Kittel ties German record for Tour de France stage wins
Another day, another victory for Marcel Kittel in the Tour de France.
Only this time, the German nearly made his move too late and edged Edvald Boasson Hagen of Norway only in a photo finish to win his third stage — and second in two days — in the race on Friday.
Provisional results awarded Kittel the victory but the photo of the finish left room for questions.
Three-time champion Chris Froome will wear the yellow jersey into the mountains this weekend.
It was Kittel's 12th career win in the Tour, tying him with Erik Zabel for the German record.
Kittel clocked slightly more than five hours over the mostly flat 213.5-kilometer (132-mile) leg from Troyes in champagne country to Nuits-Saint-Georges in the heart of the Burgundy winemaking region.
With shades of Pantani, Italy's Aru shakes up Tour de France
Dancing on his pedals and accelerating up the mountain past Chris Froome and all of the other Tour de France favorites, Fabio Aru's audacious attack brought back memories of Lance Armstrong's one-time challenger, the late Marco Pantani.
It was the work of a "pure climber," as Giuseppe Martinelli, Aru's team director who guided Pantani to the 1998 Tour title, put it.
The Stage 5 victory Wednesday at the Planches des Belles Filles ski station in eastern France's Vosges mountains was where Nibali set up his 2014 Tour title, becoming the only rider to break Froome's hegemony over cycling's biggest event amid the British rider's wins in 2013, 2015 and 2016.
While Aru is not as complete as Nibali, he seems to have an extra gear in the mountains.
Whatever he's capable of, one thing is for sure: Aru — his name is pronounced with the accent on the first A — has all of a sudden become a serious threat to Froome, the yellow jersey holder.
With more climbing on the route this weekend, especially Sunday's stage to Chambery in the Alps, which includes three beyond-category ascents, Aru will be looking to improve on his third-place position in the standings.