Bodnar’s heart broken as Kittel claims fifth stage win
● Polish rider’s bold solo bid foiled ahead of the line as Froome retains yellow jersey
0 Marcel Kittel raises his arm in triumph as he crosses the line ahead of his rivals in Pau to win stage 11 of the Tour de France yesterday. Marcel Kittel underlined his dominance of this year’s Tour de France sprints as he won stage 11 in Pau for his fifth victory of the race, while Chris Froome came home safely to retain the yellow jersey.
German Kittel made it two wins in two days following his victory in Bergerac 24 hours earlier, as the pack broke the heart of solo escapee Maciej Bodnar inside the last 300 metres of the stage.
“It’s something outstanding we are achieving here,” Kittel said. “It is a lifetime experience.”
Dutchmandylangroenewegen of Lottonl-jumbo was second ahead of Team Dimension Data’s Norwegian Edvald Boasson Hagen. Dan Mclay of Fortuneo-oscaro came home in fifth, his third top-ten finish of this year’s Tour and best yet, with Ben Swift of UAE Team Emirates ninth.
Team Sky’s Froome crossed the line in the peloton to retain his 18-second lead over Italian national champion Fabio Aru in the general classification.
The sprinters cruelly denied Bora-hansgrohe’s Bodnar, who dramatically attacked out of the breakaway group with 28 kilometres remaining and tried to solo home, having been out in front from the very beginning of the 203.5km stage from Eymet.
But as the line approached, the Pole could only watch as Quick-step Floors’ Kittel, still well back in the pack at that point, swung around him before overhauling his rivals.
“I’m not so happy about
0 Chris Froome: Nervous day today,” said a dejected Bodnar. “I can be happy about my legs but not the end. You do all day on the front, you have 250 metres only to go.”
It was noticeable that John Degenkolb’s Trek-segafredo team used social media to describe Kittel as “unbeatable” just after the finish, but even if his rivals believe it, Kittel dismissed the idea.
“Everyone can be beaten,” he said. “That’s something that I always keep in my mind. I always keep the pressure on myself. If you get arrogant and think you are unbeatable then you will lose.”
Aru’s Astana squad suffered a major blow in a feed zone crash with Jakob Fuglsang, fifth in the general classification, hurting his arm while key helper Dario Cataldo was forced to abandon the race.
AG2R La Mondiale’s Romain Bardet, who sits third, 51 seconds off Froome’s pace, also hit the deck but quickly recovered, while two-time Tour winner Alberto Contador went down with around 20km remaining before pacing his way back with the help of team-mate Jarlinson Pantano.
“It was very nervous,” Bardet said. “I was twice caught in crashes. I’m happy to get away unhurt and to see the flat stages away.”
Froome stayed clear of trouble but admitted the incidents made for a more stressful day.
“It was quite a nervous day in case the crosswinds really kicked off,” the three-time Tour winner said. “I think for that reason we saw one or two more crashes.” Lewis Hamilton must dominate the British Grand Prix or risk an uphill battle to stop rival Sebastian Vettel from winning the Formula One championship, Nigel Mansell has claimed.
Hamilton, 32, will head to his home race at Silverstone – which he has won for the last three years – looking to reduce Vettel’s 20-point margin at the summit of the title race.
The triple world champion finished only fourth at last Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix to lose further ground to Vettel as the German crossed the line behind race winner, and Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate, Valtteri Bottas. Indeed Bottas moved to within just 15 points of Hamilton after claiming his second victory of the season following a flawless display in Spielberg.
Mansell, the 1992 world champion and fourtime winner of the British Grand Prix, believes Hamilton needs to turn in a crushing display this weekend.
“It is very important for Lewis that he does a cracking job at the British Grand Prix,” Mansell said. “The pivotal turning point in the world championship will be this weekend.
“Lewis has got home advantage, and if he does not dominate this weekend then he will have an uphill battle for the rest of the year.
“His team-mate has won two races and out-qualified him on a number of occasions. The longer he does not get the job done, the more the pressure will build. Lewis needs the momentum to bounce back. Vettel only has to not finish one race and Lewis will be there if he keeps doing the job, but it is pivotal that he gets it done this weekend.”