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Quimper (dpa) – Superstar Peter Sagan even had the time and energy to cheer up. The three-time world champion celebrated Wednesday his second stage victory in the 105th Tour de France .
After his mandatory retirement last year, the captain of the German Bora-Hansgrohe team seems to have a lot of catching up to do. Olympic champion Greg Van Avermaet defended his yellow jersey at the finish of the fifth stage effortlessly, even though he had to endure the strongest during the last push.
On the clbadic course between Lorient and Quimper in the Brittany Sagan, who also wears the green jersey, relegated after the 204.5 kilometer Sonny Colbrelli from Italy and the former world champion Philippe Gilbert of Belgium in places. The Slovak, who was disqualified in 2017 for alleged fouls at the fourth stage, had again offered a tactical masterpiece. He attacked at the right moment during the last ascent.
"Things went better than I thought, there was a bit of luck, but at the crucial moment I had something else in my legs, the team did a good job, they put me in the best position "Sagan said and seemed a bit modest after his tenth stage victory of the Tour. "It surprises me again and again, it was a really difficult finish – Peter makes us proud," greeted the experienced Marcus Burghardt, his captain.
After the start, a group of seven escaped was formed, led by veteran tour Sylvain Chavanel. The French record holder with 18 lap participations wants to make another stage victory on his last Tour de France. But even on Wednesday, it did not work.
Chavanel, 39, and his last companions were overwhelmed on the difficult course of the Breton hills for the last kilometers before the finish. Hundreds of thousands of spectators gathered along the road a day's work in the region of western France.
The Sprinter, who had determined the start of the Tour, played as expected, not even the former two-stage winner Fernando Gaviria.
On the penultimate slope, Marcel Kittel, who had not quite promised what he expected from the winner of five stages of the previous year, lost the third and fifth place in three mbad sprints. Even muscular player André Greipel, who finished third in Sarzeau the day before, could not keep up with the fastest pace on the demanding profile. Even John Degenkolb, endowed with endurance on moderate climbs, had to adapt to the final.
The profile of the section with five ranked climbs in the third and fourth categories was similar to that of the clbadic Ardennes Liège-Bastogne-Liège, which Bob Jungels, Gaviria's teammate, won in April.
Michael Matthews, of the German Sunweb team, was the first major dropout of this year's tour. The Australian, winner last year of the green jersey, did not show up because of a gastrointestinal illness with a high fever on Wednesday. In previous mbad sprints and in the green jersey score, Matthews had played no role this year.
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