‘People leave their brakes at home’: Gaviria criticises rivals after chaotic Tour de France sprint
Fernando Gaviria missed out on the fight for victory in Bergerac after another hectic Tour de France finale, with the Colombian calling for greater caution inside the final kilometre.
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Fernando Gaviria has criticised the increasingly aggressive nature of the sprint finishes at the Tour de France after placing 13th in Bergerac.
The Caja Rural-Seguros RGA sprinter entered the finale hoping to move into contention for the stage victory, but struggled to improve his position as the peloton approached a difficult opening corner. The final kilometres were again marked by riders fighting for the same space at high speed.
“It was chaos, like it is every day,” Gaviria said after the finish. “Sometimes it feels as though people leave their brakes at home.
“We tried, but we did not have the strength to move further forward.”
Gaviria identified the first corner of the finale as the decisive point. Teams had been warned about the bend before the stage, making the fight for position especially intense on the approach.
“Everyone wanted to enter that first corner near the front because we knew it was a little dangerous,” he said. “Nobody wants to brake, and that creates a lot of risk.”
The Colombian suggested that caution may have cost him several positions, although he felt the team also needed to improve its approach before the next opportunity.
“We were a little careful today and, in the end, it became chaotic,” Gaviria said. “The team believes in me and we are going to keep fighting for the stage win, but we still have to improve our positioning.”
In the earlier sprint stages, stages 5 and 7, the Colombian, aged 31, finished 17th and 14th respectively.
Tension builds in Tour sprints
Gaviria’s comments followed another incident filled sprint in which Søren Wærenskjold and Biniam Girmay clashed during the final corner.
Wærenskjold, who had finished second on the previous stage, said repeated contact with Girmay had disrupted his sprint and left him unable to regain momentum, accusing the Eritrean of riding “like a complete idiot”. Girmay gave a different account, claiming the Norwegian had blocked his path.
The stage jury later issued Girmay with a warning for intimidation during the sprint. Olav Kooij received the same warning in a separate decision.
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