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Le Tour 2014, stage 7: Trentin nips Sagan in the final bumps; more crashes cost more time

Friday,  07/11/14  11:42 PM

Looking at today's Tour 2014 stage 7 profile, you couldn't be sure whether the field would survive to the end for a bunch sprint, a breakaway would stay clear, or it would be a sprint among the survivors.  And the latter came to pass, as Matteo Trentin barely nipped Peter Sagan in a sprint finish after the pure sprinters were dropped on the late climbs.  There was more rain and more crashes, too; Tejay Van Garderen lost over a minute due to an unfortunte crash, exacerbated by his teammate Greg Van Avermaet's late attack.  Andrew Talansky also crashed right in the sprint, losing skin but no time.

Stage 8 tomorrow will be interesting; the first "real" climbs of the tour, right at the end of an otherwise flat stage, and more rain in the forecast.  On paper it looks to be a perfect opportunity for a breakaway to survive as a tired and sore peleton take the day off.  There will likely be a GC battle for time on the final climb which is short but steep.  Stay tuned!

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