Greig Leach

Playing around with the title of this one. You get the reference (I hope). The intermediate sprint came after the Category 2 climb of the Cote de Domancy 33 kilometers into the stage. With Mark Cavendish (Deceuninck-Quick Step) already in the grupetto off the back of the race, it was time for his competitors for the Maillot Vert to try and cut into his lead in the sprinters' competition. Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain-Victorious) took out the sprint just ahead of Michael Matthews (BikeExchange) in Praz Sur Arly. The crazy thing is that the sprinter Colbrelli (and Italian Champion) also took third on the stage. Not a flat stage, but a stage that included to Category One climbs, one Haute Catagory climb, and one Catefory Four climb after this sprint. Both of these sprinters got closer to taking Cavendish's Maillot Vert. But I stand in awe of Colbrelli's efforts today. To put it in perspective, he out climb some of the best climbers racing in the Pro Tour today. It is theorized that the wet cold day got under the skin of the climbers who are traditionally lacking in any body fat. Perhaps the bigger, more muscular sprinters were more able to withstand the cold wet conditions. Whatever the reason, Colbrelli was simply amazing today.