Tour de France Stage 7 Report

July 5, Stage 7: Montpellier – Albi 205.5km

Tour de France: Sagan finally takes a stage win in Albi

Article Content from www.cyclingnews.com Report By: Sadhbh O’Shea Published: July 4
Video Recap from www.cycling.tv

Peter Sagan (Cannondale) broke his run of second places to win stage 7 of the Tour de France into Albi. There was no elaborate victory celebration, as the Slovak was just relieved to finally get off the mark at this Tour.

Sagan has had to settle for three second places to date, but he repaid his team’s efforts to beat John Degenkolb (Argos-Shimano) in the sprint with Daniele Bennati (Saxo-Tinkoff) in third. He has extended his lead in the green jersey competition over André Greipel (Lotto Belisol) to 94 points.

The Cannondale rider was clearly overjoyed with his victory. “I feel very good,” he said at the finish. “I’m very happy and I have to thank my team because I couldn’t do what I did without my team. This victory is for all of the team. I’m very happy because I didn’t feel very good after the crash on the first stage but day by day I’m feeling better and now I’m really happy to have my first stage win of this Tour de France.”

While it was, as anticipated, a sprint finish, many of the marquee names were missing in the finale in Albi. Cannondale took to the front on the second climb of the day, the Col de la Croix de Mounis, and blew most of the fast men out of the back of the peloton. Despite the best efforts of their teams, they sat up after the final climb of the day, and Greipel and Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) crossed the line more than 14 minutes behind Sagan.

Daryl Impey (Orica-GreenEdge) finished safely inside the peloton to keep his yellow jersey for another day. All of the big favourites finished in the front group and there was no change in the top 10.

As it happened

The temperature was once again high as the riders rolled out, and so was the pace. The peloton exceeded the 60kph barrier on a number of occasions. There was an early break of six riders, including Jens Voigt (RadioShack-Leopard), but they only managed to get 10 seconds up the road before being caught. Not to be deterred, Voigt was once again on the attack shortly afterwards. This time he only had one companion in Blel Kadri (Ag2r-La Mondiale), who was also in the initial break attempt, and theirs would prove to be the big break of the day.

As the pair began to build a lead, there was a crash back in the peloton involving Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Sharp), and a number of other riders. Vande Velde was already suffering injuries from his crash on the road to Marseille two days ago, and this second knock proved too much and the American abandoned the race. Surely not the way he wanted to end his final Tour de France.

With 10 points available in the mountains classification, Kadri had a chance to steal the lead in the competition, as he started the day in third in the fight for the polka-dot jersey with five points, after his break on the second day. Voigt seemed happy to let his fellow escapee take the points on the top of the climbs. Aware of the danger, Pierre Rolland (Europcar) went on the attack on the second climb of the day. His challenge was usurped by Kadri’s team-mate Romain Bardet. The Ag2r rider beat Rolland into third spot, allowing Kadri to lead the mountain’s classification by a single point and take the polka-dot jersey for the following day.

As the terrain got tougher, Cannondale took to the front and began to close the gap on the two leaders. Cavendish (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) was one of several to fall foul of the increase in pace on the Croix de Mounis and was dropped. Greipel, Marcel Kittel and Matt Goss were also dropped. With 94km to go the leading pair were caught, but the sprinters and their teams were still off the back.

Despite the combined efforts of Lotto-Belisol, Omega Pharma-QuickStep and Argos-Shimano struggled to close the gap on the ridge that followed the climb, as Cannondale continued to force the pace up front. After giving chase for more than an hour, they sat up inside the final 40 kilometres. With most of the fast men dispatched, Sagan was easily able to take the intermediate sprint points after 135km.

Former yellow jersey holder and stage 2 winner Jan Bakelants (RadioShack-Leopard) decided that this was his time to attack. He was followed by Cyril Gautier (Europcar) and Juan José Oroz (Euskaltel-Euskadi). The trio built a maximum lead of 1:04 minutes, with Bakelants becoming the virtual leader at one stage, as he trailed Impey by just 33 seconds on GC. With the yellow jersey at risk, Orica-GreenEDGE gradually began to commit more riders to Cannondale’s chase and the three escapees were finally caught inside the final three kilometres.

All of Cannondale’s work nearly came undone as Sagan misjudged a corner heading through a roundabout in the finale. The error was soon forgotten, however, as Sagan powered to the finish. The Slovak hid in the slipstream of Degenkolb, before popping out at the last moment and taking victory.

General classification after stage 7
Result
1 Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica-GreenEdge 27:12:29
2 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling 0:00:03
3 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge 0:00:05
4 Michael Albasini (Swi) Orica-GreenEdge
5 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 0:00:06
6 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
7 Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling 0:00:08
8 Richie Porte (Aus) Sky Procycling
9 Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:00:14
10 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
11 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
12 Michael Rogers (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
13 Andrew Talansky (USA) Garmin-Sharp 0:00:22
14 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin-Sharp
15 Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin-Sharp
16 Thomas Danielson (USA) Garmin-Sharp
17 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:25
18 Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Por) Movistar Team
19 Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (Col) Movistar Team
20 Andrey Amador Bakkazakova (CRc) Movistar Team
21 Przemyslaw Niemiec (Pol) Lampre-Merida 0:00:30
22 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:00:31
23 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team
24 Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team
25 Amaël Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team
26 Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Katusha 0:00:33
27 Jan Bakelants (Bel) RadioShack Leopard
28 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
29 Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha
30 Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Katusha
31 Peter Sagan (Svk) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:00:34
32 Maxime Monfort (Bel) RadioShack Leopard
33 Andy Schleck (Lux) RadioShack Leopard
34 Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) RadioShack Leopard
35 Andreas Klöden (Ger) RadioShack Leopard
36 Wouter Poels (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:00:38
37 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team 0:00:42
38 Bram Tankink (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team
39 Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team
40 Lars Petter Nordhaug (Nor) Belkin Pro Cycling Team
41 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ.fr 0:00:47
42 Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) FDJ.fr
43 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team 0:01:01
44 Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:01:09
45 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
46 John Gadret (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
47 Maxime Mederel (Fra) Sojasun 0:01:15
48 Davide Malacarne (Ita) Team Europcar 0:01:18
49 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar
50 Manuele Mori (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:01:21
51 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:01:24
52 Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:01:25
53 Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:01:29
54 Mikel Nieve Ituralde (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
55 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
56 Jose Rodolfo Serpa Perez (Col) Lampre-Merida 0:01:34
57 Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:02:35
58 Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) Sojasun 0:03:44
59 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Team Europcar 0:03:47
60 Steve Morabito (Swi) BMC Racing Team 0:04:37
61 Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:04:49
62 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) FDJ.fr 0:05:06
63 Yury Trofimov (Rus) Katusha 0:05:35
64 Tony Gallopin (Fra) RadioShack Leopard 0:05:36
65 Kristijan Koren (Slo) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:06:17
66 Julien El Fares (Fra) Sojasun 0:06:53
67 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:07:02
68 Cyril Gautier (Fra) Team Europcar 0:07:52
69 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:08:30
70 Ruben Plaza Molina (Spa) Movistar Team
71 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:08:59
72 Robert Gesink (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team 0:09:08
73 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:09:32
74 Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ.fr 0:10:02
75 Jon Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:10:22
76 Rudy Molard (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:10:57
77 Jens Voigt (Ger) RadioShack Leopard 0:14:38
78 Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano 0:14:52
79 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol 0:15:15
80 Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:15:27
81 Alexandre Geniez (Fra) FDJ.fr 0:15:40
82 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:15:45
83 Peter Kennaugh (GBr) Sky Procycling 0:16:00
84 Julien Simon (Fra) Sojasun 0:16:08
85 Brice Feillu (Fra) Sojasun
86 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar 0:16:13
87 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:16:18
88 Gorka Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:16:22
89 Alberto Losada Alguacil (Spa) Katusha 0:16:42
90 Moreno Moser (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
91 David Millar (GBr) Garmin-Sharp 0:17:07
92 Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 0:17:40
93 Simon Clarke (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge 0:17:41
94 Elia Favilli (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:18:06
95 Laurent Didier (Lux) RadioShack Leopard 0:18:47
96 Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:18:54
97 Guillaume Levarlet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:19:33
98 Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano 0:20:17
99 Jean-Marc Marino (Fra) Sojasun 0:20:22
100 Alan Marangoni (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:20:24
101 Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team 0:20:49
102 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Sojasun 0:21:41
103 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:22:49
104 Juan Jose Oroz Ugalde (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:23:07
105 Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Sky Procycling 0:23:55
106 Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:24:07
107 John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano 0:24:28
108 Pavel Brutt (Rus) Katusha 0:24:44
109 Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:25:24
110 Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:25:49
111 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:26:39
112 Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Garmin-Sharp 0:27:25
113 Bart De Clercq (Bel) Lotto Belisol 0:27:58
114 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Movistar Team 0:28:06
115 Markel Irizar Aranburu (Spa) RadioShack Leopard 0:28:48
116 Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas (Spa) Movistar Team 0:28:58
117 Jerome Coppel (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:29:01
118 Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Sky Procycling 0:29:05
119 Jesus Hernandez Blazquez (Spa) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:29:39
120 Gatis Smukulis (Lat) Katusha 0:30:19
121 Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Sojasun 0:31:07
122 Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:32:04
123 Blel Kadri (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:32:06
124 Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ.fr 0:32:09
125 Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Sojasun 0:32:32
126 Tony Martin (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 0:32:33
127 Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Belisol 0:33:10
128 Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:33:21
129 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Belkin Pro Cycling Team 0:35:30
130 José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Movistar Team 0:36:27
131 Lars Boom (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team 0:36:49
132 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol 0:37:15
133 David Lopez Garcia (Spa) Sky Procycling 0:38:04
134 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:38:06
135 Rohan Dennis (Aus) Garmin-Sharp 0:38:57
136 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha 0:39:08
137 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team 0:39:15
138 Boy van Poppel (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:39:24
139 David Veilleux (Can) Team Europcar 0:40:26
140 Romain Sicard (Fra) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:40:36
141 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 0:41:43
142 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 0:42:00
143 Roberto Ferrari (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:42:08
144 Greg Henderson (NZl) Lotto Belisol 0:42:23
145 Murilo Antonio Fischer (Bra) FDJ.fr 0:42:36
146 Egoitz Garcia Echeguibel (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:42:40
147 Brian Vandborg (Den) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:42:43
148 Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano 0:42:45
149 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano
150 Danny van Poppel (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:42:58
151 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Belisol
152 Juan Jose Lobato Del Valle (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:43:07
153 Matteo Trentin (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 0:43:53
154 Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:44:11
155 Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:44:59
156 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 0:45:37
157 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 0:45:41
158 Kévin Reza (Fra) Team Europcar 0:47:55
159 Thomas Leezer (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team 0:48:06
160 Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:48:35
161 Johnny Hoogerland (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:49:27
162 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Belisol 0:49:47
163 Brett Lancaster (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge 0:49:54
164 Imanol Erviti Ollo (Spa) Movistar Team 0:50:15
165 Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge 0:51:01
166 Ian Stannard (GBr) Sky Procycling 0:51:09
167 Cameron Meyer (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge 0:51:17
168 Luis Angel Mate Mardones (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:51:37
169 Sébastien Minard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:52:07
170 William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ.fr 0:52:25
171 Jack Bauer (NZl) Garmin-Sharp 0:52:55
172 Frederik Willems (Bel) Lotto Belisol 0:53:36
173 Marcel Kittel (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano 0:53:37
174 Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Blr) Katusha 0:53:38
175 Koen De Kort (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano 0:54:23
176 Stuart O’Grady (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge 0:54:24
177 Albert Timmer (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano 0:54:40
178 Svein Tuft (Can) Orica-GreenEdge 0:55:26
179 Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) Belkin Pro Cycling Team 0:56:33
180 Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:57:12
181 Yohann Gene (Fra) Team Europcar 0:57:32
182 Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:57:41
183 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Sky Procycling 0:57:56
184 Jerome Cousin (Fra) Team Europcar 0:59:04
185 Benjamin Noval Gonzalez (Spa) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:59:30
186 Assan Bazayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:59:45
187 Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 1:00:34
188 Tom Veelers (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano 1:01:11
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