Rigoberto Uran wins Tour de France stage despite only having two gears for final sprint
Colombian has a choice between a 53/11 and 39/11 for final nine kilometres
You might think that only having two gears would be a problem if you wanted to win a Tour de France stage, but try telling that to Rigoberto Uran (Cannondale-Drapac) after his victory in Chambéry.
The Colombian climber suffered a bent derailleur hanger with nine kilometres to go, and with the race at full speed the only option was for the Mavic neutral service mechanic to put Uran in the 11 sprocket.
Rigo only has a 53×11 or 39×11. #suxballssss
— Jonathan Vaughters (@Vaughters) July 9, 2017
With his front derailleur still functional, Uran had a choice between a 53/11 and a 39/11 for the rest of the race, hardly ideal as you look to win your first Tour de France stage.
Understandably the Cannondale-Drapac rider was a little slow to get up to speed when Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) made an early move for the line with 450m to go.
But this long sprint perhaps helped Uran, as once he got on top of the large gear he was able to reel in Fuglsang and then Warren Barguil (Team Sunweb) eventually winning the stage in a tight photo finish.