Today's stage was basically the perfect example of how far away attacks are basically doomed to fail.
Kwiatkowski, even helped with an incredibly Tony Martin during 90% of the stage, completely cracked at the very end in Chevrères and the final climb, losing over 2 minutes to Nibali, even though he virtually had the yellow jersey the whole stage.
Even Purito, who was in front all day and had nothing to lose being nearly an hour in the GC, and was 1st in five climbs out of seven, has lost all its lead in the final two climbs despite being very strong during 4 hours. 15 minutes were enough to make him lose the stage by nearly a minute.
Meanwhile, the favorite's peloton just stood there, Nibali's team did all the job, and Vincenzo takes the final honors, while some other riders (especially the other GC contenders) who didn't go in the breakaway still finished strong only seconds behind Nibali.
So did we just witness the death of the long runs and attacks from far away to gain several minutes in a queen stage?
Kwiatkowski, even helped with an incredibly Tony Martin during 90% of the stage, completely cracked at the very end in Chevrères and the final climb, losing over 2 minutes to Nibali, even though he virtually had the yellow jersey the whole stage.
Even Purito, who was in front all day and had nothing to lose being nearly an hour in the GC, and was 1st in five climbs out of seven, has lost all its lead in the final two climbs despite being very strong during 4 hours. 15 minutes were enough to make him lose the stage by nearly a minute.
Meanwhile, the favorite's peloton just stood there, Nibali's team did all the job, and Vincenzo takes the final honors, while some other riders (especially the other GC contenders) who didn't go in the breakaway still finished strong only seconds behind Nibali.
So did we just witness the death of the long runs and attacks from far away to gain several minutes in a queen stage?