
2.
|
Joachim Rodriguez
|
Team Katusha
|
52 pts
|
3.
|
Jakob Fuglsang
|
Astana Pro Team
|
41 pts
|
4.
|
Richie Porte
|
Team Sky
|
40 pts
|
5.
|
Romain Bardet
|
AG2R La Mondiale
|
35 pts
|
6.
|
Rafal Majkal
|
Tinkoff Saxo
|
32 pts
|
7.
|
Nairo Quintana
|
Movistar Team
|
32 pts
|
8.
|
Alejandro Valverde
|
Movistar Team
|
32 pts
|
9.
|
Robert Gesink
|
Team Lotto NL - Jumbo
|
28 pts
|
10.
|
Gorka Izagirre
|
Movistar Team
|
28 pts
|
Yellow Jersey Standings
1.
|
Chris Froome
|
Team Sky
|
46h 50' 32''
| |
2.
|
Tejay Van Garderen
|
BMC Racing Team
|
46h 53' 24''
|
+ 02' 52''
|
3.
|
Nairo Quintana
|
Movistar Team
|
46h 53' 41''
|
+ 03' 09''
|
4.
|
Alejandro Valverde
|
Movistar Team
|
46h 54' 30''
|
+ 03' 58''
|
5.
|
Geraint Thomas
|
Team Sky
|
46h 54' 35''
|
+ 04' 03''
|
6.
|
Alberto Contador
|
Tinkoff Saxo
|
46h 54' 36''
|
+ 04' 04''
|
7.
|
Robert Gesink
|
Team Lotto NL - Jumbo
|
46h 56' 04''
|
+ 05' 32''
|
8.
|
Tony Gallopin
|
Lotto-Soudal
|
46h 58' 04''
|
+ 07' 32''
|
9.
|
Vincenzo Nibali
|
Astana Pro Team
|
46h 58' 19''
|
+ 07' 47''
|
10.
|
Bauke Mollema
|
Trek Factory Racing
|
46h 58' 34''
|
+ 08' 02''
|
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