Alexei Loetsko has given Astana a first success in this Tour. The Kazakh champion was part of a breakaway group with Greg Van Avermaet as well. But the latter had to be one of the last to release on the tough Col de la Lusette. He eventually finished third.
Loetsko holds his own in the end and solos to victory in the 6th stage
The 6th stage of the Tour in a nutshell:
- Loser of the day: That title may be too sharp for Greg Van Avermaet, but without Ineos’ impulse, the yellow might have been a nice consolation prize. For the stage victory, the Olympic champion simply collided with a too strong Kazakh champion.
- Striking (1): What inspired Ineos to dictate the pace in the peloton on the penultimate climb of the day? The foil did not cause anything at all.
- Remarkable (2): After 6 days we already had 2 climbs behind us, but with the favorites today there were no injections and therefore again no time differences.
- Striking (3): Julian Alaphilippe has not yet put yellow out of his mind. With an electric shock, the Frenchman made up for another second at the finish. Leader Adam Yates seemed to be able to follow with his fingers in the nose, but mainly seemed to remain conscious. Would he prefer to get rid of the yellow as soon as possible?
Very strong leading group, Van Avermaet virtually in yellow
It didn’t take too much thought to predict who would be in the flight of the day.
Nicholas Roche (Sunweb) had announced his plans openly on Twitter and was therefore unsurprisingly the instigator.
The Irishman got 7 riders with him. The Belgian contribution came from Greg Van Avermaet (CCC), who, as the best placed in the stand, was virtually in yellow in no time.
In the front, the cooperation went smoothly, in the peloton Mitchelton-Scott also confirmed what it had announced.
The yellow was “defended” with fresh reluctance and Yates and co seemed to grant the Olympic champion a yellow takeover.
Ineos tightens the screw, but strangely remains silent
But when Ineos took over strongly on the penultimate climb of a very fast stage, Van Avermaet’s yellow plans had to be put away. And the possible stage win also slipped through his hands.
Alexei Loetsko (Astana) waited for the right moment on the difficult Col de la Lusette and clearly had the strongest legs in the elimination race.
The Kazach deservedly drove to victory after a solo of about 17 kilometers. Greg Van Avermaet finished 3rd in more than 2 minutes.
In the group of favorites, the cards remained in their pockets. Ineos’ stiff pace only led to question marks, as an offensive was not in the final scenario.
Nothing changed in the standings, although the cunning Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick Step) was still one second in the last hectometers. For what it’s worth.
Powless and Lestenko accelerate, Van Avermaet drops out
Loetsko runs off alone
Stage winner Loetsko: “Reward for hard work”
“This victory is very important to me”, Kazakh Alexei Loetsko responded in Italian.
After a stage victory in the Vuelta, there is now also day success in the Tour. “I have worked hard to achieve this stage win and my work is being rewarded.”
“Whether this was the plan? Yes, because this morning we had consulted with the team management and manager Aleksandr Vinokurov. I had lost a lot of time in the previous stages and so I was able to join the flight.”
“We got a lot of time and on the penultimate climb I gave everything. Vino told me to give the maximum on the difficult climbing kilometers and I succeeded.”
Leader Yates: “Nice first day in yellow”
Adam Yates got the yellow ball in his lap yesterday from Julian Alaphilippe, but he enjoyed it to the fullest. “It was a nice day. It was difficult to keep things under control on the flat, but the team did a good job.”
“In the end there was nothing more at stake for the GC riders and so hardly anything happened. My main goal is still to win a stage, but that might go hand in hand with a classification.”
Loetsko holds his own in the end and solos to victory in the 6th stage
