Greipel wins 13th stage, Wiggins stays in yellow
Source: AFP |
July 15, 2012, Sunday
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GERMANY'S Andre Greipel claimed his third victory of this year's Tour de France as Bradley Wiggins of Britain held on to the yellow jersey at the end of the 13th stage in Le Cap D'Agde.
Greipel, who rides for Lotto, finished just ahead of Slovakian sprint rival Peter Sagan (Liquigas) in a tight finish in which Wiggins astonishingly tried to set up Sky teammate Edvald Boasson Hagen.
Norwegian Boasson Hagen could only finish third on the 217-kilometer stage which began in Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux.
"I'm really happy with this victory," said Greipel, one of the few riders able to successfully negotiate the Mont Saint Clair climb whose summit was 20km from the finish.
"The team did a great job for me today. It's amazing. You can be really happy with just one victory in the Tour de France, but this one is a bit special because of the Mont Saint Clair being there near the finish.
"We deserved this."
Despite a potentially treacherous finale due to crosswinds leading to Cap d'Agde, Wiggins stayed out of danger to retain his 2-minute, 05-second lead over teammate Chris Froome.
Italian Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) is still third at 2:23 while Australia's defending champion Cadel Evans (BMC) is fourth at 3:19.
Greipel won stages four and five in this year's race and now has four in total, having claimed his maiden Tour stage in 2011.
His main sprint rival Mark Cavendish (Sky), the winner of 21 stages but only one this edition, was one of a large bunch of riders left behind on the slopes of the Mont Saint Clair.
Frenchman Tony Gallopin quit the Tour during yesterday's stage, organizers said.
Gallopin, who rides for the RadioShack team, had been suffering from stomach problems in recent days.
Today's 14th stage is a 191km mountainous ride from Limoux to Foix featuring the punishing ascent to the Mur de Peguere.
Greipel, who rides for Lotto, finished just ahead of Slovakian sprint rival Peter Sagan (Liquigas) in a tight finish in which Wiggins astonishingly tried to set up Sky teammate Edvald Boasson Hagen.
Norwegian Boasson Hagen could only finish third on the 217-kilometer stage which began in Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux.
"I'm really happy with this victory," said Greipel, one of the few riders able to successfully negotiate the Mont Saint Clair climb whose summit was 20km from the finish.
"The team did a great job for me today. It's amazing. You can be really happy with just one victory in the Tour de France, but this one is a bit special because of the Mont Saint Clair being there near the finish.
"We deserved this."
Despite a potentially treacherous finale due to crosswinds leading to Cap d'Agde, Wiggins stayed out of danger to retain his 2-minute, 05-second lead over teammate Chris Froome.
Italian Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) is still third at 2:23 while Australia's defending champion Cadel Evans (BMC) is fourth at 3:19.
Greipel won stages four and five in this year's race and now has four in total, having claimed his maiden Tour stage in 2011.
His main sprint rival Mark Cavendish (Sky), the winner of 21 stages but only one this edition, was one of a large bunch of riders left behind on the slopes of the Mont Saint Clair.
Frenchman Tony Gallopin quit the Tour during yesterday's stage, organizers said.
Gallopin, who rides for the RadioShack team, had been suffering from stomach problems in recent days.
Today's 14th stage is a 191km mountainous ride from Limoux to Foix featuring the punishing ascent to the Mur de Peguere.
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