Bob Jungels in the lead on a hectic Tour stage

Stage 17 took the Tour de France into the Alps. In the shadow of Mont Ventoux, the day began with a long and fierce battle for the breakaway. It took nearly 60 kilometers before a quartet led by Bob Jungels took the lead. For Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe, this day was one of the options for a stage win and the team did a lot for it. But even when the small group was established, the peloton was not quiet. Even though the GC favorites were not chasing the breakaway today, there were plenty of riders in the peloton who wanted to get to the front. As a result, the pace remained very high throughout the day and the gap never increased. On the penultimate climb, a group of strong climbers caught up with the escapees and immediately took over the lead on the way to the finish at the Superdévoluy ski station. Bob Jungels“It was a crazy day, it was really, really hard. You had to be in a good mood to try to get away. We knew it was one of the two days where we could get away. There were a lot of people trying, and at the end we were 4 in front. With a very strong group behind us, with climbers stronger than us, our only chance was to increase the gap. But in the end it was a very, very hard day.”