How much chaos can happen with a sprint finish on a auto racetrack? Apparently multiple crashes and the sprint trains having difficulty getting setup.
Route Description: The stage from Dax to Nogaro was a flat stage with sprint points available at Notre Dame des Cyclists (English translation: Our Lady of the Cyclists) and the category 4 climb Cote de Demu. The final three kilometers were run on the race circuit located in Nogaro.
Race Summary and Analysis: Today's stage did not have the typically early breakaway forming in the first few kilometers. Instead the peloton rode along all together at a gentle pace. Why was the peloton going at a very relaxed pace for the stage? The combination of the very challenging opening weekend in the Basque Country combined with the next two stages meant that the racers in the Tour de France decided to get some recovery from the all the hard racing they had already incurred. About 86 kilometers from the finish a breakaway finally formed with Benoit Cosnefroy and Anthony Delaplace. They would be caught well before the finish line. In the final kilometers to the finish line, the sprinters and their times dialed up the pace while trying to setup their sprint trains. The wider roads and looping turns in the final three kilometers meant that the pace at the front of the peloton was so fast that the sprint trains were unable to properly form. This combined with two smaller crashes meant that several of the top sprinters, Fabio Jakobsen in particular, were tailed off. At the line Jasper Philipsen would edge out Caleb Ewan for his second consecutive stage win. For the most today the peloton had a relaxed day and was able to get a breather from high intensity of racing that can be the first week. Tomorrow the contenders for the yellow jersey will be looking to avoid losing time and possibly gain time on their rivals in the first mountain stage in the Pyrennes. The rest of the peloton will be trying to avoid missing the time cut and having their Tour de France prematurely end in on stage 5.
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