BERGERAC, France: German Marcel Kittel claimed his fourth victory in this year’s Tour de France when he powered to an impressive Stage 10 win in a bunch sprint on Tuesday.
His compatriot John Degenkolb was second and Dutchman Dylan Groenewegen took third place.
Britain’s Chris Froome finished safe in the bunch to retain the overall leader’s yellow jersey.
Elie Gesbert, who on Monday almost set his Fortuneo-Oscaro team hotel on fire after leaving a towel on an electric heater to trigger a partial evacuation of the building, jumped away at the start. He was accompanied by fellow Frenchman Yoann Offredo (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) and the duo built a maximum advantage of 5:30.
The sprinters’ teams, however, had them on a tight leash and they were reined in 6.8km from the line.
None of his rivals could match Kittel’s power as the Quick-Step Floors rider beat Degenkolb by more than a bike length to extend his lead in the points classification.
It was Kittel’s 13th Tour stage win, taking him one ahead of Erik Zabel’s German record of 12.
— Reuters
Tour de France stage 10 results
1. Marcel Kittel (Germany/Quick-Step Floors) 4:01:00”, 2. John Degenkolb (Germany/Trek-Segafredo) ST, 3. Dylan Groenewegen (Netherlands/LottoNL-Jumbo), 4. Ruediger Selig (Germany/BORA-hansgrohe), 5. Alexander Kristoff (Norway/Katusha-Alpecin), 6. Nacer Bouhanni (France/Cofidis, Solutions Credits), 7. Daniel McLay (Britain/Fortuneo-Oscaro), 8. Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Belgium/Wanty-Groupe Gobert), 9. Sonny Colbrelli (Italy/Bahrain-Merida), 10. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Norway/Team Dimension Data)
Classification after stage 10
1. Chris Froome (Britain/Team Sky) 42:27:29”, 2. Fabio Aru (Italy/Astana Pro Team) +18”, 3. Romain Bardet (France/AG2R La Mondiale) +51”, 4. Rigoberto Uran (Colombia/Cannondale-Drapac) +55”, 5. Jakob Fuglsang (Denmark/Astana Pro Team) +1:37”, 6. Daniel Martin (Ireland/Quick-Step Floors) +1:44”, 7. Simon Yates (Britain/Orica-Scott) +2:02”, 8. Nairo Quintana (Colombia/Movistar Team) +2:13”, 9. Mikel Landa (Spain/Team Sky) +3:06”, 10. George Bennett (New Zealand/LottoNL-Jumbo) +3:53”
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