A textbook leadout by Deceunink-Quickstep placed Elia Viviani perfectly in the final metres, with the Italian making no mistake in finishing the job.
The speedy rider claimed his first Tour de France win in the process, flying down the barriers and passing a an early jump from Alexander Kristoff (Katusha-Alpecin) and holding off Caleb Ewan (Soudal Lotto), with the beaten pair filling the minor placings.
“This victory means a lot to me," said Viviani. "Actually, I can’t believe that I won today, it’s crazy. Notching up a stage here at the Tour de France was one of my season’s biggest goal, and having achieved it thanks to the team’s outstanding work makes me very, very happy.
“With one kilometre to go I felt that everything was going perfect and was really confident. Then, when Kristoff anticipated the sprint, I was ready to go, but Max’s experienced played again a huge role and I waited a bit before opening my sprint close to the barriers. Julian’s win in Épernay motivated us and I’m glad I could keep the team’s streak going."
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An early breakaway established itself from the drop of the flag, jumping away with a pair of Wanty-Gobert riders, Yoann Offredo and Frederik Backaert, as well as Michael Schar (CCC).
The breakaway was never given a long leash and with the gap down to less than a minute as they entered the final 30 kilometres, Schar decided to attack and attempt to drop his erstwhile companions. Backaert was able to latch onto the wheel but Offredo drifted back to the peloton.
The pair survived until the Cote de Maron, a 3.2km climb at 5 per cent that topped out just over 15km from the line. Schar was the last man caught and the organisation for the final sprint began.
Lilian Calmejane (Total Direct Energie) attacked on a small rise with 11.5km to go and went solo for a while, but was unable to mirror the acheivements of countryman Alaphilippe on the previous stage. He was caught with 6km to go, with the sprinters' teams moving to the front to contest the stage finish.
Viviani duly took the win, with the GC contenders safe for another day after a relatively sedate stage in the saddle.
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