The first real mountain stage that led to the yellow jersey has been archived Julius Ciccone and relaunched Geraint Thomas at the top of the predictions for the final victory, the Tour returned for a flat day from Belfort to Châlon-sur-Saone offering the sprinters the stage for another thrilling sprint. And the Dutchman Dylan Groenewegen put his first seal on this Tour at the end of a sprint of pure adrenaline, beating Caleb Ewan in the photo-finish who was recovering like a bullet in the tussle of the last hundred metres, elbow to elbow.
But the Australian couldn't manage to put his wheel in front of that of the Dutchman: the official chronometer of the Tour set the gap between the two at one hundredth of a second, equal to 17 centimetres. A trifle that becomes an abyss if you compare it to the 6 millimeters difference that gave Marcel Kittel the victory over Edvald Boasson-Hagen at the Nuits-Saint-Georges finish line in the Grande Biucle two years ago. For Groenewegen it is the eleventh success of the season, three lengths from the victories obtained in 2018. Winners, respectively in Colmar and Nancy, yesterday Peter Sagan had to settle for third place which in any case strengthens his green jersey as leader of the points standings while Viviani did not go beyond the sixth place ahead of Nizzolo seventh but also preceded by Sonny Colbrelli fourth.
Three Italians once again in the top ten but the Italian everyone talks about at the Tour is Giulio Ciccone, for the second day in the yellow jersey, a rider that the French media, starting with "L'Equipe", have begun to get to know, discovering that he is anything but a Carneade. If well, the bookmakers have also noticed that in the youngsters' classification they quote him third (given at 12) behind Bernal and Mas while they indicate him as the most probable winner of the climbers' classification (quoted 3). All things considered, yesterday's stage was a quiet one for the rider from Abruzzo.
A little less for Teejay Vangarderen involved in a painful fall that could force the American to abandon a Tour that is already compromised. Tour that today faces a complicated stage, from Mâcon to Saint-Etienne, which foresees a succession of "cotes" for an overall altitude difference of about 4 thousand meters to overcome. A stage that suggests attacks and ambushes, suitable for riders like Alaphilipoe, who at 6” from Ciccone is the most fearsome competitor for his yellow jersey.
