SAM BENNETT HELD onto the green jersey following stage 12 of the Tour de France after picking up nine intermediate sprint points while coming home in seventh.
Perennial sprint champ Peter Sagan made up a couple of points on Deceuninck–Quick-Step’s Irish leader with his tally of 11 as he led home the peloton, but the Slovakian of Bora–Hansgrohe still trails Bennett by 66 before their return to the mountains on Friday.
The top of the sprint leaderboard now reads as follows with nine stages remaining in this year’s Tour:
- Sam Bennett: 252 pts
- Peter Sagan: 186 pts
- Bryan Coquard: 162 pts
Ireland’s Nicolas Roche, meanwhile, finished 10th in a stage which was won overall by Switzerland’s Marc Hirschi.
It was third time lucky for Hirschi as he claimed his maiden Tour de France stage victory in Sarren Correze while Primoz Roglic retained the yellow jersey.
Hirschi, making his debut Tour at the age of 22, had twice been on the podium in the opening week of the race after seeing attacking efforts fall short, but delivered for Team Sunweb on stage 12 as he broke clear on the climb of the Suc au May before soloing to victory.
It gave Hirschi his first victory as a professional cyclist, and built on second and third places in the first week of the Tour.
“It’s unbelievable,” Hirschi said. “Two times I was really close so actually today I never believed I could make it. I can’t describe it, it’s hard to find the words.
“I had the picture in my mind from the last two stages when I was close. Then in the last three kilometres I believed I could make it. It’s my first pro victory and it’s in the Tour so it couldn’t be better.”
Julian Alaphilippe, who pipped Hirschi to the line on stage two in Nice, was part of a large chase group on the descent to the finish.
But the group lacked organisation, with Hirschi’s team-mates Soren Kragh Andersen and Ireland’s Roche working to shut down attacks, and could not make an impression before a mechanical problem for Alaphilippe ended his own challenge.
“I think if I had tried any harder I would have been disappointed,” the Deceuninck-QuickStep rider said. “I tried my best but Hirschi was the strongest man today. I can’t really say anything other than I tried my best.”
The main group of contenders were content to ride in together to ensure there was no change at the top of the general classification, in which Jumbo-Visma’s Roglic leads by 21 seconds from defending champion Egan Bernal of the Ineos Grenadiers.
