The sprinters got their first and only opportunity of the week.
Rémi Cavagna was in the spotlight at the start of the day, as he was given a warm welcome by the fans in his hometown Clermont-Ferrand, from where stage 11 of the Grande Boucle started. It was a special moment for the French ITT Champion, who is riding the Tour for the second time in his career, before he set out together with his Soudal Quick-Step teammates on an 180km journey to Moulins.
It was a straightforward stage for the peloton, who easily controlled the three-man breakaway, which was overhauled in the last 15 kilometers, in part thanks to a solid job of our squad. European Champion Fabio Jakobsen was again there, having been brought to the front by his lead-out train, but the effects of last week’s crash could still be felt and he didn’t have the power to fight for a good result on the stage won by Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck).
“Today was a big chance for the sprinters, unfortunately it wasn’t Fabio’s day yet. It seems that the crash had a bigger impact, with the energy that the healing takes, but also not sleeping well had an impact on him. He couldn’t turn the speed that he normally can. It won’t be easy now with the mountains that are coming, but we will see things go day by day. He was disappointed, of course, as he knows he is capable of a lot more, but because of the circumstances it doesn’t work out at the moment”, explained sports director Tom Steels.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
