After a day of climbs, Stage 16 of the 2017 Tour de France came down to a sprint finish of the G.C. contenders. Despite a push in the last 2km by Nairo Quintana, it was Michael Matthews of Sunweb coming out on top.
Matthews (AUS) made it three wins for the team after sealing the victory in Romans sur Isere. Team Sunweb’s intentions became clear in the early stages of the day with the team neutralizing breakaways, setting the tempo at the front for its entirety, marking last minute attacks and positioning Matthews perfectly to finish off the job. A flawlessly timed sprint meant that Matthews could storm past his rivals to congratulate Team Sunweb’s 185 kilometre magnificent performance with the stage 16 victory.
“Today our plan was open and we were prepared for different scenarios, as it was difficult to predict how the stage would unfold,” explained Matthews. “Once we heard that there were splits in the peloton we were all really motivated to push on and extend the gap. From then on it was an eight-man team time trial to the finish and I was able to finish off the job in the last 500 metres. I’m so grateful for these opportunities and to take the win after the guys worked incredibly hard today is really special.”
In the overall, Chris Froome, though largely riding alone in the final kilometers, continues to hold onto the yellow jersey. With 4 days left in the race, it’s certain that he would like to have more than an 18 second cushion over Fabio Aru (and Romain Bardet and Rigoberto Uran both within 30 seconds), but he can take some comfort that Daniel Martin and Alberto Contador both lost seconds today.
More news soon.
Stage 16 Brief Results:
- Michael Matthews (Australia / Team Sunweb) 3:38:15″
- Edvald Boasson Hagen (Norway / Team Dimension Data) ST
- John Degenkolb (Germany / Trek-Segafredo)
- Greg Van Avermaet (Belgium / BMC Racing Team)
- Christophe Laporte (France / Cofidis, Solutions Credits)
- Jens Keukeleire (Belgium / Orica-Scott)
- Tony Gallopin (France / Lotto-Soudal)
- Tiesj Benoot (Belgium / Lotto-Soudal)
- Maciej Bodnar (Poland / BORA-hansgrohe)
- Romain Hardy (France / Fortuneo-Oscaro)
General Classification After Stage 16:
- Chris Froome (Britain / Team Sky) 68:18:36″
- Fabio Aru (Italy / Astana Pro Team) +18″
- Romain Bardet (France / AG2R La Mondiale) +23″
- Rigoberto Uran (Colombia / Cannondale-Drapac) +29″
- Mikel Landa (Spain / Team Sky) +1:17″
- Simon Yates (Britain / Orica-Scott) +2:02″
- Daniel Martin (Ireland / Quick-Step Floors) +2:03″
- Louis Meintjes (South Africa / UAE Team Emirates) +6:00″
- Damiano Caruso (Italy / BMC Racing Team) +6:05″
- Nairo Quintana (Colombia / Movistar Team) +6:16″
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