Stage 10 of the 2020 Tour de France began on one island and ended on another during the island-hopping segment of Le Tour, with Sam Bennett (Deceuninck-Quickstep) winning a final sprint at the finish line at Ile de Re. Ireland’s Bennett held off Caleb Ewan and Peter Sagan to secure his first-ever stage win.
Oddsmakers listed Bennet among the top three favorites in every sprint stage on Le Tour so far, but this was the first time he burst through the finish line first.
Riders were challenged by narrow roads and crosswinds during the 168.5 km flat segment from Ile d’Oleron to Ile de Re. As a result, Stage 10 was marred with numerous crashes, including one involving Stage 9 winner Tadej Pogacar.
| TOUR de FRANCE STAGE 10 RESULTS |
- Sam Bennett (DQS) 03:35:22
- Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal)
- Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe)
The top rider in the general classification remained within the peloton and didn’t see any change in standings. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) retained the yellow jersey in his first defense after securing it in the last stage in the Pyrenees over the weekend.
Stage 10: Ile d’Oleron > Ile de Re
It’s been over 23 years since the Tour de France ended a stage on one of the islands in the Charente-Maritime area of southwest France.
Stage 10 began at Le Chateau d’Oleron on Ile d’Oleron. The flat 168.5 km ride went over a bridge to the mainland and linked up with Rochefort and La Rochelle before heading back over a bridge to the final sprint at Saint-Martin on Ile de Re.
Jonathan Vaughters, manager at EF Pro Cycling, didn’t hold back his critical assessment of Stage 10.
“Route for today’s #TDF2020 is incredibly dangerous,” tweeted Vaughters. “I mean, it’d be fine if the peloton were 25 riders, or if it were 1908 and the guys were all 20 minutes apart from each other. But it’s not.”
Stage 10 saw the most crashes since the opening stage in Nice. Stage 1 began on a damp and rainy day in Nice. There were so many crashes that most of the media began to report on which riders weren’t involved in a crash.
With 65 km remaining, Tadej Pogacar (UAE) and Guillaume Martin (Cofids) crashed, and five others spilled over them.
Despite the crashes, the last stretch was another photo finish with the peloton’s top sprinters. Sam Bennett (DQS) fought off Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) and Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) to take the Stage 10 victory.
Bennett thought he broke a second too late, and was surprised that he defeated Ewan.
“It hasn’t hit me,” said Bennett on the Stage 10 victory. “I thought I’d be in a flood of tears but I’m just in shock.”
In addition, Bennett secured the green jersey for the top sprinter on the Tour de France.
“In the end, it was a messy sprint, but Sam Bennett showed he can win the stage and the green jersey,” said Sagan.
On Deck: Stage 11 Chatelaillon-Plage > Poitier
Stage 11 marks the midpoint of the 2020 Tour de France. It features a 167 km ride from Chatelaillon-Plage to Poitier. The race begins at the beach and heads inland to Poitier.
The somewhat flat stage has one modest Category 4 climb at Cote de Cherveux.
The bookies at DraftKings love Bennett to win back-to-back sprint stages at the Tour de France. Bennett is +225 odds to win Stage 11, followed by Caleb Ewan at +250. Wout Van Wert won two sprint stages already. He’s 6/1 odds to win a third stage on Le Tour.
| LE TOUR GC STANDINGS (THRU STAGE 10) |
- Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 42:15:23
- Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) +00:00:21
- Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) +00:00:28
Roglic saw his Tour de France odds slip from -137 to -155, according to DraftKings.
Egan Bernal still trails Roglic by 21 seconds. Last year’s champion is +275 to repeat as this year’s champ.
After the crash, Pogacar didn’t lose any time. He still sits in seventh place and 44 seconds off fellow Slovenian, Roglic. Pogacar’s odds slipped to 3/1, and he’s third on the futures board behind Bernal.