Stage 17 was the first tough day in the Alps after yesterday’s rest day, with 5 ranked climbs and the mountaintop finish on Pra Loup. There was a turbulent start with constant attacks, followed by a large group, which got away with John Degenkolb and, for the third time-in-a-row, Simon Geschke.
Towards the Col d’Allos, the highest point of the Tour and the fourth ascent of the day, Simon Geschke attacked and climbed strong to enjoy 1’ advantage on the first chaser, while reaching the summit. Through a strong descent, Simon Geschke increased his lead to 1’40” at the foot of the final climb. He was able to stay away on the final climb to the mountaintop finish to win his first stage in a Grand Tour. Warren Barguil finished 30th and holds on to his 10th in the GC.
Reactions
After passing the finish line Simon Geschke said: “I didn’t feel great. I joined the breakaway group together with John [Degenkolb], which was a strong group.
“After the sprint I attacked and started the final climb with an advantage. I had 1’30” for a long time, and I thought I’d just see what would happen. I knew it was a difficult descent and I went pretty fast. On the last climb I gave it my all and was able to hold on to my advantage. I suffered incredibly but I cannot put this feeling into words.
“This was a dream for me since I was 15 years old. After so many attempts it finally happened. I cannot believe it.
“Only if I win the Tour de France my beard will go off so it will not happen today.”
Coach Marc Reef added: “What an incredible day. This is unbelievable. Simon [Geschke] rode an excellent, strong race, and the way he won after a solo of 50km was so great.
“It was a long battle before the break got away, and there were a lot of strong riders out there, some of whom were relatively high up in the GC, so at first it was a question of whether they would get the space.
“With John [Degenkolb] we went primarily for the intermediate sprint. Shortly before the sprint Simon came by the car to make a tactical plan.
“Simon attacked directly after the intermediate sprint, which was the ideal moment as the collaboration in the chase group was far from ideal and he immediately created a gap. The important thing then was to save energy and not give it all along the way.
“He rode a very fast descent and maintained his advantage at the line. It is unbelievable that we have won such a stage in the Tour. I have no words for it. It gives all the other results even more shine, as we have been close so many times already. We kept on fighting to reach our goal despite the bad luck we had.”
Ceo Iwan Spekenbrink said: “It was a traditional start to the stage. We had two riders in this break and Warren Barguil behind, who is well positioned in the GC. I was behind him with coach Marc Reef, and in watching the race develop we started to see the possibilities, but things don’t always work out.
“For someone like Simon [Geschke], who is not a pure climber, it is important to attack early to seize the opportunity and after the intermediate sprint it was the right moment to take advantage.
“Simon got more and more motivated. Marc did a great job behind him as coach and Simon had one of his best days on the bike.
“It is great to see our development as a team. We started winning sprint stages, and this year we even won monuments like Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix, and the next step is to develop our team in the mountains. We did not fully expect to win a mountain stage in the Tour already, but the victory is more than welcome.”
