2017 Tour de France Stage 16 Results & Recap

Stage 16 of the 2017 Tour de France is in the books. The final results and standings are below, followed by our recap of how the race unfolded.

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Race Recap

Michael Matthews takes Stage 16 win at Tour de France after crosswinds wreak havoc

by Evan Hartig

On a day marked by heavy crosswinds, Australian Michael Matthews (Sunweb) won his second stage of the 2017 Tour de France, winning Stage 15 into Romans-sur-Isère Tuesday. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Dimension Data) finished second in a photo finish, with John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo) in third.

The stage win was contested out of a 32-man group of contenders, having distanced themselves with 13 kilometers to go in the crosswinds. Missing was German Marcel Kittel (Quick-Step Floors), who was dropped early on the stage was also absent from the day’s intermediate sprint, which Matthews won. In all, Matthews took 50 points on Kittel, narrowing the gap in the green-jersey competition to just 29 points with only four road stages remaining.

“I was trying to get in the breakaway early, but Quick-Step was following, they didn’t want me in the breakaway,” Matthews said. “When I heard Kittel was getting dropped, we started to put the pressure on. When we heard it was one minute, we started to pull fully. I also took the intermediate sprint, and with the final, we got 50 points today.

“To get another stage win in the same Tour de France… normally I can only win one stage in a Tour, to get my second win in three days, I don’t really know what to say.. I think it won’t sink in until tomorrow morning.”

Riders hoping for a casual post-rest day Stage 15 of the Tour weren’t granted the privilege. The stage, afflicted with difficult wind conditions, proved to be significant in the GC battle.

The peloton shattered into fragments with 13 kilometers remaining as Team Sky drove the pace into a critical corner, the wind switching from tail to cross. Riders complacent with their positioning were quickly caught out in the gusts over 50 kph and consistent wind around 40 kph. The general classification teams and sprinter’s teams were perpetually diligent, attempting to keep their men at the front of the field and out of trouble.

The day’s biggest GC loser was Dan Martin (Quick-Step Floors), who lost 51 seconds and dropped out of the top five. Though Martin had Jack Bauer and Gianluca Brambilla to help him in the final, the rest of the team was with Kittel — other than Philippe Gilbert, who abandoned the race due to viral gastroenteritis.

“It was a really tough stage and we suffered out there,” Martin said. “It was difficult without Matteo and Philippe, who were forced to say goodbye to the race earlier. Their presence would have probably made the difference today. Can’t say it’s the best situation for us, but the team is upbeat and optimistic about our chances now that the race is heading into the Alps for two days.”

A Sunweb Masterpiece

Team Sunweb, capitalizing on The difficult course, was instrumental in distancing green jersey Marcel Kittel on the first categorized climb of the day, the Côte de Boussoulet. Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis) was also left behind but impressively bridged the gap back to the main field with the help of teammates Nicolas Edet and Cyril Lemoine.

Sunweb led Matthews into the intermediate sprint at kilometer 121. He took 20 points without contest, followed by Andre Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) and Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain-Merida). Kittel crossed the intermediate line over five minutes behind the Matthews group.

With 13km remaining, Team Sky’s Michal Kwiatkowski led the peloton through a critical corner as the wind switched from tail to cross. The accelerated pace, along with the difficult wind conditions, forced riders into the gutter with gaps beginning to appear in the field.

A main group of 32 contenders was able to distance itself from the rest of the field. GC contenders that made the front group included Froome, Fabio Aru (Astana) Simon Yates (Orica-Scott), Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale), and Rigoberto Uran (Cannondale-Drapac), as well as contenders for the stage win like Matthews, Boasson Hagen, Degenkolb, and Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing).

Thirty seconds behind, Martin frantically chased in the second group on the road. Teammate Jack Bauer was with him, but their efforts would be in vain. White jersey contender Louis Meintjes (UAE Emirates) was also in the Martin group along with sprinter Andre Greipel (Lotto-Soudal), who would end up missing out on the bunch gallop.

Martin and Meintjes would cross the line 51 seconds back from the Froome group, with Martin drifting from fifth to seventh on the general classification, while Meintjes stayed in eighth overall.

Daniele Bennati (Movistar) made a bold solo attempt two kilometers out from the line, but would be swept up within the final kilometer as the sprint heated up. Matthews had two Sunweb teammates with him in the front group, Nikias Arndt and mountains classification leader Warren Barguil.

Arndt was instrumental in Matthews’ leadout, bringing him into the final corner perfectly positioned for the win. Van Avermaet, not satisfied with his chances in the pure-speed final kick, made an early jump into the final chicane. Arndt pulled off the front as Matthews immediately attached himself to Van Avermaet’s wheel out of the final corner.

“It was a really hard stage all day long,” Van Avermaet said. “I’m happy with how we rode. I think everyone was always in the front and we were never surprised which is how you have to be in these kinds of races. So I’m really proud of the team. Ok, we didn’t win but I think the most important thing is that you do everything right and then the result will also be pretty nice. I think it was a pretty hectic final. I didn’t know the corners very well. You can look in the book but I was a bit surprised that it was such a hard corner and I had to brake a little bit harder than expected. I think with the head wind it was really hard but I tried.”

Matthews jumped with 200 meters remaining as Degenkolb accelerated around Matthews’ right side. Boasson Hagen had to start his sprint from multiple wheels back but used Marcel Kittel’s tactic of surfing from behind up through the draft, nearly overcoming the Australian puncheur at the line.

“This was a really hard stage,” Boasson Hagen said. “The team did very well to keep me at the front all day. Everybody did such a great job. Unfortunately, in the last corner, I was a bit too far down. I knew I had to be at the front at that point but sometimes these things happen. I was probably the fastest rider on the last stretch and I almost made it. It’s a shame. This was a good chance for me.”

Boasson Hagen’s frustration was Matthews’ jubilation, however. “Today our plan was open and we were prepared for different scenarios, as it was difficult to predict how the stage would unfold,” Matthews said. “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.”

Froome’s diligent Sky teammates assured his presence in the crosswind-plagued final selection. He retains yellow going into Wednesday’s significant mountain stage.

“It was a tough stage, everyone knew it was going to split at some point,” Froome said. “I was happy my teammates were on the right side of that. At 20km to go it seemed like the right moment, it was a wide open road and the crosswind was coming from the right. The guys went for it at the right moment, and everything split and opened up. My teammates did a great job, keeping myself and Mikel Landa in the right position for that split.”

Kittel’s podium appearance, as the green jersey wearer, was far less exuberant.

“I can’t say I’m happy losing all those points but there was nothing more we could do today,” he said. “Since the beginning, I tried to come across. It is what it is. We’ll continue to fight for the green jersey. The chance for me to win it in Paris is still there.”

Link: https://cyclingtips.com/2017/07/michael-matthews-takes-stage-16-win-tour-de-france-crosswinds-wreak-havoc/

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One-on-one with Rigoberto Uran: ‘Everything is possible’ in the Tour’s final week

by Shane Stokes

LE PUY-EN-VELAY, France (CT) – Few would have predicted this. Twice runner-up in the Giro d’Italia, then a rider who endured two seasons of Grand Tour disappointments, Rigoberto Uran is back in business. The Colombian is days away from what could be the biggest result of his carer, and people are beginning to notice.

That much was clear at the Cannondale-Drapac team accommodation in Le Puy-en-Velay on Monday morning. The hotel is small and modest and located on a quiet street, but was getting plenty of attention. Fans gathered for autographs before the team’s training ride, while others massed to request signatures and selfies when the riders returned.

Print, radio and TV journalists also turned up, seeking insight from Uran and others. On this, the second rest day of the Tour, there was a palpable buzz of interest around the rider and around the team.

There should be little surprise in that: with six stages remaining in this year’s Tour, the Colombian is just 29 seconds off the yellow jersey currently held by Chris Froome (Team Sky).

He’s 11 seconds adrift of the second-placed rider Fabio Aru (Astana), and a mere six seconds off the podium position of Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale).

There’s everything to race for, and he’s excited.

“I am in a very good condition. We will see what happens in the Alps,” he tells CyclingTips in a one-on-one interview held on Monday morning. “You can be quite relaxed when you are well and when you can be with the best riders in the mountains.

“I feel good, and the team is very strong. I want to keep improving as I’m close to the podium and am only 29 seconds back from yellow. It’s not much…”

There’s plenty of racing ahead and also a time trial which could well suit him more than it does Aru and Bardet. With that in mind, as well as the remaining mountain stages, what does he believe is possible?

“Everything,” he replies, firmly. “Everything is possible. The most important thing is that I am well, and that I am with a good team. Anything can happen.

“I believe the most important thing is my condition. There are complicated stages ahead, tough stages ahead that I know very well. So we will see what happens in the race.”

Returning from career disappointment

Born in Urrao, Colombia in January 1987, Uran competed with teams such as Unibet.com, Caisse d’Epargne, Team Sky and Omega Pharma-QuickStep prior to moving to Cannondale prior to the start of the 2016 season.

He went there as a double runner-up in the Giro d’Italia, and was seen as someone who could continue contending for Grand Tour titles.

However things didn’t work out in year one. He came down with bronchitis in the 2016 Giro d’Italia and finished back in seventh overall. That followed on from a quiet performance in the same race in 2015, and his confidence was rattled.

“It is difficult for everyone if you are accustomed to riding races for the podium, and when there is a period when you are not riding as well,” he says, revisiting his emotions of that time. “But when you have the support of your family and your team, it makes it much easier.

“In the end it is a matter if being patient, believing in yourself, believing in your talent and staying focussed on the same goals.”

He underlines that keeping grounded was vital, always remembering why he took up cycling in the first place.

“In cycling you need to love the sport first,” he explains. “If you get too caught up in just focussing on results, you forget about your love for the sport. What has been good about the last two years is that the team has let me go back to Colombia more to be with my family and to refocus my passion on racing a bike.”

Jonathan Vaughters is the CEO of the Cannondale-Drapac team and said that overreacting to the 2016 Giro disappointment would have been a mistake.

“Honestly, it is nothing more than just trusting him and having patience in him,” he tells CyclingTips. “That’s really what it comes down to. There is no magic bullet or special thing.

“A lot of times, with Colombian riders and North American riders, they have a little bit of a down period, and all of a sudden the team says, ‘okay, you need to start doing more races over in Europe. You need to start coming to more training camps. You clearly didn’t do it right in the past, so now we are going to take over your schedule a bit more tightly,’ and so on and so forth.”

That, for him, would have been the wrong approach to take. “I think teams doing that is a mistake,” he says. “The biggest thing we have done is that we knew he was good the entire time; it just wasn’t clicking quite right. We just let him keep doing what he knew worked and didn’t interfere with it.

“We allowed him the space and freedom to do that without getting overly wrapped up in the here and now.”

Not panicking that the big investment hadn’t initially paid off was key. “Having patience was very important,” Vaughters continues. “Because Rigoberto is a smart cat. He knows how to get it done.

“Last year in the Giro, he had a really, really nasty case of bronchitis. Most riders I know wouldn’t have finished with what he had going on, and he was still seventh overall. That is kind of lost in the mix. But for us, we knew how good he actually was.”

Wearing the Maglia Rosa in 2014.

Uran went away and set about rebuilding things. He reminded himself that he had achieved big results in the past and that there were logical reasons why he hadn’t performed. After all, any rider can become ill or run into different problems. What’s vital is to stay focussed. To keep the faith.

“I never lost confidence. I stayed relaxed,” he states. “I kept working the same and the team supported me. I didn’t change my training or anything, simply because I know if I train like I did in the other years, like when I rode strongly in the Giro, that I can perform as long as I am healthy.”

Setting new targets was important, and he aimed for the end of season Classics. They had always been of interest to him, particularly Il Lombardia as he has family in that area. And so he pinpointed those events as an objective hoped to land a victory in at least one of them.

It didn’t quite work out: he was third in the Giro dell’Emilia, third in Milan-Turin and third, again, in Il Lombardia.

Still, although he didn’t get the win he was chasing, he was back on a good level and his confidence was up. He kept working with the following July in mind.

“I prepared the whole year for this Tour, working towards this all season,” he says. “I did other races but I didn’t do the Giro, only the Classics. Because of that I came here in very good condition.”

So what did he believe was possible when he travelled to Dusseldorf for the Grand Depart? It’s easy to see now how well he is going, but was he convinced then that he would be a contender?

“Well,” he answers, “I always go with a lot of desire to all the races and I work contentiously. But in a race of three weeks, many things are necessary. Eleven years of experience has taught me that you need a good head, good legs and luck. No illnesses, no problems, no crashes.

“Before the Tour, my sensations were good and I knew I was in a very, very good condition and could be ahead. When I am good, in the high mountains, the medium mountains and the flat, everything follows.

“So, I knew that I could be ahead, but it depended on how things went. The build-up went well, everything was going fine and I knew I could win a stage, but I didn’t know how things would go beyond that. I certainly didn’t know that things would be so tight now, and be so close to the yellow jersey. It is always impossible to know how each race is going to evolve.

“This race has been surprising. Not just for me, but for all the guys in front.”

In addition to being one of the sport’s best climbers, Uran can also hold his own against the clock.\nA Tour campaign gathering momentum

Early on, Uran lost time, finishing only 95th in the opening time trial. Normally good against the clock – particularly for a climber – his concentration was rattled when the UCI commissaires decided that his TT handlebar position didn’t conform to the setup regulations five minutes before his start time.

According to Uran and Vaughters, a different commissiare had green-lighted it two hours beforehand. The team was left with insufficient time to change the position of the bars, and so he had to quickly change to a spare bike. That affected his TT and he lost 49 seconds to the stage winner Geraint Thomas.

Undeterred, Uran kept his focus and gradually started moving up the GC. Netting 19th on the stage 3 uphill finish at Longwy elevated him to 31st. He then jumped to 11th overall two days later when he was seventh at La Planche des Belles Filles.

However his biggest show of form came on stage 9 to Chambéry, where he was quickest out of the leading group and won the stage.

“It is clear that such a victory gives a lot of confidence, and particularly because of the way it happened,” he says. “It was a sprint after a hard mountain stage and that is always a tricky thing.

“It is clear that I feel relaxed in this Tour because I have the confidence and happiness I need.”

Hitting the line first brought him his first victory in almost two years and was huge for his morale. It also bumped him up to fourth overall, and marked him out as a big overall contender. His second place on stage 12 further underlined that.

Given that he wasn’t on many people’s radar before the race started, was he upset not to be mentioned amongst the favourites?

“No, I don’t worry about what people think and don’t give it much importance,” he says. “It was clear that I wasn’t amongst the favourites as for two years I didn’t have good results in races of three weeks. That is normal. When you have two years when you are behind, it is normal when you are not in the list of favourites.

“The press isn’t going to understand the circumstances that made my performances before what I hoped, including bronchitis. I didn’t worry about it.”

Interestingly, he doesn’t believe that being out of the spotlight brought any benefits. While it might seem like he wouldn’t have the burden of expectation, he underlines that there is always pressure in the race.

“When you come to the Tour de France, everyone is under that same stress,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if you are a race favourite or not, everyone feels the pressure of this race.”

Uran taking second behind Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale) on stage 12.\n‘There will come the moment when he throws it all on the line’

It’s been a long road to get to this point, within striking distance of the yellow jersey. That’s true for both Uran and also Vaughters. The latter has seen his riders take fourth overall with Christian Vande Velde in 2008 and Bradley Wiggins in 2009, although the latter was subsequently elevated to third after Lance Armstrong was disqualified in 2012.

Being so close to the Maillot Jaune with less than a week to go is a new experience for Vaughters, and one he could be bowled over by. However, like Uran, he’s making sure he doesn’t get ahead of himself.

“I kind of have the same attitude as Rigo,” he says. “I don’t take it for granted. I know he could go out training today and get stung like a wasp, like I did. You just never know on any day – any number of things could happen.

“You really just have to strategize for what is right in front of you. If you start thinking about three days from now, four days from now and so on and so forth, things can fall apart really fast.

“So for us, I am not even thinking about him being on the podium in Paris. That would be incredible. It would be unbelievable. It would make this organisation so happy…it would be a beautiful thing. But we are focussed on tomorrow, just tomorrow.”

Uran is also taking things day by day. He held the pink jersey in the 2014 Giro d’Italia and looked to have a solid chance of overall victory. However on stage 16 he was caught out when Nairo Quintana (Movistar) attacked on a descent Uran and others had understood was neutralised due to bad weather.

He chased desperately, but was out of the Maglia Rosa by the end of the day. Because of that he knows how quickly things can turn around.

Three years on, the tables have turned to some extent. Quintana is suffering in this Tour, due at least partly due to his decision to contest the Giro d’Italia, and has been dropped on several occasions. In contrast, Uran is riding very strongly and very much in the hunt for a podium place or better.

Years later, how is his relationship with Quintana?

“Everything is normal,” he insists. “All of us Colombians have a very good relationship. For me, the past is the past. What happened happened. All that interests me is the present.

“People said I lost the Giro because of that attack. In the end, I was second in the Giro. But now the most important thing is where I am, that I am with this team and I am working hard.”

He’s right: there’s zero point in raking over the coals of a past battle. It’s far more productive to try to make up for that disappointment with a big success and, because of that, he’ll give everything to wear yellow into Paris.

What’s important in the days ahead is to keep trying to close the gap to the Maillot Jaune and, if possible, to seize it in advance of the final time trial.

Vaughters is hoping that he will have more in reserve than the other GC contenders in this final week.

“Rigo has played a really cagey race thus far,” he says. “For example yesterday, you could see that Froome and Bardet had to go really, really deep. I don’t think Rigo had to go that deep. And Aru, two days ago he had to go really deep; yesterday I think he was a little bit on the limit.

“From what I can see, Rigo hasn’t gone all the way to the bottom yet, as far as being in the pain bucket. So hopefully he has got some juice left over for the Alps. That will be the difference, one way or another.

“I know there will come the moment when he throws it all on the line. Before then, he picks his moments very carefully.”

In terms of his strategy in the days ahead, Uran isn’t saying much. Rather than revealing his tactics, he’s staying quiet.

That’s not necessarily to keep an advantage, but rather to fend off stress. He knows that looking ahead too far is counter-productive, and so he’s taking things gradually.

“I am very happy to have won a stage,” he says. “And I want to finish on the podium. But now I am very close to yellow; that is very motivating.

“I want to take things day by day and see where we end up. That’s the best approach.”

Just as he’s done thus far in the race, he’ll keep his head down and continue quietly plugging away. He’ll seize his chances when they arise, and then try to finish things off in Saturday’s time trial.

Will that be enough? We’ll know the answer to that question in six days time.

Right now he’s ruling nothing out. “Everything is possible.”

Link: https://cyclingtips.com/2017/07/yellow-mind-uran-poised-strike-tour-de-france-everything-possible/\n

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