Bevin rides with broken foot

WELLINGTON: Patrick Bevin completed a painful Tour de France debut yesterday, revealing he rode with a broken foot for nearly the entire 21stage race.

Bevin and fellow New Zealander first timer Dion Smith crossed the finish line in the peloton in Paris yesterday, along with the experienced Jack Bauer.

Bevin has ridden in discomfort since a crash in the opening stage on July 1, an individual time trial in Dusseldorf.

He broke a bone in his foot but decided early on to complete the tour, helping CannondaleDrapac teammate Rigoberto Uran finish second overall, 54sec behind Froome.

Before the final stage, Bevin posted an Xray of his damaged foot on Twitter.

‘‘Just a little reminder of Dusseldorf that has followed me every pedal stroke of the #TDF2017,’’ he wrote.

Bevin (26) was 114th while WantyGroupe Gobert rider Smith was 124th, the 24yearold having featured in a breakaway on the final stage which was reeled in near the finish.

Bauer was the best Kiwi in 105th place, featuring heavily early on as a leadout rider for QuickStep Floors teammate Marcel Kittel, who won five stages.

Bauer (32) impressed with an 11th placing in the penultimate time trial stage on Sunday.

George Bennett was the only member of the record fourstrong Kiwi contingent who failed to finish.

Bennett was 12th on general classification and threatening the best New Zealand result when forced out with illness on the 16th stage. — NZN