Kittel wins Tour stage as Froome crashes
Print Edition
GERMANY’S Marcel Kittel met expectations and won the second stage of the Tour de France — a 203.5-km ride from Duesseldorf, Germany, to Liege in Belgium — with a commanding sprint finish yesterday while three-time champion Chris Froome managed to finish in the main pack after falling to the pavement amid a mass crash.
Froome’s Sky teammate Geraint Thomas held on to the leader’s yellow jersey.
Froome was near the front of the peloton when a Katusha rider ahead of him lost control coming around a sharp turn with about 30km to go. The domino reaction also took down last year’s runner-up, Romain Bardet of AG2R-La Mondiale.
Froome’s shorts and several layers of skin were torn and he had to change bikes as three teammates paced him back to the peloton.
It was Quick-Step Floors rider Kittel’s 10th career Tour stage win. France’s Arnaud Demare (FDJ) took second place with German Andre Greipel (Lotto Soudal) third.
Earlier, former Australian national champion Luke Durbridge quit the Tour after injuring his ankle in a crash on Saturday’s opening stage.
The 26-year-old had crashed spectacularly into metal barriers during Saturday’s time-trial in wet and treacherous conditions in Duesseldorf.
Although he got up quickly and carried on to the finish, the time-trial specialist later revealed he’d sprained his ankle.
The Team Orica rider started the second stage but was soon announced by Tour organizers as having abandoned the race.
Meanwhile, Alejandro Valverde had successful surgery on a broken kneecap after his crash on Saturday and will need a few months to recover, his Movistar team said yesterday.
The 37-year-old Valverde, who was to be Colombian Nairo Quintana’s key teammate in the three-week race, also crashed into a safety barrier.
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