André Greipel’s canny sprint instincts were on display in Amiens on Wednesday as the German sprint ace surfed wheels through a disorganized finish to win Tour de France stage 5. Greipel wasn’t delivered to the final 500 meters by an armada of his Lotto-Soudal teammates. No, instead, he waited patiently, saw Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) launch too soon, jumped off Edvald Boasson Hagen’s (MTN-Qhubeka) wheel, then pushed past Mark Cavendish (Etixx-Quick-Step) to win in the final 100 meters.
“I had the power in the sprint,” said Greipel. “Two stage victories is unbelievable. I didn’t expect that coming into the Tour de France.
“I was concentrating on Quick-Step’s lead-out train. Marcel Sieberg did the work for three. With 300 meters to go, I thought the sprint was finished, but somehow I could get out of it and launch my sprint.”
Top 10, stage 5
- 1. André GREIPEL, LOTTO SOUDAL, in 4:39:00
- 2. Peter SAGAN, TINKOFF – SAXO, at :00
- 3. Mark CAVENDISH, ETIXX – QUICK STEP, at :00
- 4. Alexander KRISTOFF, TEAM KATUSHA, at :00
- 5. Edvald BOASSON HAGEN, MTN – QHUBEKA, at :00
- 6. John DEGENKOLB, TEAM GIANT – ALPECIN, at :00
- 7. Arnaud DEMARE, FDJ, at :00
- 8. Bryan COQUARD, TEAM EUROPCAR, at :00
- 9. Davide CIMOLAI, LAMPRE – MERIDA, at :00
- 10. Greg VAN AVERMAET, BMC RACING TEAM, at :00
Top 10, GC
- 1. Tony MARTIN, ETIXX – QUICK STEP, in 17:19:26
- 2. Christopher FROOME, TEAM SKY, at :12
- 3. Tejay VAN GARDEREN, BMC RACING TEAM, at :25
- 4. Peter SAGAN, TINKOFF – SAXO, at :33
- 5. Tony GALLOPIN, LOTTO SOUDAL, at :38
- 6. Greg VAN AVERMAET, BMC RACING TEAM, at :40
- 7. Rigoberto URAN URAN, ETIXX – QUICK STEP, at :46
- 8. Alberto CONTADOR VELASCO, TINKOFF – SAXO, at :48
- 9. Geraint THOMAS, TEAM SKY, at 1:15
- 10. Zdenek STYBAR, ETIXX – QUICK STEP, at 1:16
Early in the day, after 17 kilometers of racing, Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis) crashed with three teammates. The French sprinter was forced to abandon on a day that might have favored him.
The lone breakaway was Pierre-Luc Périchon (Bretagne-Séché Environnement), who went out early. At one point, his lead was a few minutes, but with 96km left, the Frenchman was caught.
About halfway through, 78km in, a 90-degree turn resulted in a split peloton as the wind changed from a headwind to a crosswind. All of the notable GC riders made the front group.
Inside of 70km to go, Cavendish flatted and was forced to chase back with three of his teammates.
FDJ’s Thibaut Pinot saw his GC ambitions suffer another blow as he was caught in a large crash on wet roads with 20 kilometers to race. He managed to chase back to the field before the finale.
Giant-Alpecin took over the lead-out with two kilometers to go. However, a string of three Etixx riders pushed back up on the left side to position Cavendish in the run-in to the red kite. Lotto-Soudal’s Sieberg opened up the sprint with one kilometer go, but Greipel lost his teammate’s wheel in the melee.
Etixx moved back to front, but like Greipel, Cavendish had lost lead-out man Mark Renshaw’s wheel. Kristoff opened up his sprint early, as usual, moving up on right side, taking the front with 300 meters left. But the finale was not meant for a long sprint. Cavendish was next to launch, but he was also too early. Finally, Greipel emerged, jumping first from Boasson Hagen’s wheel, then Cavendish’s, to sprint to victory.
Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo) closed fast in the finale to finish second. Cavendish was third.
Thursday’s 191.5km stage 6 from Abbeville to Le Havre could offer another thrilling sprint, but with a short, steep hill just before the line, it may not be ideal for pure speedsters.
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