Tour de France stage 16: Plaza gives Lampre-Merida a win in Gap

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Ruben Plaza (Lampre Merida) soloed to the win on stage 16 of the Tour de France into Gap after jumping clear of the day’s main break on the final climb of the Col de Manse.

The Spanish veteran attacked from a group that included Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) who gave chase with a nail-biting descent but once again had to settle for second on the stage with the consolation of extending his advantage in the Green Jersey competition. Jarlinson Pantano (I AM Cycling) finished the stage in third place.

Plaza, once implicated but later cleared in the Operación Puerto, timed his attack to perfection on the Col de Manse, allowing for his breakaway companions to soften each other up. After Sagan closed down one of number of initial moves, Plaza slipped clear as the gradient began to bite.

Despite a block headwind on the climb Plaza was able to open up a minute’s advantage by the time he crested the summit as nine remaining men from the break cancelled each other out.

On the technical, even dangerous descent Plaza held his nerve, although there brief flashbacks to Joseba Beloki’s fall in here 2003 when the Lampre climber locked his wheels on a righthand corner. However he remained upright and despite a valiant, and hugely impressive descent from Sagan, Plaza was able to hang on for the win.

"It was very difficult to get to the finish of the stage today, for the stage victory," Plaza said. "I felt pretty good in the breakaway today, and everyone was working pretty well together. This was a stage that had interested me. Thank you very much to my team."

Thomas has a scare but keeps 6th in GC

In the battle for the yellow jersey Chris Froome (Team Sky) retained his lead over his main rivals despite pressure from Alberto Contador’s Tinkoff Saxo team on the final climb. The Spaniard attempted to isolate Froome but the climb offered little in the way of opportunity when it came to incline or serious length. Only Tony Gallopin (Lotto Soudal) lost time and dropped out of the top ten.

However a more frenetic race took place on the descent with Vincenzo Nibali reminding everyone that class may be permanent rather than temporary. The Italian cut loose and avoided the danger that followed when Warren Barguil picked the wrong line on the same corner that almost did in Plaza.

The Giant-Alpecin rider, riding in the yellow jersey group, managed to correct his trajectory but only at the cost Geraint Thomas, into whom he abruptly collided. The Welshman was sent flying off the road and into a ditch with a lamppost the first bit of road furniture to break his speed. However it was Thomas’ head that made the first contact with the structure and hearts were in mouths as the race awaited news of his condition.

The GC contenders rightly carried on and Nibali was able to gain a few seconds on Froome’s group. When race radio finally confirmed that Thomas was upright and only forty seconds in arrears the entire race could breathe a sign of relief.

"I'm alright, I'm a bit shaken up but fine. I've had a lot worse," Thomas said to Eurosport later. "It's frustrating, I tried so hard to get over the climb, I don't know why some guys just sit where you are on the descent. What's the difference between fifth and third. Just get down the descent. Everyone knows it's a tough descent."

How it unfolded

With Tuesday’s well-earned rest day on the horizon the peloton had just the small matter of this 200k1 stage to Gap with its two categorised climbs and the final descent.

A break in this year’s Tour de France wouldn’t be complete with the presence of Peter Sagan and the green jersey duly obliged, alongside Michele Scarponi (Astana), Imanol Erviti (Movistar), Tony Gallopin (Lotto-Soudal), Adam Hansen (Lotto-Soudal), Michal Golas (Eitxx-QuickStep), Matteo Trentin (Etixx-QuickStep), Thomas Voeckler (Europcar), Laurent Didier (Trek), Markel irizar (Trek), Pippo Pozzato (Lampre-Merida), Luis Angel Mate (Cofidis), Jan Barta (Bora-Argon), Pierre-Luc Perichon (Bretagne-Seche Environnement), and Edvald Boasson-Hagen (MTN).

That group led through the intermediate sprint at 86.5 kilometres, where Sagan took maximum points, but then joined up with a group of 12 chasers behind, including Andriy Grivko (Astana), Christophe Riblon (AG2R), Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo) Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal), Simon Geschke, Marco Haller (Katusha), Bob Jungels (Trek), Nelson Oliveira (Lampre-Merida), Ruben Plaza Molina (Lampre-Merida), Daniel Navarro (Cofidis), Pierrick Fedrigo (Bretagne-Seche-Environnement), and Serge Pauwels (MTN-Qhubeka).

At 24 it was one of the biggest breaks in the Tour so far and their advantage quickly grew with the peloton eager to save their legs with the final week packed with mountain stages. By the time the break moved onto the first climb of the category 2 Col de Cabre their lead was approaching 12 minutes.

In the valley before the Col de Manse, and with the peloton so far back that the stage provided two races for the price of one, the break initiated their first mutinous attacks. Boassan Hagen was the first to make a significant move but he was overhauled by Hansen and Haller. Neither would ever be described as a pure climber but their one-minute advantage on the lower slopes of he Col de Manse at least provided the rest of the break with a target to chase.

Sagan, who has lead the break down the first climb with a master-class in descending, moved onto the defensive on the lower slopes of the climb, resisting attacks from Gescke and Riblon, who seemed infuriated with the Tinkoff rider’s persistence in chasing him down.

Plaza, however, struck and quickly built a 30-second lead over a chase group that swelled to nine by the time they crested the climb. On the descent Sagan opened up a gap as he set off in hot pursuit but Plaza had done enough on the climb to ensure that despite the Slovak’s chase the stage win was secure.

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