In the evocative landscape of the great dams that Holland has erected to re-emerge from the sea, about thirty kilometers from the Zelande finish line, Vincenzo Nibali it loses the shape of a shark to take on that of a tuna caught in the invisible nets of the North Sea wind. Everything plays against the Italian champion: first a fall by Hansen which splits the group into several sections, just enough for the dreaded fans to be created which reward those in the lead and penalize those who follow.
Nibali he found himself in the middle one; behind in the last one is Quintana but the other two of the fantastic four of this Tour, Froome and Contador are in front and it doesn't seem true to them that they can already give a good blow to the Italian and the Colombian. Then, to complicate a difficult day, even bad luck with Nibali who has to set foot on the ground for one puncture. Moreover, the leader of Astana is left inexplicably alone in the chase to get back into the second group. Might as well be joined by what comes behind with Quintana and other noble pedal characters such as Valverde, Rodriguez and Thibaut Pinot.
But even with increased ranks, the delay on the leaders does not decrease and at the finish line it will settle in 1'28”. Nibali, who had done better than the other big names in the time trial, doesn't make drama. There is plenty of time to remedy but it cannot be denied that the climate in the Astana house last night was very different from what we breathed at the end of the second stage of the Tour last year when Vincenzo took off by breaking away from everyone, winning the stage and the yellow jersey .
Today the Tour bets on Huy from the wall made famous by the Freccia Vallone: Froome, who yesterday in Zeeland gnawed even four seconds off Contador – the Pistolero did not participate in the sprint won by André Greipel to avoid falls – restarts with an advantage of 1' 21” on Nibali and 12 seconds on the Spanish champion. Of course it's the two of them Froome e Counter, those who have obtained the maximum result in terms of final victory from a flat stage that really did not favor them.
Se Nibali e Quintana they are the big losers, even in the Etixx-Quick Step house the stage of the Zelande dams will not be remembered with pleasure. In front together with Froome and Contador there were five Etixx of great lineage with the world champion Kwiatkowski in the unusual role of driver with Renshaw to the full advantage of the other three companions: by Rigoberto Uran, team leader, by Tony Martin who aimed to wear the yellow jersey (since Dennis was in Nibali's group) and especially Mark Cavendish who - with Kristoff and Degenkolb detached - aimed to put his signature back on a Tour finish line missing from the Saint-Amand-Montrond stage of the 2013.
But Etixx's plans jumped on the finish straight with Renshaw anticipating the last train too much in favor of Cavendish: a flop for Cannonball who only finished fourth. First was greipel. For the German "Gorilla" it is the eighth victory in the Tour. Second was Peter Sagan, good at being there despite a puncture in the final which forced him to waste energy to return alone; third was Fabian Cancellara who repeats the same place obtained in the initial time trial in Utrecht, but thanks to the bonus of 4" is the new yellow jersey of the Tour. For the great Spartacus it is the 29th yellow jersey in his career, no other Swiss cyclist has ever come this far, not even Kubler and Koblet, the two legendary "K"s of the 1950s, who won the Tours in 1951 and XNUMX, respectively.
