Thursday, July 8th, 2021
Update
Successfully pulled out on tour
Politt wins the first German stage win in 2021
Nobody can counter this start: Nils Politt draws a good ten kilometers before the finish of today’s stage in the Tour de France – and extends his lead to the end. He celebrates the first German stage win this year.
Professional cyclist Nils Politt raced to a sensational surprise victory at the 108th Tour de France and ended the German dry spell. The Cologne man from Team Bora-hansgrohe duped the members of his escape group and celebrated the greatest success of his career as a soloist. Sprint oldie Andre Greipel, like Politt one of 13 outliers of the day, was dropped prematurely and could not play to his strengths in the sprint. The “Gorilla” came in sixth in the end.
Politt made the decisive attack twelve kilometers from the finish. The Roubaix runner-up from 2019 distanced the remaining rivals Imanol Erviti (Spain / Movistar) and Harry Sweeny (Australia / Lotto-Soudal) with a strong start. With his mouth wide open, the 1.92 meter tall giant fought his way towards the goal. When he was sure of victory, he shook his head in disbelief, clapped his helmet and threw his arms up in jubilation. His lead was 31 seconds in the end. It was only the second professional success for Politt and a total of 91st stage victory for a German driver at the Großer Loop.
Wind edges cause nervousness
Mark Cavendish’s record drive has meanwhile been postponed. The British star sprinter, who is only one success separating him from the stage record of the legendary Eddy Merckx (34 victories), followed a long way behind. Before climbing in the Pyrenees for several days at the weekend, “King Cav” gets another chance on Friday. The 13th stage leads over 219.9 kilometers from Nimes to Carcassonne and should end in another mass sprint.
The twelfth stage, which started in Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux, got off to a hectic start, with the feared winds causing nervousness immediately after the start. The peloton split into several parts at high speed, before the race finally calmed down and the escape group of the day stood. 13 drivers, including Greipel, Politt and the French world champion Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick Step), were represented at the top. As a result, the race was unspectacular for a long time. The group around the German duo drove out a large lead, in the meantime it was over a quarter of an hour.
50 kilometers from the finish, a first attack by Politt provided new dynamism. The classic hunter accelerated the pace and tore a gap, Greipel was also left behind at first, but like the rest of the group found the connection again. More attacks by the driver followed almost every minute. With 40 kilometers to go, Politt and his two companions were successful. The trio around the 27-year-old Politt stood out from Greipel and Co. Then an elimination race began – with a happy ending for Politt.
Peter Sagan, the seven-time winner of the green jersey, was unable to intervene. The Slovak star of Politt’s Bora team is still suffering from the consequences of the fall of the first week of the tour and did not get on his bike. For the 31-year-old, it could have been the last tour in the Bora jersey: Sagan is said to be before moving to the French team TotalEnergies stand.
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