Greipel makes it two for Germany
Lotto-Soudal rider sprints to victory in fifth stage
ON a day in which soldiers who died in World War 1 were honoured and remembered, Andre Greipel emphasised German sprint domination at the Tour de France yesterday.
In fact, with Tony Martin keeping hold of the race leader’s yellow jersey and Greipel in charge of the green points jersey, not to mention Germans winning three of the five stages so far, France’s eastern neighbour is in charge of the 2015 Grand Boucle.
Greipel, 32, overhauled Mark Cavendish and Alexander Kristoff while holding off the fast-finishing Peter Sagan to win the 189.5km fifth stage from Arras to Amiens.
The Lotto-Soudal rider picked the right wheel and darted out from behind Cavendish, who finished third, to power to the line, just reaching it before the Sagan express scorched past in second.
Having also won Sunday’s second stage, Greipel proved he is so far the fastest man in the peloton, just as compatriot Marcel Kittel had done the previous two years, winning four stages in each.
Last year, Germans won four of the first six stages before finishing with seven out of 21 in total, and this was their second in a row following Martin’s on Tuesday.
But while there was joy for Greipel, it was another tough day at the Tour with several crashes as New Zealand’s Jack Bauer and French sprinter Nacer Bouhanni both left the race, taking the number of abandonments to nine following the seven riders who crashed out on Monday. Behind Martin, 2013 champion Chris Froome remained second overall at 12sec with Tejay van Garderen third at 25sec.
The stage was specifically designed to commemorate the war dead, particularly those from Commonwealth countries, during the World War 1 centenary commemoration events.
Commemoration events began early in the morning while the peloton rode through several World War 1 battlegrounds, including the Somme, and past numerous war cemeteries. – AFP