Greig Leach

Giant Shimano had spent most of the day on the front of the peloton in hopes of delivering the big man, Marcel Kittel, if the final pair of climbs didn't prove too much for the big German to handle. Their back up choice was John Degenkolb, and it was he that stayed in the peloton with the legs to factor into the finale. As the peloton slid under the ten kilometers to go banner, the sprinter's teams were jockeying for position and fighting to line up their sprint trains. Part of the byproduct of the fight to get organized is a big acceleration, an acceleration that threaten the slim lead of Simon Clarke (Orica GreenEdge). With the peloton in full flight it was unlikely that the lone Australian would be able to stay off of the front all the way to the line in Saint Etienne.