Tour de France: Matthews wins his second stage

Aussie Michael Matthews claimed another stage win, then accused a rival of getting physical in a rowdy finish.

Australian Michael Matthews, left, sprints to win ahead of Norwegian Edvald Boasson Hagen, right.

Australian Michael Matthews accused German rival John Degenkolb of being a poor sport after his angry reaction to being beaten in a sprint for the line at the end of a windy 16th stage of the Tour de France.

Sunweb rider Matthews won his second stage of the race after his teammates set a scorching pace at the head of the peloton to take the sting out of the challenge of points leader Marcel Kittel, who was dropped during the stage.

In the sprint to the line he edged out Edvald Boasson Hagen (Dimension Data) and Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo), who clashed with Matthews as the riders came to a stop, accusing him of veering towards him on the high-speed dash for the line.

“He grabbed me by the neck. The officials saw that. I don’t know what they’re going to do about it,” Matthews said.

“It was not very sportsmanlike.”

Degenkolb gesticulated at Matthews as the pair crossed the line, appearing to indicate that he felt the Australian had pushed him dangerously close to the barriers.

Matthews disagreed.

“From my perspective I didn’t do anything wrong,” he said.

“I started my sprint and sprinted in a straight line. I don’t know what’s wrong with him, but that’s up to him.

“If I had done anything wrong the race officials would have told me.”

Kittel, who suffered in the hot crosswinds that played havoc with the peloton, has 373 points in the green jersey race with Matthews on 344.

Matthews said with so few stages left he would be hunting high and low for points over the next few days as he tries to snatch the green top from powerhouse Kittel, who has already won five stages at this year’s event. “It’s nice to have a lot of tools but that means I don’t have a rest day,” he said.

“Kittel is the fastest guy on the flats, so I won’t beat him on those, but I need to get points everywhere else, like the hilly stages and uphill sprints.”

Matthews celebrates on the podium. Picture: Getty

Froome in command

Ahead of two gruelling Alpine stages likely to decide the outcome of the 104th Tour de France, Chris Froome and his teammates have sent a clear message to their rivals with another impressive display of collective strength.

Amid heavy crosswinds that played havoc in the finale of Tuesday’s 165km stage between Le Puy-en-Velay to Romans-en-Isere, Team Sky riders tried to unsettle their opponents by setting a frenetic tempo that split the pack like a jigsaw puzzle.

After relentless work from Vasil Kiryienka and Michal Kwiatkowski, only 22 riders including Froome and teammate Mikel Landa managed to stay in the reduced bunch at the front.

With the race now in money time, with stages set to decide the final podium, Froome went straight to the point with his aggressive racing. He appears in great shape and has the best team surrounding him in his bid to win a fourth Tour title.

“Everyone knew it was going to split at some point,” said Froome. “For us it was more about just being on the right side of it. Knowing it was going to kick off on that open section in the last 20 kilometres to go, the guys committed to that and we saw the gaps opening out straight away.”

Froome, the defending champion, has an 18-second overall lead over Aru, with Romain Bardet 23 seconds back in third place. Colombian Rigoberto Uran completes the leading quartet, 29 seconds off the pace.

Landa, who has been impressive since the start of the Tour despite dedicating himself to Froome, moved back to fifth overall, 1 minute, 17 seconds back. “Myself and Mikel Landa are feeling great,” said Froome. “The next two days are the biggest consecutive days in this year’s Tour de France. And the goal of my preparation for the Tour de France was to head into the third week feeling the way I’m feeling now.”

The battle for the yellow jersey will resume on Wednesday during the first of two Alpine stages in high altitude. It will lead riders to the ski station of Serre Chevalier through a gruelling 183km trek featuring four climbs, including the Col du Galibier — one of the Tour’s most fearsome and famed climbs at 18km, with a 10-percent gradient at the top.

Next will be the daunting Stage 18 to the Col d’Izoard, which features a final 14.1km ascent to the top of the mountain, at an altitude of 2360m.

“I’m looking forward to the Alps,” Froome said.

AP