Life-or-Death Sniping

Thanks to his advantage on the descent, Huang Kaiwen unsurprisingly won the individual time trial for this stage.

What was interesting was that a crash occurred afterward. Sagan and Huang the Ball King's teammate Joaquin Rodriguez were caught up in it, but both still posted decent times and would not fall behind.

Before entering the Pyrenees, Huang Kaiwen's lead narrowed somewhat.

Some riders were clearly starting to push.

Currently in second place was GreenEDGE's Gerrans. They had gained a considerable advantage by winning the team time trial, and Gerrans stood at 18 hours, 19 minutes, and 15 seconds, behind Huang Kaiwen's 18 hours, 18 minutes, and 55 seconds.

The riders behind them were all fairly close, without any major gaps.

GreenEDGE occupied second through fourth place.

Nibali and Rodriguez encountered some trouble and targeted attacks, as did the others. Everyone from Katusha Cycling Team except Huang Kaiwen had fallen out of the top ten.

Quick-Step, which had suddenly surged, took fourth and fifth, while Team Sky claimed the next three positions behind them. Saxo Bank took ninth through eleventh.

Cavendish was the second rider after Huang the Ball King to finish the stage, yet even so, he had not cracked the top twenty.

In the sprint standings, Huang the Ball King led with 274 points. Sagan, who had claimed to be giving up, had somehow climbed to second with 184 points. Kittel, Greipel, and several others were all hovering around the hundred-point mark.

Seeing these results, Huang Kaiwen was genuinely impressed.

Sagan really had a brain.

Not only was he strong, he was smart too.

Without making a sound, he had snatched up so many points.

In the climbing standings, however, AG2R Team's rabbit Kadri had moved up behind Huang Kaiwen.

After the race ended, they returned to camp.

So