A sprint stage clearly doesn't have to be boring - Marcel Kittel Tour de France analysis

We eventually got the advertised sprint at the end of stage 9 of the Tour de France, but the day certainly didn’t play out the way anybody expected. 

When Mathieu van der Poel and Jonas Rickaert attacked at the start of the stage, I assumed the intention was to go for the points at the intermediate sprint. I thought Van der Poel saw it as a chance to make up some ground on Tadej Pogačar, just in case Jonathan Milan doesn’t make it to Paris. And when they had a four-minute gap, I could understand why they might have thought: ‘Ok, we might as well play at the casino here and go for the stage victory.’

But then I saw Van der Poel’s interview afterwards, and it was the wildest reason I’ve heard for going in a breakaway – he wanted to fulfil Rickaert’s dream of getting on the podium for the Prix de la Combativité.

At first glance, it seems like a crazy reason for a rider like Van der Poel to go in the break, but it shows that these guys are so strong and also that they just like to have fun by making the race. 

In any case, with the crosswinds and the tension, it turned out to be a stage where everybody was using up energy. The difference between the energy expended in a breakaway and the peloton today was smaller than on other days, because they all had to invest a lot behind.

When the peloton came in, you could see so many riders had salt on their kit, and Tim Merlier said it was so hectic that he went without a bottle for the last 60km, so he was quite dehydrated. 

Van der Poel went deep, but he was still able to get bottles all the time, and he came really close to pulling off a great win. Maybe it wasn’t planned, but it still worked out almost perfectly. 

But ‘almost’ is the key word. Châteauroux still saw a sprint, and even though it was a bit chaotic and no single team was able to dominate, the two best sprinters in the Tour fought it out for the win.

Merlier had already shown in Dunkerque on stage 3 that he is really good at positioning and at managing himself without a lead-out, and this kind of finale probably suited him the best out of all the sprinters. He’s the strongest when the sprinters find themselves forced to get into position by themselves and then deliver a really fast finish. He can still produce a really good sprint in that situation, like he did again today.

There is very little to choose between Milan and Merlier. Here again, it was almost an even contest between them, very close. 

They are both powerful sprinters. Milan has an imposing physique, and that strength definitely helps when he’s going elbow to elbow and finding his position.

Merlier maybe relies a little more on being smart at positioning, so he doesn’t have to use his elbows. In any case, I think it’s good that they both have their different qualities, and it makes for very exciting sprints between them.

That brings us to the other talking point of the day, which was Tour de France technical director Thierry Gouvenou’s comments about possibly reducing the number of sprint stages in future editions. In particular, he placed the ‘blame’ on the sprinters’ teams for making these stages boring, and I don’t think that was entirely fair.

It all starts with the parcours, and I think it’s been a balanced first week. There was a chance for the sprinters to take yellow on the first stage, and then lots of days for guys like Pogačar and Van der Poel.

But then, eventually, there were some stages for the sprinters again this weekend. And that comes down to geography as well. This part of France is flat, so if you want to visit it, you will normally have opportunities for the sprinters.

On flat stages, you certainly can’t blame the sprinters’ teams for trying to control the race and make sure there is a sprint. There are only a limited number of chances in the Tour, and this is top-level sport, so they’re understandably competing for the best result in the best way they can.

Still, I do understand the wider point about trying to create entertainment. We have to remember that the Tour is competing for attention with other events this weekend, like the European Championships in women’s football or Wimbledon, so I understand the pressure on ASO to make the race as appealing as possible for viewers. It’s an important consideration for everybody.

But I would also like to point out that Gouvenou had already given an interview on Saturday, where he said something a little different when he was justifying having two sprint stages this weekend. He stated – correctly, I think – that it’s also important that the Tour has some ‘easier’ days, because it’s important that the riders get a stage to rest. It can’t be relentless every day for three weeks.

That’s why I was kind of confused that on Sunday, he then said that he would consider reducing the number of sprint stages if nobody went in the breakaway. 

In any case, Sunday’s stage provided a great counterargument. It showed clearly that a sprint stage doesn’t have to be boring.