Simon Geschke raced to 4th on stage 16 as the early break of 23 riders stays clear. Ruben Plaza won the stage after a well-timed attack and Warren Barguil finished 33rd in the yellow jersey group. 

Stage 16 consisted of a long warming up on slightly ascending roads before reaching two 2nd category climbs with the final summit at 12km from the finish in Gap. Two groups of 12 riders each escaped early in the stage and merged into one large breakaway group after 100km. For the second day-in-a-row Simon Geschke was there.

On the final climb Ruben Plaza (Lampre – Merida) attacked and gained one-minute advantage on the top of the Col de Manse. The chasing group, including Simon Geschke came too late and were forced to sprint for the second place. Simon Geschke sprinted to 4th.

In the battle for the GC Warren Barguil remained strong as he even attacked on the final climb to finish in the yellow jersey group at 33rd. He moves up one position in the GC and is now back in the top-10 at 10th. However, the talking points was his collision with Geraint Thomas on the descent.

After the finish Warren Barguil said: “I apologized to Geraint Thomas directly after the finish and I am relieved that he is alright as I feel sorry for the situation.

“I got a shoulder push from Van Garderen and my hand slipped off the handlebar. That is why for a second or so I braked too late and ran into Thomas.”

Simon Geschke reflected on his day in the break: “Apparently I have the feeling for the right escape and today we were directly gone. For riders like me it offers the best opportunity to win a stage.

“I know the final descent so I knew what to expect and tried to follow the ideal line, but it was difficult to follow Sagan, as he is technically among the best in the peloton. Nobody could hold on to his rear wheel. At the end I did not go full gas anymore to win the sprint of the chase group.

“I feel good after two weeks of the Tour but look forward to tomorrow’s rest day.”

Coach Marc Reef added: “Again Simon [Geschke] was in the breakaway. He was among the strongest on the final ascent. After Plaza attacked the cooperation for the chase wasn’t perfect, as they didn’t want to go to the finish with Sagan.

“In the descent Simon was unable to follow the first but won the sprint for fourth place. He did a good race.

“In the GC fight Warren [Barguil] did a great job and was very strong today. After some difficult days he can be proud of his performance of today.”