John Degenkolb on Sunday won the Arras-Roubaix ninth stage of the Tour de France ahead of Greg van Avermaet as dozens of falls and multiple withdrawals made for a slapstick spectacle amid clouds of dust on its famed cobbled sections.
The win marks a return to form for the German, a former winner of Paris-Roubaix, who was knocked down by a car in Mallorca two years ago.
“I love Roubaix,” said Degenkolb, who was one of six riders badly injured when knocked down by a British tourist.
Photo: Reuters
BMC Racing Team’s Van Avermaet kept hold of the overall leader’s maillot jaune on a day when his team captain Richie Porte withdrew after a fall and the main contenders all finished more or less together.
The lead trio broke with 15km to go and quickly agreed to cooperate, taking turns at the head of the group to distance the peloton.
Degenkolb was always the more likely of the trio to win the stage due to his sprinting skills, while Belgian Van Avermaet was keen to take his maillot jaune into the mountains later this week.
“When we got away, the three of us, I knew I could beat them in the sprint, but I didn’t know if I could keep up with them,” Trek-Segafredo’s Degenkolb said.
The 155km stage featuring 22km of rough cobbled sections was expected to produce drama and so it proved.
Romain Bardet got a third flat tire of the day and lost touch with the peloton with just 5km remaining as he exited the final section of cobbles.
Chris Froome attacked at that moment and there will be increased bad will on the French roadsides for the British champion, who has been booed by sections of the public on the Tour.
Froome later defended the move, replying to a critic on Twitter: “I had no idea @romainbardet had an issue?! We don’t see what you see on TV.”
Digging deep within himself, Bardet somehow made it back to the Froome group shortly before the finish line after a huge effort that saw the French hope gasping for breath.
“It’s a miracle I made it back, it’s a miracle I’m still in the Tour de France,” a dust covered Bardet said at the finishing line.
“I had been planning to attack, to smash up the peloton,” said the man who came second in 2016 and third last year.
Questions are likely to be asked about the leadership issue at Team Sky after Geraint Thomas abandoned Froome when a mechanical failure saw the four-time winner crash late on.
Thomas started the day a minute ahead of his nominative team leader, who eventually struggled back to the peloton on his own.
Peter Sagan, this year’s Paris-Roubaix champion after an attack from 53km, was furious with himself after a lapse cost him a place in the winning breakaway.
“One little section, just one, where I wasn’t at the front and off they went,” the Bora-Hansgrohe rider said.
Van Avermaet said he was gutted for Porte, but was now free to go for another stage win.
“Winning this race in the yellow jersey would have made a lovely photo,” he said. “So maybe I’ll get away on Tuesday’s stage [a rolling run into the Alps].”
On a mixed day for Spain’s Movistar Team, Alejandro Valverde and Nairo Quintana finished with the main group, while Mikel Landa made a horrible error, falling off when reaching for a water bottle, but only eventually losing seven seconds.
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