Stage 16

The road

At the start

Down off the Massif, into the wind

Bauke Mollema soloed to his first Tour stage win at Le Puy-en-Velay, where Nairo Quintana lost ten minutes and his place in the top ten. Froome still leads Aru by eighteen seconds, Bardet by 23, Urán by 29. Philippe Gilbert did not start after the rest day. Today climbs back onto the escarpment, threads the volcanic outcrops of the Massif Central, then drops 800 metres to the wind-swept Rhône valley.

How it was won

1. 1100 km to go

   Over the day’s main climb

   The break tops the Col du Rouvey as the peloton keeps a wary eye on the wind-swept roads to come.

2. 235 km to go

   Crosswinds threaten

   Severe crosswinds put the whole peloton on edge, teams fighting for position to avoid being caught out in the echelons.

3. 3At the line

   Matthews doubles up

   Michael Matthews edges Boasson Hagen in the reduced bunch sprint in Romans-sur-Isère, clawing 50 points back on Kittel in the green-jersey race.

The result