What seemed like an eternal escape for Belgian Brent van Moer from Lotto-Sudal Team that could have possibly succeeded was cruelly snuffed out in the final few hundred meters. The peloton started chasing in the final 20km to the finish but decided to seat up when the GC Teams went to the front and cooled the pace off. That gave the van Moer hope of pulling off a famous victory if they peloton decided not to chase him but alas it wasn't to be. With no one in control of the chase the Sprinter teams started chasing in earnest with 7km to go and nabbed the combative Belgian inside the final kilometer. Coming to the line the sprint royale started and it was a speed fest for the sprinters from many teams with notable names like Andre Gripel, Mark Cavendish, Simon Crobrelli, Jasper Philipsen, Peter Sagan, Bouhanni etc. In the end, it was Cavendish who prevailed by doing it the old school way from 200m and crossed the line first to take his 31st Tour Stage victory.
Whether you love or hate Mark Cavendish, I believe this is a popular win given the adversity he went through the last few years with glandular fever, battled depression and went through Epstein-Barr virus in the past few years and before coming back to top form the hard way.
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