Italy's Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton) won the 17th stage of the Tour de France on Wednesday (July 24th) in Gap, the day before entering the Alps. The chance for the Mitchelton-Scott team to record a fourth success in this Great Loop. The Italian, who also won on the Giro and Vuelta, had already won in the Tour, in 2013 and in 2014.
The yellow jersey peloton, Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck), and the other Tour favorites, joined the finish more than 20 minutes later. Without change, obviously, for the top of the overall standings.
Trentin, reigning European champion, has taken over from two of his team-mates, the South African Daryl Impey (in Brioude) and, twice, the British Simon Yates (in Bagnères-de-Bigorre and Foix) .
Trentine has left his companions 14 kilometers from the finish, before the climb of the small pass of the Sentinel. He kept ahead of Kasper Asgreen of Denmark, a 24-year-old Tour star who is racing for the Alaphilippe team.
Less heat
Greg Van Avermaet of Belgium, Olympic champion in Rio, took third place ahead of Dutchman Bauke Mollema, leading a small group in about 40 seconds.
The heat, less omnipresent than the day before, even gave way to a heavy downpour during this 200-kilometer stage linking the Languedoc plain (Pont du Gard) to the Hautes-Alpes prefecture.
At the front, the group of 33 riders trained from the first half-hour of racing after a beating start of the stage, split at the threshold of the last 30 kilometers. Trentin caused the selection in two stages before leaving behind his companions.
Thursday, the 18th stage, 208 km long, connects three major passes (Vars, Izoard, Galibier) between Embrun and Valloire. The summit of Galibier, one of the alpine giants, precedes the descent of 19 kilometers to Valloire, before two other days in high mountains.
With AFP