Tour de France: Groenewegen wins stage 7 in Chartres

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The longest stage of the Tour de France was also its most subdued, but at least there was a novel ending, as Dylan Groenewegen (LottoNL-Jumbo) upset the sprint duopoly of Fernando Gaviria (Quick-Step Floors) and Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) with a powerful effort in the shadow of Chartres cathedral.

Groenewegen married strength and nous on the rise to the finish line to claim the second Tour stage win of his career. The Dutchman chose Alexander Kristoff’s wheel in the finale, and then came around the Norwegian with a shade over 200 metres to go to deliver a sprint that proved too much even for Gaviria and Sagan, who were each chasing a hat-trick of stage wins on this Tour.

While Groenewegen sprinted in clear waters down the centre of the road, Gaviria and Sagan were locked in their private battle nearer the barriers. Sagan had glued himself to Gaviria’s wheel during the sprint, but he didn’t have the wherewithal to come around the Colombian. Gaviria, for his part, was again expertly led out by Max Richeze, but on this finale, Groenewegen was simply too strong.

“I've been going better every day. I said I needed some time, and I didn't feel good in the first stages,” said Groenewegen. “Today we did it and it's amazing. I'm really grateful.”

Groenewegen held a finger to his lips as he crossed the line, as though to silence his critics, and his triumph here certainly brooked no argument, as he was a resounding winner ahead of Gaviria and Sagan.

“I was behind Kristoff and he was going. I stayed in is wheel and then I thought, ‘Now is the moment,’” Groenewegen said. “I went with 200 metres to go, and it was good enough. I hope there's more. I have the legs to win now, so we celebrate tonight and maybe the same tomorrow.”

Gaviria was the only rider able to count on a coherent lead-out in a typically chaotic run-in, and his rear wheel was prime real estate in the final kilometre. Arnaud Démare (Groupama-FDJ), who placed 4th on the stage, might well feel aggrieved about the way Sagan bumped him off Gaviria’s wheel just as the sprint was winding up. Christophe Laporte (Cofidis) placed 5th ahead of John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo).

Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data), meanwhile, had opted to pick his own path through the carnage and the Manxman featured in a bunch sprint for the first time in this race, though he would ultimately drop back to 10th after realising that he was not in a position to win. There should, after all, be another chance to add to his running tally of 30 Tour wins in Amiens on Saturday.

“With a few hundred metres to go I was quite excited to be honest. Once Quick-Step and Bora go I can't match that speed. I just can't do it,” Cavendish admitted afterwards. “With 200m to go I was alright and the legs felt good. My power is good.”

Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing Team) finished safely in the peloton to retain the yellow jersey and the Belgian stretched his advantage over Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) to 6 seconds after he clipped away to win the bonus sprint at Nonvilliers-Grandhoux with 31km to go.

The Belgian will now hope to carry the maillot jaune onto the cobbles on Sunday’s much anticipated trek to Roubaix. “I'm happy this stage is over and we can look forward to tomorrow and Sunday's stage,” Van Avermaet said.

How it unfolded

Flat stages on this Tour have tended to follow a set pattern, whereby a break made up of riders from wildcard teams goes in the opening kilometre and then gets pegged back by the sprinters’ teams in the final hour, but that tacit understanding seemed to break down on the Tour’s longest day.

Yoann Offredo (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) reported for duty when the flag dropped in Fougères and promptly attacked, only to relent once it became apparent that nobody else wanted to come with him. His teammate Thomas Degand soon repeated the same move, building a lead of almost a minute, but knocked off his effort on the instructions of his directeur sportif.

The peloton was ambling along behind the slowest time schedule in those early kilometres, though a bike race briefly threatened to break out when a strong group featuring Oliver Naesen and Tony Gallopin (AG2R-La Mondiale), Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal), Arthur Vichot (Groupama-FDJ), Lukas Pöstlberger (Bora-Hansgrohe), Yves Lampaert (Quick Step), Michael Gogl (Trek-Segafredo), Julien Vermote (Dimension Data), Edward Theuns (Sunweb) and Simon Gerrans (BMC) broke clear after 22 kilometres.

Of the sprint teams, only Groenwegen’s LottoNL-Jumbo squad had missed the break, and that proved its undoing, as the men in yellow and black worked breathlessly to snuff out the move almost as soon as it had developed.

Back to square one, and – as if to illustrate the point – Offredo decided to try his luck once again, jumping clear with 195km remaining. As had been the case at kilometre zero, nobody came with him, and as the Frenchman established a lead, he jokingly suggested that the television motorbike take a few turns on the front.

Left to his own devices, the elegant Offredo built up a maximum advantage of 7 minutes during his 100 kilometre rally off the front, but his move came to an abrupt end when there was a sudden injection of pace in the peloton in the crosswinds around Saint-Longis. AG2R La Mondiale and Movistar’s forcing briefly split the peloton and forced Dan Martin (UAE-Team Emirates) into a frantic chase to get on terms, but the frissons dissipated quickly and the race returned to its previous somnambulant state.

Laurent Pichon (Fortuneo-Samsic) took advantage of the general détente to make a solo offensive of his own, but there was never a sense that his effort would last deep into the finale, and so it proved, as he was pegged back ahead of the bonus sprint, where Van Avermaet snagged the maximum 3 seconds.

As the afternoon wore on and the spires of Chartres cathedral emerged on the horizon, and so too did the pace increase in the peloton. A breathless final half-hour ensued, and Groenwegen emerged from the maelstrom with the spoils.

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