Result: Germany’s Andre Greipel claimed his third victory of the Tour on Bastilles Day. Bradley Wiggins held on to the yellow jersey at the end of the 13th stage.
Greipel, who rides for Lotto, finished just ahead of Slovakian sprint rival Peter Sagan (Liquigas) in a tight finish in which Wiggins had tried to set up Sky teammate Edvald Boasson Hagen.
Norwegian Boasson Hagen could only finish third on the 217 km stage which began in Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux.
How it happened: With little over 20km to go, Cadel Evans attacked on a mild incline to shake up the peloton and was amongst the first across the peak. On the way down, however, Greipel was the one who began to move.
Mark Cavendish was left well behind as team Sky offered him little to no support as they were busy shepherding Wiggins to the front, but today he had to take a back seat as Greipel battled it out with Sagan in what should be a prelude to their Olympic event.
The big winner: Hard to look past Wiggins here. He battled hard to protect his narrow lead – coming up just short in a thrilling sprint – and is rewarded for it.
What about the Irish? Our Nico came in a creditable 19th. Narrowly behind Wiggins, Evans and Jurgen van den Broeck. He will go into stage 14 placed 13th overall.
Who is wearing what?
Yellow (overall): Bradley Wiggins.
Green (points): Peter Sagan.
Polkadot (mountains): Fredrik Kessiakoff.
White: (young rider): Tejay van Garderen.
What’s happening tomorrow then?
Three gruelling climbs will characterise the 14th stage. 191km separate Limoux from Foix. The sprint finish is set to be quicket than most as the chequered flag comes 38.5km downhill from the peak of Peguere.
-Additional reporting by AFP.
