Tour de France: Matthews wins stage 16

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Michael Matthews (Sunweb) took a well-deserved win on stage 16 of the Tour de France, edging out Edvald Boasson Hagen (Dimension Data) and John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo) in a reduced bunch sprint in Romans-sur-Isère. The win marked Matthews second stage of the race and saw him claw back 50 points on Marcel Kittel (QuickStep Floors) in the green jersey competition.

The stage was marked by the constant threat of crosswinds but the lead group only split inside the final 15 kilometres with Team Sky putting the hammer down. Their surge in pace put Daniel Martin (Quick-Step Floors), Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) and Louis Meintjes (UAE Emirates) to the sword. Martin and Meintjes both lost thirty seconds on the yellow jersey group, while Contador conceded well over a minute to see his top 10 chances take a further hit. Chris Froome had a relatively calm day and leads the race by 18 seconds from Fabio Aru (Astana) and Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) in third, a further five seconds adrift.

Rigoberto Urán remains in fourth with Mikel Landa back up to fifth after Martin missed the key split. The Irishman now sits seventh, 2:03 off yellow with Meintjes one place further down the standings, a full six minutes down on Froome.

The stage, however, belonged to Matthews and his Sunweb team who served up one of the best examples of teamwork and sacrifice witnessed at this year's Tour de France. Their masterpiece began early as they dictated the race in the early stages – seeing off Kittel on the first climb of the day before neutralising early breaks and positioning Matthews in the first group. The Australian pulled back 20 points by winning the intermediate sprint with KOM leader Warren Barguil instrumental in pulling the peloton along.

When the lead group eventually did split in the frantic crosswinds Sunweb kept their numbers near the front with Matthews gunning for his second win in less than a week. With Kittel dispatched with early in the stage and Nacer Bouhanni's (Cofidis) reserves depleted after a long chase, the Australian had to be happy to be facing fewer rivals, but Degenkolb, Boasson Hagen and André Greipel (Lotto Soudal) would be no pushovers, especially given that all three are still searching for their first stage wins this year.

In the technical finale Matthews was brought to the front by Nikias Ardnt, just as Olympic champion Greg Van Avermaet began to lead out with 300 metres to go. The BMC rider's tactics were clear – hit the front through the tight corners and hold out for as long as possible – but with Boasson Hagen, Matthews, and Degenkolb all hovering it was always going to be a tough ask.

The leading sprinters simply used Van Avermaet as their final marker, kicking past him with the line in sight, as Boasson Hagen went left and Degenkolb and Matthews opted for the other side. Degenkolb cut a frustrated figure as he came over the finish, gesturing that Matthews – who took his place on Sunweb – had deviated his line in the sprint. Matthews took the win as Boasson Hagen passed Degenkolb in the closing metres to take second place.

Matthews, who left Orica-Scott to focus on days like today now has two wins to his 2017 Tour palmares, and with the lead to Kittel cut to just 29, even greater reward could lie ahead.

How it unfolded

After Monday’s rest day one would have been forgiven for thinking that all the hot air had been used up in Dave Brailsford’s four letter rant but the forecast at Le Puy-en-Velay warned of severe cross winds as the peloton embarked on the 165km to Romans-sur-Isère.

The weather conditions provided a chance for team directors to break out their highlighters and scribble frantic notes on their Tour road books as they attempted to warn their riders of the dangers that lay ahead.

However, it was the riders and not the weather that made the race inside the opening few kilometres of the stage. Lotto Soudal's Thomas De Gendt made his customary assault in the early kilometres with Sylvain Chavanel (Direct Energie) among a small pocket of riders joining the Belgian.

The peloton were in no mood to allow a group to move clear and Sunweb’s intent became clear as the rode began to climb. They posted men on the front in a bid to test Kittel on the first fourth-category climb, with Matthews himself jumping away. Kittel held the Australian once but when Sunweb put the hammer down for a second time the Green jersey was forced to relent, and he duly switched tactics in a bid to limit his losses.

As the descent began, Kittel and a clutch of sprinters were at 29 seconds, as a volley of QuickStep riders nursed the German towards what they thought would be quick return to the lead group.

However half a minute quickly doubled, and doubled again, before QuickStep – perhaps the team best equipped for crosswinds – realised that their GC leader Martin was isolated up front with just two men. It was a move they would pay for later in the stage.

If Kittel was having a bad day it was even worse for George Bennett, who started the day with genuine hopes of finishing inside the top 10 come Paris. However, hampered by sickness, he was forced out of the race.

Meanwhile, Nacer Bouhanni had no intentions of throwing in the towel. The Frenchman, disgusted that he had missed the split, called back teammates, and surged off the front in a bid to close down the peloton. He flew out of the Kittel group as if there were just 500 metres to go but made the improbable juncture with over 50 kilometres left to race.

Crosswinds

After Matthews picked up 20 points at the intermediate sprint all eyes turned back to the crosswinds. The key sectors were to come with around 37 kilometres remaining and the tension was palpable as riders dragged their GC candidates to the front and rubbed shoulders with their rivals.

Sky were well positioned and had numbers, only missing Luke Rowe from the early cut, while Bardet, Urán and even Nairo Quintana (Movistar) had strong supporting casts. Martin, with only two men, looked vulnerable, as did Trek's Alberto Contador, who despite an attack from his team at one point, never looked comfortable as he searched for the best place to position himself.

With 15 kilometres to go it looked as though the worst sectors had been navigated safely enough but as the bunch rounded a corner Team Sky put the hammer down. The first acceleration almost caught out Astana's Fabio Aru, who sprinted like his life depended on it, as fractures in the field began to show. As Team Sky turned the screw further splits appeared. Bardet made it by the skin of his teeth but Martin, Meintjes and Contador were left stranded with the maillot jaune, Sunweb and Movistar all the willing to keep the pace high.

When Movistar's Daniele Bennati jumped off the front with 2000 metres to go it looked as though Matthews and the surviving sprinters would be thwarted but Barguil made one last push, with Dimension Data also keen to play a part. Sometimes though, you get what you deserve in cycling and in Romans-sur-Isère Matthews and Sunweb were rewarded with the spoils their daylong efforts warranted.

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