Peter Sagan might be the unluckiest rider at the Tour de France. “So close yet so far” could be his nickname.
With a few more pumps on his pedals, a few more ounces of speed and power, the spunky Slovakian could have won four stages by now.
Instead, he has four second places.
Photo: AP
He blamed only himself for the latest addition on Friday to his unwanted collection. In a man-on-man duel on an uphill final sprint against Greg van Avermaet of Belgium, Sagan mistimed his finish, easing up just a fraction too early against the Belgian rider, who pushed to the very end.
“My stupid mistake,” the Tinkoff-Saxo rider said.
Chris Froome was faultless again. Another stage down, another step closer to sipping champagne on the Champs-Elysees for the race leader.
“Just happy to tick that day off. One day closer to Paris now,” Froome said.
For most of the flat-to-hilly stage 13 from Muret deep in southern France, six low-placed riders rode in a breakaway at the front of the race. None were a threat for the podium in Paris. The closest to Froome, Cyril Gautier, was more than an hour behind him in the overall standings. So Froome and the main pack happily let the escape get away, hoping instead for a breather on the 198km trek after three grueling days of climbing in the Pyrenees and under unrelenting sun that melted tarmac.
Riding past plantations of yellow sunflowers and golden fields of harvested wheat, the riders worked on staying hydrated as temperatures soared into the mid-30s Celsius. A loss of concentration proved painful for Jean-Christophe Peraud. Last year’s runner-up suffered a nasty spill at speed on the flat, tearing strips of skin off his left leg and arms as he hit the deck hard and rolled several times.
The French leader of the AG2R La Mondiale team gingerly picked himself up and remounted, gritting his teeth. A Tour doctor then patched him up on the move, wrapping his wounds in bandages as Peraud gripped the speeding medical car.
“When it is hot like that, you need a bottle of water every 10 to 15 minutes,” Froome said. “It was tough.”
It got tougher.
As the finish in Rodez drew close, the peloton woke from its slumber. Like mice trying to escape a hunting cat, the escapees rode furiously, eyeing the stage win in the town of 26,000 people. Their speciality dishes include aligot, a mix of melted cheese and mashed potato, and tripe.
The cat had other plans.
Riders took turns at the front of the peloton to pile on speed. The gap melted like ice cream. With 7km to ride, it had shrunk from minutes to 40 seconds. It was clear this would be agonizingly close.
The pack caught its prey inside the last kilometer, swallowing up the last three escapees. That was when Van Avermaet and Sagan pounced, surging ahead, two powerful riders competing for one prize.
The 30-year-old Belgian made the top 10 on five previous stages. Not bad, but no cigar. As well as second places on stages 2, 5 and 6, 25-year-old Sagan also placed third twice. Both were ravenous to win.
Van Avermaet, it turned out, was just a fraction more so.
Sensing a rider — he said afterward he did not know it was Sagan — on his wheel, he emptied his tank. Sagan, sprinting behind, off his saddle, sat back down just a tad too early.
“Incredible,” said Van Avermaet, who rides for the BMC team. “I was dead, really dead. I thought I had caught second. I pushed for the line and was so happy he did not overtake me.”
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