Alexander Kristoff wins Tour de France stage 12
Peter Sagan denied win again, as the points leader places second. Vincenzo Nibali maintains overall lead as the race heads into the Alps
Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) won the first Tour de France stage of his career in a hotly-contested bunch sprint on stage 12.
The Norwegian – who won Milan-San Remo earlier this season – used Omega Pharma-Quick Step’s train to lead him out, and opened his sprint early.
He was able to hold off a late dash to the line from Peter Sagan (Cannondale) who finished second half a bike length behind, while French national champion Arnaud Demare (FDJ) finished third.
The stage will go down as another disappointment for Sagan, who again just misses out on a stage win. His Cannondale team had moved to the front in the final few kilometres and established a six-man train. However, his train disintegrated in the final kilometre, and the Slovakian was left to fend for himself in the sprint.
A crash in the final few kilometres ruled Andre Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) out of contention, who could be heard on the TV camera blaming Sylvain Chavanel (IAM Cycling) for the fall. Marcel Kittel (Giant-Shimano) and Mark Renshaw (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) were both dropped on the earlier climb.
It was a hot day for the peloton, with temperatures exceeding 30 degrees and many bidons being consumed.
Sebastian Langeveld (Garmin), Florian Vachon (Bretagne), Gregory Rast (Trek), Simon Clarke (Orica-GreenEdge) and David De La Cruz (NetApp) made up the break of the day, which gradually broke up as the day developed. First De La Cruz suffered a crash and was forced to abandon, then Vachon and Rast were dropped on the penultimate climb, and finally Langeveld, who was attacked by Clarke as he was absent-mindedly taking a drink.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
On the final climb, Europcar – who had set the pace for much of the day – sent Cyril Gautier and Perrig Quemeneur up the road. Shortly after cresting the summit, the pair caught Clarke, and the trio worked hard to hold off an onrushing peloton.
Tired from setting the pace for Gautier, Quemeneur was dropped, and the remaining duo could only survive until the five-kilometre-to-go point until the peloton caught them.
Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) and the rest of the GC riders are finished safely in the bunch, although Tony Gallopin (Lotto-Belisol) slips from fifth to 20th overall after being dropped.
Tour de France 2014, stage12: Bourg-en—Bresse to Saint Etienne, 185.5km
1. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha
2. Peter Sagan (Svk) Cannondale
3. Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ
4. Michael Albasini (Swi) Orica-GreenEdge
5. Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Garmin-Sharp
6. Daniele Bennati (Ita) Tinkoff-Saxo
7. Bryan Coquard (Fra) Europcar
8. Daniel Oss (Ita) BMC
9. Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Ag2r
10. Jose Rojas (Spa) Movistar all same time
Overall classification after stage 11
1. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana
2. Richie Porte (Aus) Sky at 2-23
3. Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar at 2-47
4. Romain Bardet (Fra) Ag2r at 3-01
5. Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ at 3-47
6. Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing at 3-56
7. Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) Ag2r at 3-57
8. Bauke Mollema (Ned) Belkin at 4-08
9. Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Lotto-Belisol at 4-18
10 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo at 4-31
Other
12. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Sky at 5-17
111. Simon Yates (Orica-GreenEdge) at 1-33-26
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Stephen Puddicombe is a freelance journalist for Cycling Weekly, who regularly contributes to our World Tour racing coverage with race reports, news stories, interviews and features. Outside of cycling, he also enjoys writing about film and TV - but you won't find much of that content embedded into his CW articles.
-
Specialized Crux DSW Comp: race-ready US alloy featherweight vs British gravel
The aluminium Crux shares many of the benefits of the carbon model but at a more wallet-friendly price point
By Rachel Sokal Published
-
Pro cyclo-cross rider disqualified and fined after stomping on opponent's bike
Eli Iserbyt apologised for 'rage of anger' at event in Beringen
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Tour de Yorkshire to be replaced with new look cycling event in 2024
Tour de Yorkshire not due to return to north of England, although initial plans announced for new cycling event in area
By Tom Thewlis Last updated
-
Check out Alexander Kristoff’s €5,000 sunglasses from Tour de France podium
Performance cycling kit can be expensive, but Alexander Kristoff’s Tour de France sunglasses might just raise the bar.
By Alex Ballinger Published
-
Alexander Kristoff: 'I'm 33 and have four kids but still managed to win'
The Norwegian says he'll enjoy his day in yellow after a surprise stage victory
By Jonny Long Published
-
Alexander Kristoff fights to huge sprint victory after nightmare stage one of Tour de France 2020
Alexander Kristoff fought hard to a huge sprint victory on stage one of the Tour de France 2020, after a nightmare day for the peloton.
By Alex Ballinger Published
-
Alexander Kristoff sprints to victory at Ghent-Wevelgem 2019
John Degenkolb takes second behind Kristoff in reduced sprint finish
By Richard Windsor Published
-
Alexander Kristoff snaps seatstay clean in half during Hatta Dam sprint
The Norwegian was forced to push his way to the line of the brutal climb
By Alex Ballinger Published
-
Astana's Alexey Lutsenko powers to solo victory on stage two of the Tour of Oman
Kazakh moves into second overall as Kristoff retains race lead
By Owen Rogers Published