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The 7th stage of the tour was an extremely windy one.
There was a lot of wind, as the drivers say ...
O-Ton Marcel Kittel "That means, the field has been drawn for a long time. Bora-hansgrohe tried a lot to create time differences and they succeeded.
The attack by the German team Bora caused some drivers to lose important seconds.
The Briton Adam Yates defended the yellow jersey.
But on the other hand, the Slovenian top talent Tadej Pogacar lost the white jersey for the best young racing driver to Egan Bernal.
Peter Sagan is driving again in green.
O-Ton Marcel Kittel "I know, of course, where the wind blows when Peter Sagan tells his teammates that we are going to have a real bang today. Especially the starting phase with mountains, where there are points at the top, where it gets difficult right from the start, Of course, we saw them as an opportunity and tried to gain time there. And the pure sprinters, too, you have to make the difference between the pure sprinters who are not as mountain-proof and more all-rounders like Sagan who are good Being able to sprint, but also being able to climb the mountain well, they tried to make the difference. That worked out perfectly. Bora-hansgrohe did a great job. "
Things are going better and better at Emanuel Buchmann.
He worked his way up to 12th place overall.
Also because Maximilian Schachmann worked well for the Bora captain.
Schachmann seems to put away his broken collarbone just before the tour.
O-Ton Marcel Kittel "And I think I can confirm that from the conversations I had with Max before the tour. We met again for a coffee before he left. And he said, hey, what do I have any other choice? The docs, the doctors on the team said it works, it works. He doesn't have to worry. It would only be stupid if you fell on it again. He has avoided that until now. And that's why I think , it was also the confirmation for him to start the tour now. That it was the right decision. "
At the end of the first week it is now in the Pyrenees.
At 141 km, the eighth stage is comparatively short, but no less painful.
O-Ton Marcel Kittel "That is something where you actually know, Ok, it starts from the beginning, and then you sleep restlessly. I know that myself. I never felt so particularly well before the mountain stages. Me I just hoped that it would be a day when the first mountain wouldn't be super hard. That a groupetto could slowly form there, that is, the last group of riders who had fallen behind. And that we could find our rhythm there. "
The sprinters now have to make it through the mountains well.
After the yellow favorites have so far largely held back, the skirmish should now be over.
The overall ranking is still very close - but that could change in the next two days.
Before the first day of rest is due on Monday.