Michael Matthews (Orica-BikeExchange) got one back on the man who denied him a World Championship last year, winning a thrilling sprint over Tinkoff’s Peter Sagan out of a breakaway in Stage 10 of the Tour de France.
Matthews and Sagan joined the day’s early breakaway of 15 over the top of the early climb of the Port d’Envalira, the high point of the 2016 Tour. Once over the ascent, the pack’s attentive chase settled down. While the large break had significant horsepower with the reigning World Champion, 2014 Tour winner Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) and several riders with Tour stage wins in their palmarés, none was close enough on overall time to be a threat to the leaders.
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As the group in front dwindled to seven in the closing kilometers, Orica-BikeExchange had the advantage with three riders as the break hit the day’s last climb, the Category 3 Cote de Saint Ferreol. The team played it perfectly, trading attacks and forcing Sagan to lead every chase, with no help even from riders like Stage 5 winner Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) or Norwegian champ Edvald Boassen Hagen (Dimension Data-Qhubeka). In the final sprint, Matthews’ teammate Daryl Impey offered a textbook leadout and Matthews timed his jump perfectly to take the win over Sagan. The pack finished together more than nine minutes back, but with no changes to the top 10 overall.
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Top 10 – Stage Ten
Escaldes-Engordany to Revel 197km
- Michael Matthews (Orica-BikeExchange) 4:22:38
- Peter Sagan (Tinkoff)
- Edvald Boassen Hagen (Dimension Data-Qhubeka)
- Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing)
- Samuel Dumoulin (Ag2r-la Mondiale) all same time
- Daryl Impey (Orica-BikeExchange) @ :02
- Luke Durbridge (Orica-BikeExchange) @ 1:10
- Damiano Caruso (BMC Racing) @ 3:01
- Gorka Izaguirre (Movistar)
- Tony Gallopin (Lotto-Soudal) both same time
Top 10 Overall
After 10 of 21 Stages
- Chris Froome (Sky) 49:08:20
- Adam Yates (Orica-BikeExchange) @ :16
- Dan Martin (Etixx-Quick Step) @ :19
- Nairo Quintana (Movistar) @ :23
- Joachim Rodriguez (Katusha) @ :37
- Romain Bardet (Ag2r-la Mondiale) @ :44
- Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo)
- Sergio Henao (Sky) at same time
- Louis Meintjes (Lampre-Merida) @ :55
- Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) @ 1:01
- Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing) @ same time
Note: Organizers award time bonuses on all road stages for the top three: 10 seconds for first, 6 for second place and 4 for third.
Top Moment
With three riders in the final seven, Orica-BikeExchange was the odds-on favorite to win the stage. But with riders like Sagan, Boassen Hagen and Van Avermaet in the mix, little was assured. The team played tactics perfectly, sending Luke Durbridge on the attack on the final climb to soften things up and prevent other riders from attacking. Matthews forced Sagan to lead every chase, with Sagan often riding tempo at the front after pulling back a move. For the finish Impey offered a leadout with Sagan in second and Matthews glued to his wheel. The final seven included five excellent sprinters, so a win for Matthews was far from a sure thing, but he managed to finish the job. The mood on the Orica-BikeExchange team bus today will surely be one of celebration.
Related: The 2016 Tour de France Superfan Quiz
Why It Matters
With the overall contenders taking a break from fighting it out, the day’s most interesting tactical news was Sagan Hoovering up points in the green jersey competition. He won the intermediate sprint and was second on the stage, adding 45 points to his total. That vaults him back in front of Dimension Data-Qhubeka’s Mark Cavendish in the overall standings, with 242 points to Cav’s 204. Both riders seem intent on continuing in the race to Paris, and both will have chances to score points. While Cavendish cannot be underestimated, Sagan can compete in any of the situations where Cav will be a player, and in some (like hilly stages) where he won’t. The Slovakian’s raid today netted a big haul that could be the difference-maker should both make it to Paris.
What You May Have Missed
With a steep climb right out of the start, and gusty winds on the flat, today had the makings of a tough day for any rider who was hurting. The pack seemed to sense this and, once the break was established over the top of the Envalira, let them go, allowing riders dropped on the climb to catch back on. Riders yo-yo’d off the back all day, but late in the race the main pack totally shut off the chase, allowing many of them to re-catch the main group. Ultimately, just 13 of the 177 riders not in the break finished behind the main group.
Related: The Pros' Odds of Winning the 2016 Tour de France
Alberto Contador is out of the race but not out of the news. The two-time Tour winner abandoned on Stage 9 due to crash injuries and a fever, and on the rest day said that he is unlikely to participate in the upcoming Rio Olympics, due to the lingering effects of his injuries.
The first rest day of the Tour is always one of team sponsor news and rider transfer rumors. Andorra didn’t disappoint: Contador is reportedly signing with Trek-Segafredo, as is sprinter John Degenkolb. Degenkolb’s current team, Giant-Alpecin, announced a new co-title sponsor, Sunweb, to replace Alpecin in 2017. Finally, Oleg Tinkov is reportedly waffling about his vow to stop sponsoring the Tinkoff team at the end of the year; he better make up his mind fast, as his riders are signing elsewhere while he flip-flops.
