Bergerac, France
Tejay van Garderen of the BMC Racing Team avoided a pile-up near the finish of a rainy stage of the Tour de France Friday to remain sixth overall heading into Saturday’s individual time trial.
Van Avermaet Not Hurt
Ramunas Navardauskas (Garmin-Sharp) soloed to the victory seven seconds ahead of a group of chasers decimated by the crash less than three kilometers from the finish of the 208.5-km race. Van Garderen crossed the finish line nearly a minute later in a small group that included teammates Daniel Oss and Peter Velits, as well as race leader Vincenzo Nibali (Astana Pro Team). But because the pile-up of nearly two dozen riders happened inside the final three kilometers, van Garderen and the peloton were awarded the same finish time as runner-up John Degenkolb (Team Giant-Shimano). Greg Van Avermaet was the only BMC Racing Team rider involved in the crash. “I was just behind and it was impossible to avoid,” he said. “I have nothing. (No injuries.) I just went over it. It was a pretty good. So I will be good for the next days.”
Time Trial Outlook
Van Garderen said he will take a singular approach into Saturday’s 56 km time trial. “Pacing – you can’t go out too hard, you can’t go out too easy,” he said. “Pacing is everything.” With two days of the race to go, he is 11:34 off the overall lead and 2:07 back from the rider ahead of him in the standings, fifth-placed Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale). Sport Director Valerio Piva said the team did its job to get van Garderen into position to make a final move in the standings. “It was a difficult day with the rain and wind,” he said. “But the team stayed the entire time around Tejay. In the final, it was tricky, but our guys were in the front. Now is the time trial and we have hope.”
