Tour de France Stage 5 - van Avermaet makes his mark

Day 5 and still the wheels haven't come off our brave attempt to live tweet every Tour de France stage. Will we make it to Paris? Probably not, we don't have Eurostar tickets, but who knows, we might still be tweeting about it.

One thing we definitely know is that @AndrewSteel88 was in the saddle for our Stage 5 coverage, taking the race from its overnight stop in Limoges on the most testing stage so far to Le Lioran.

Note: when I said he was 'in the saddle', he's not so much at risk of saddle sores as bed sores, the lazy git.
We joined the action yesterday with Greg van Avermaet, Thomas de Gendt and Andriy Grivko clear of the first true group of poursuivants of the Tour, over 15 minutes clear of the peloton, making it pretty clear one of nine would take the stage, and probably Peter Sagan's yellow jersey.

It was shaping up to be the most must-see stage yet, after some pre-sprint stinkers, but sadly, not everyone was able to enjoy it.
Paul wasn't the only one missing out on key action.

Legend. Back to the serious action, the leading trio became a duo, while the chasers were struggling to stay with the leaders too.
Back in the peloton, the knock-on effect of TdG and GvA kicking on was having very significant effects.
Should have asked Nibbles, Peter. He loves a handsling.

Sagan's struggles meant that the yellow jersey was definitely up for grabs for whoever won the stage. They won't necessarily have known that, but you wouldn't have realised given what happened next.

The BMC rider was looking strong as de Gendt remained steady in second, all but guaranteeing him the consolation of holding the polka dot jersey at the end of the day. It seemed that nothing could stop van Avermaet, however, as he even defied the infamous Curse of Steel.

Fortunately for Andy's kneecaps, BMC didn't need to get the sledgehammers out. With no sprint necessary for van Avermaet, who was well over a minute clear at the flamme rouge, there was no call for Ned Stark, Indeed, van Avermaet rolled over to take the stage and the yellow jersey.
My grasp of French isn't good enough to get the 'Van Aver-mate' joke, I'm afraid. Answers on a carte postale, s'il vous plaît. A long pause followed before the group of GC contenders finished, which was plenty of time for events to occur.

So Alberto Contador's disastrous start to the Tour continues, as a new face takes control of the yellow jersey, and with over five minutes over second in the GC standings, he may hold it for some days yet. See you for stage 6, and don't forget to follow us on Twitter with the buttons on the right.

Stage results:
1. Greg van Avermaet (BMC) 5:31:36
2. Thomas de Gendt (LTS) + 2:34
3. Rafal Majka (TNK) + 5:04

General Classification:
1. Greg van Avermaet (BMC) 25:34:46
2. Julian Alaphilippe (EQS) + 5:11
3. Alejandro Valverde (MOV) + 5:13
4. Joaquin Rodriguez (KAT) + 5:14
5. Chris Froome (SKY) + 5:17

Points Classification:
1. Peter Sagan (TNK) 150
2. Mark Cavendish (DDD) 146
3. Marcel Kittel (EQS) 142

King of the Mountains:
1. Thomas de Gendt (LTS) 13
2. Greg van Avermaet (BMC) 11
3. Jasper Stuyven (TFS) 5






















Posted by

No comments:

Post a Comment