Fernando Gaviria made it two victories out of two sprints contested at the 2018 Tour de France after a pulsating finale. Here are latest news updates from the race.
Fernandos for Gaviria
The longest finishing straight of the 2018 Tour de France was a thrilling and action-packed one, with the peloton furiously chasing the day-long four-man breakaway, who led until under the flamme rouge arch, where they were mopped up by a reduced bunch, consequence of a crash that occurred with five kilometers to go.
Fernando Gaviria was unfazed by all what happened in the closing part of the 195km stage between La Baule and Sarzeau, throughout which he was protected by his teammates at all times, and after being ideally dropped by the brilliant Maximiliano Richeze with 220 meters to go, he put in a devastating sprint which saw him beat Peter Sagan (Bora-hansgrohe) and Andre Greipel (Lotto-Soudal), en route to Quick-Step Floors’ 49th UCI win of the season.
“To take two stages at my first Tour de France is just… Wow! It wasn’t easy at all, but we came here in very good condition, keen on leaving our mark on this great race, and thanks to the fantastic work of the entire team we have reasons to smile and be happy, but we don’t want to stop here and will remain focus for what’s to come”, said Gaviria after his hugely impressive sprint in Bretagne, a region which abounds in myths, legends and stunning scenery.
A quartet got clear of the bunch early and established a seven-minute advantage, while Quick-Step Floors duly moved to the front of the pack with Tim Declercq and Niki Terpstra, doing the bulk of the work and bringing the gap down to two minutes inside the last 20 kilometers. On paper, the chasers shouldn’t have had any problems in nullifying that move, but a strong tailwind played into the escapees’ advantage, who rode for dear life on the narrow roads of Morbihan.
Quick-Step Floors were joined in the chase by other teams only with ten kilometers left, and despite the scrappy finish and the road going up in the last kilometer, always maintained its position at the front, thanks to an unreal 400m lead-out of Richeze. Gaviria confidently opened his sprint from the middle of the road, and despite being briefly surpassed by Greipel, he found that second magical kick to notch up the victory, Quick-Step Floors’ 34th at the Tour de France.
The 23-year-old Fernando, the first rider to win multiple stages at this year’s edition, took us through the hectic finish of Tuesday, which brought him within four points of the points classification lead.
“It was difficult today, because the breakaway really pushed us, as we were the ones working the most at the front. We also had some headwind and that uphill drag, but Max was unbelievable, he knows when it’s the right time to go to the front and did again a perfect lead-out”, said Fernando, before revealing the secret behind the success of Quick-Step Floors: “We’re more than a team, we are a family, always believing in our chances and riding for each other.”
Near Miss for Sagan
“The headwind was a big issue today in the final sprint and positioning and timing were crucial. I finished second and I’m happy to keep the green jersey,” said Peter Sagan after the stage. “Today’s breakaway was strong and the escapees did a good job. We didn’t pull for most of the race except for the final kilometres and let the other teams do it. The fight for the green jersey is on but we have a long race to Paris with some climbs in between. The important thing is that we also managed to stay again clear of trouble and avoid the crashes of the final kilometres. The guys are doing a great job in that aspect.”
“Hectic Sprint” Says Greipel
André Greipel finished third on the behind Gaviria and Sagan. “It was once again a hectic sprint. With the team we managed to stay at the front pretty well. After the crash I still had Keukeleire, Sieberg and De Buyst with me. I chose to take the initiative myself today. I started sprinting pretty early with about 300 metres to go. I had hoped to be able to get on the wheel of someone else, but that wasn’t possible. I accelerated again with 100 metres to go. But I felt Gaviria and Sagan coming. I can be satisfied with my sprint, I was in the running for the victory so that’s very promising.”
Greipel’s teammates Tiesj Benoot and Tomasz Marczynski crashed with five kilometres to go in the stage. The Polish debutant hit his handlebars with his left knee, that knee is bruised. It’s pretty realistic that he will be able to start tomorrow.
Tiesj Benoot incurred a second degree dislocation of the AC joint in his right shoulder, a bruise of the ribs, the right shoulder blade and left wrist, he has abrasions on his hips, back, arms and legs and cuts at his right eyebrow and the back of his head, stitched with respectively seven and one thread. It will be decided tomorrow if Benoot starts stage 5.
Van Avermaet Defends Yellow
Greg Van Avermaet successfully defended the yellow jersey on Tour de France stage 4 after a day of racing that saw BMC Racing Team working together up at the front of the peloton all day to ensure all eight riders crossed the line safely in another hectic bunch sprint.
“It was a nice day in the beginning but it got pretty hectic in the final,” said Van Avermaet at the finish. “The guys did a really good job to protect Richie and me. They were always on the front and we spent a lot of energy in the wind but as we saw, anything can happen and by staying up at the front we were in the safe zone. We protected ourselves and with no time loss, it was a perfect day.
“I think tomorrow will be another hard stage. It will be important to stay in front and stay safe but in the end, I think we can do more in the final. We have a strong team. I will try to be up there and I would like to make a good result. I’ve enjoyed my day in yellow but I also came here to try and get a stage win and I think tomorrow is my first big opportunity. A win in yellow would be even more incredible.”
“We were right up at the front for most of the stage and I wasn’t even aware that there had been crashes,” Richie Porte added. “Michael Schär, Stefan Küng and Paddy Bevin did a super job for us. Sometimes it’s nice to have the jersey and therefore have the right to sit up there. It was a nice day overall.
“Tomorrow is a hard stage but it is more of a positioning battle. It’s not an easy stage by any means but, I think stage 6 will be more of a test for me.”
Axel Domont Abandons
The victim of a crash 5 kilometers from the finish of the fourth stage, Axel Domont was forced to abandon the Tour.
Upon arriving at the finish, Domont was examined by the medical staff of the Tour de France, and then transferred to the hospital of Vannes to undergo additional examinations including an X-Ray.
“He is suffering from a fracture of the right collarbone. The X-Ray did not, however, detect a fracture to the skull nor the ribs,” Dr. Eric Bouvat, medical officer of the AG2R LA MONDIALE team, explained.
Axel will spend Tuesday night under observation at the hospital as a precaution.
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