A real fight for the breakaway
A day after Armindo Fonseca's solo act, there were much more riders willing to get in the breakaway this Wednesday amongst the 198 still in the race. Andreas Schillinger (Bora-Argon18) and Markel Irizar (Trek-Segafredo) jumped in a first group at the front of the race at km 18. They were then joined by Alexis Gougeard (AG2R-La Mondiale) and Oliver Naesen (IAM Cycling) to build a lead of 3'50 after 35 kilometres of racing.
Long day, strong pace
The longest stage of the Tour was designed for sprinters to shine. And the peloton quickly decided to set its intentions, with Natnael Berhane (Dimension Data) maintaining the gap around 5 minutes. It was not an easy task with the leaders travelling at an average speed of 42.3 km/h over the first three hours of racing. With 90 kilometres to go, the breakaway's lead was already down to 2 minutes.
Coquard played his cards
Alexis Gougeard (AG2R-La Mondiale) was the first attacker swallowed by the peloton, 30 kilometres away from the finish-line. Schillinger, Naesen and Irizar resisted 20 more kilometres before Direct Energie's efforts ended their breakaway. Unfortunately for the French team, Kittel was there to edge Coquard.
