Greipel Takes Another Tour De France Stage

Last updated : 08 July 2015 By Covsupport News Service

Andre Greipel has his second 2015 Tour De France stage win with victory on stage five.

Tony Martin of Etixx Quick Step had taken over the lead of the race and was in yellow for this 189.5km stage from Arras Communaute Urbaine to Amiens Metropole which was a day for the sprinters with fifty points on offer to the stage winner.

It was a stage that paid tribute to those who lost lives and served in World War 1 and Chris Froome and Peter Kennaugh were amongst those at a cemetery for Commonwealth soldiers before the race started on a wet day, whilst Orica-GreenEdge were wearing special armbands that commemorated the battles in which Australian troops fought.

Nicolas Edet (Cofidis) and Pierre-Luc Perichon (Bretagne Seche) went on the attack as soon as the flag dropped.

Edet had just dropped back when there was a crash on wet raods  involving his team mate Nacer Bouhanni and Brice Feillu before another crash saw Dan Martin hitting the deck along with a couple of team mates and Greg Van Avermaet of BMC.

Bouhanni was holding his wrist, which was broken and was forced to abandon as Perichon took a lead of 1.28 going through Lebucquere on the D18 road.

With 108.5 kms to go, there was another crash involving Bryan Coquard of Europcar and Tiago Machado of Katusha.

Perichon took the points for the sprint at Rancourt with Griepel, Degenkolb and Cavendish also in the points before letting the peloton engulf him just past the Necropole de Rancourt memorial.

After Jack Bauer abandoned, the peloton started to split as the wind got up with Team Sky doing the work to force the split which saw them 1.06 ahead with 68.3kms left.

A cameraman on a bike went down before Mark Cavendish punctured before the race went into the department of the Somme and FDJ’s Steve Morabito hit the deck.

There was another crash, this time in the lead group with just under 25 kilometres left including Alexander Kristoff of Katusha.

BMC led with ten kilometres left going into a 25kmh head wind on a day where Michael Matthews won the combativity award.

This group split at a roundabout but it was MTN Qhubeka who were now on the front with 3kms to go on the Route de Corbie.

The race leader was working for Mark Cavendish whilst Andre Greipel got himself into a good position.

Under the flam rouge and Lotto Soudal were on the front. Everyone was boxed in on a road only seven metres wide.

Cavendish lost Mark Renshaw and had to make his own way to the front but it was Andrei Greipel who won his second stage in a time of 4.39.00 ahead of Sagan, Cavendish and Kristoff, as well as taking fifty points to extend his lead in the green jersey competition.

Tony Martin continues to lead Chris Froome by twelve seconds.