Kittel opened up a substantial gap after taking the lead in the final sprint.
Photo Gallery: 2017 Tour de France, Stage 10
German Marcel Kittel (Quick Step Floors) sprinted to his fourth victory of the 2017 Tour de France on Stage 10. Compatriot John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo) took second, with Dutchman Dylan Groenewegen (LottoNL-Jumbo) in third.
The flat stage, beginning in Périgueux and concluding in Bergerac, was the first to follow a rest day following a taxing mountainous weekend. Stage 10 marked Kittel’s fourth victory of the 2017 Tour and his 13th overall Tour stage win after his first in 2013, surpassing Erik Zabel with the record number of stage wins for a German rider.
As he was on Stage 2, Yoann Offredo (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) was again the first aggressor of the day, distancing himself from the peloton within the first two kilometers after the neural rollout. Fortuneo-Oscaro’s Elie Gesbert made the bridge, and there were two out front. The peloton, content to let the two men go, fanned out across the road and allowed the duo’s gap to rise freely.
Offredo and Gesbert’s lead dropped dramatically after Quick-Step, Cofidis, Lotto-Soudal and Katusha-Alpecin began efficiently coordinating the chase with 50 kilometers remaining. With 25 kilometers left, their gap had already dropped below 40 seconds. It was too early, though, and their pursuers took a brief respite, allowing the gap to rise back to around one minute.
Greipel’s Lotto-Soudal train was in charge of the chase going into the final ten kilometers. With seven kilometers left on the day, the duo out front was caught, and it was an open race. It was an odd mix of riders at the front of the field, with the wide roads seeing GC teams battling the sprinter’s lead-outs for control. LottoNL-Jumbo was there as well, in addition to Direct Energie and Katusha-Alpecin.
Lotto-Soudal led into the final kilometer, their train still looking composed, with Greipel perfectly positioned to take his first win of this Tour.
But, in accordance with his style, Kittel waited for the dense chaos to clear at the front of the field and surfed wheels through the last 100 meters, only meeting the wind after he’d wound up his sprint behind the leaders. He fully opened up and his margin quickly grew, distancing Degenkolb and Groenewegen.
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- Marcel Kittel (Quick Step Floors) has asserted himself as the best sprinter of the 2017 Tour de France.
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- General classification leader Chris Froome (Team Sky) greeted fans at the stage depart in Périgueux.
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- Instigators Yoann Offredo (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) and Elie Gesbert (Fortuneo-Oscaro) spent the day out front of the field, their gap maxing out at over five minutes.
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- Threatening clouds blocked out the sun for the majority of the day, but thankfully, precipitation never came.
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- Gesbert and Offredo attempted to distance themselves from the field on the 178 kilometer trek from Périgueux to Bergerac.
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- Offredo and Gesbert spent their first stage after the rest day off the front from kilometer 1.
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- Domestiques from the sprinter’s teams, delegated to the front to keep the breakaway in check, led through a town on the way to Bergerac on Stage 10.
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- Elie Gesbert taking a turn leading the duo.
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- The peloton at rest.
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- The main field, led by the sprinters’ teams, in pursuit of the duo out front.
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- Clouds threatened rain the entire day, but unlike Sunday, didn’t open up on the peloton.
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- Ofredo and Gesbert both hailed from wildcard invite teams: Belgian squad Wanty-Groupe Gobert, and French outfit Fortuneo-Oscaro.
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- The chase commenced, and the field strung out.
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- French squad FDJ organized despite the absence of their sprinter, French champion Arnaud Démare.
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- Kittel opened up a substantial gap after taking the lead in the final sprint.
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- John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo) took second in the bunch gallop, with Dylan Groenewegen of Lotto NL-Jumbo in third.
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- Riding the confidence of three prior victories, Marcel Kittel is on a roll.
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- Kittel crossed the line victorious in Bergerac, taking his 13th Tour victory while breaking the German record.
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- Kittel crossed the line with over a bike length back to second place Degenkolb.
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- It was a historic win for the German.
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- Tony Martin appeared dissatisfied with the performance of Katusha-Alpecin. Despite a strong and organized leadout, Alexander Kristoff could only manage fifth.
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- 13-time Tour stage winner, German record holder, and green jersey contender Kittel after the finish in Bergerac.
