Greig Leach

As Andrew Talansky (Cannondale Garmin) flew under the red kite of one kilometer left to race, he still had one more man to catch in order to take the stage. Talansky had put in a blistering descent down the Col d'Allos to come within a minute and a half of the Giant-Alpecin man, Simon Geschke. With just a kilometer of road left to go, he was praying he could close the final forty seconds and claim a stage for his team. With the abandonment of his countryman, Tejay van Garderen (BMC),Talansky was hoping to bring some joy to the American fans from the United States. Most likely, there just isn't enough road left to race for him to catch the fleeing German.