Surprise!!! Wærenskjold wins sprint in Nevers
Uno-X Mobility rider stuns the star sprinters in Tour de France stage 11
Stage 11 of the Tour de France was the “surprise” stage.
Everyone expected the sprint stage from Vichy to Nevers would end in victory for Tim Merlier (Soudal Quickstep), Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin Premier Tech) or Simian Girmay (NSN Cycling) Maybe you picked young gun Olav Kooij to get his second win or the aggressive Kanter (Astana - >>) to finally break through.
No, this is the “surprise.” The unpredictable, strange, wacky stage where everyone is wrong. It’s upside down day, where underdogs triumph and off-the radar riders take their biggest victory.
So, no for Philipsen, Merlier, Girmay and Kooij. Cycling Gods have other plans in mind.
Once the long, long breakaway of Anthon Charming (Uno-X Mobility), Nelson Oliveira (Movistar) and Mathis Le Berre (TotalEnergies) had their fun, the peloton took over with 5.5 kilomters to ride.
At this point the road became appreciably narrower and that changed the dynamics for the sprint teams. Harder to get to the front, harder to get organized, harder to control. Some riders were not impressed with the route into Nevers and called it “dangerous.”
In the final mad dash, several top sprinters were boxed in, blocked out and simply too far back. Merlier never had a chance to launch. Max Kanter wasn’t in the mix.
To everyone’s surprise, who should find a gap along the right-side barriers? The hero of the day, Søren Wærenskjold (Uno-X Mobility). He went early and had enough speed to hold off a desperate charge by Kooij and Philipsen, who took second and third.
Didn’t see that one coming, did ya?
A number of days ago, some media type suggested to sprinter Binian Girmay that watching Tour sprint stages was boring. Girmay responded with this shiny gem: “I find it boring to watch someone riding alone for 40km on a mountain stage. I prefer watching sprint stages because you never know who is going to win.”
Well said, Girmay. Today on the stage from Vichy to Never, everyone thought they knew who would win. Yet even the winner was surprised. “It’s incredible to take this win. I just need to let it sink in, and then I will probably be more happy than I look now,” said Wærenskjold. It’s a big surprise for myself.”