Zdenek Stybar wins stage six after Tony Martin drama
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Updated 09/07/2015 at 18:27 GMT
It was a bitter-sweet stage six for Etixx-QuickStep as Zdenek Stybar soloed to victory in Le Havre moments after a crash ended team-mate and yellow jersey Tony Martin’s Tour de France, writes Felix Lowe.
Tony Martin se tient la clavicule à l'arrivée au Havre
Image credit: Panoramic
German race leader Martin crashed heavily on the final climb 800 metres from the finish of the 191.5km stage from Abbeville, causing Italian defending champion Vincenzo Nibali (Astana), Colombia’s Nairo Quintana (Movistar) and American Tejay Van Garderen (BMC) to hit the deck.
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Astana rider Vincenzo Nibali of Italy crosses the finish line after crashed during the 191.5-km (118.9 miles) 6th stage of the 102nd Tour de France cycling race from Abbeville to Le Havre, France, July 9, 2015
Image credit: Reuters
Unaware of the drama behind, Czech Stybar powered clear of the depleted field to hold on for a victory by two seconds ahead of a pursuing pack of sprinters.
Once the road flattened out after the short but sharp deciding climb, Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo) bounded clear of his rivals to take second place – his third of the race – ahead of Frenchman Bryan Coquard (Europcar). Germany’s John Degenkolb (Giant-Alpecin) and Belgian Greg Van Avermart (BMC) completed the top five.
But the focus shifted quickly further back down the climb where Martin, cradling his left shoulder and wincing in pain, gingerly remounted and was nursed over the finish line by three Etixx-QuickStep team-mates.
Martin is the second rider in yellow to crash out of this incident-packed 102nd edition of the Tour following the retirement earlier in the week of Switzerland’s Fabian Cancellara of Trek Factory Racing.
Nibali, Quintana and Van Garderen - as well as French tyro Warren Barguil of Giant-Alpecin - all quickly remounted to finish the stage. They were awarded the same time as the main pack in line with the 3km rule.
Britain’s Chris Froome (Team Sky) was clipped by Nibali in the incident but narrowly avoided joining the tangle of bikes to retain his second place on the overall standings – 12 seconds behind Martin.
HIGHLIGHTS
1-TEKLEHAIMANOT MAKES HISTORY
When Eritrea’s Daniel Teklehaimanot (MTN-Qhubeka) forced himself into the day’s break with Belgium’s Kenneth Van Bilsen (Cofidis) and France’s Perrig Quemeneur (Europcar) he had one clear target: crest the summit of the three fourth-category climbs and take the polka dot jersey from the shoulders of Joaquim Rodriguez.
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Eritrea's Daniel Teklehaimanot poses
Image credit: AFP
With the peloton happy to bask in the Normandy sun after a couple of challenging days in wet and windy weather, the break managed to establish a maximum lead of 12 and a half minutes ahead of the coastal town of Dieppe.
Maximum points were needed over all three climbs – and despite some heated words with Van Bilsen after the pair clashed on the second ascent – Teklehaimanot succeeded in becoming the first African rider to don the Tour’s famous polka dot jersey.
2-MARTIN MAYHEM
When lone ranger Van Bilsen – the last man standing from the break – was swept up inside the final 3km, the yellow jersey of Martin was driving the peloton to the foot of the all-important 7 per cent rise to the finish.
Shortly after the flamme rouge – at the steepest segment of the 850 metre ramp – Martin clipped the back of Coquard’s wheel and slammed into Frenchman Warren Barguil (Giant-Alpecin) before landing heavily on his shoulder.
The resulting domino effect felled both Nibali and Quintana; Van Garderen then came to a rest on top of the pile while Froome was nudged yet managed to stay up and regain his balance.
Besides Martin, all riders involved were quickly back on their way – although Quintana did cross the line with a bleeding elbow.
Martin stayed sitting on the tarmac for quite a time and needed the help of three team-mates – including world champion Michal Kwiatkowski – to complete the climb and cross the line.
Hospital tests later revealed that the 30-year-old had fractured his collarbone.
3-STYBAR SUPREMITY
Showing the kind of climbing ability that saw him outwit Van Avermaert in the Strade Bianche semi-classic in the spring, Stybar surged ahead after the pack had been splintered by Martin’s fall.
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Czech Republic's Zdenek Stybar celebrates as he crosses the finish line at the end of the 191.5 km sixth stage of the 102nd edition of the Tour de France cycling race on July 9, 2015, between Abbeville and Le Havre, northern France.
Image credit: AFP
The chase was once again disorganised and the likes of Sagan, Coquard, Degenkolb and Van Avermaet left it too late to catch Stybar, allowing the 31-year-old cyclo-cross specialist to secure a worthy win in only the first Tour of his career.
It's just too bad that Stybar's victory was overshadowed by team-mate Martin and his unfortunate fall.
MAN OF THE DAY
No one would deny Teklehaimanot this award after the 26-year-old became the first black African to wear a major jersey in a Grand Tour. Having won the polka dot jersey in last month’s Criterium du Dauphine, the rangy Eritrean clearly fancied going one step up by securing the jersey that inspired him most while growing up. Bravo.
BIGGEST LOSER
The curse of the yellow jersey continues with Tony Martin set to join Fabian Cancellara on the sidelines after his dramatic fall inside the last kilometre. A blow for his personal ambitions, for sure, but also a huge set-back for team-mate Mark Cavendish – who has lost one of his key lead-out men – and Etixx-QuickStep, who will find Sunday’s 28km team time trial far harder to master without their talismanic specialist.
COMING UP
It’s a bumper day in the battle for the green jersey with a bunch sprint all but certain at the end of the largely flat 190.5km stage seven from Livarot to Fougeres.
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