The 12th stage of the Tour de France was another day with mixed feelings for BORA – ARGON 18. Zak Dempster, who finished yesterday with an impressive solo ride over 70 km, had to abandon the race already in the first part of today’s stage due to an abscess. Jan Barta took the opportunity to be part of a breakaway group again.

After the intermediate sprint, a very large group of 22 riders went clear. The peloton granted a maximum gap of nearly 13 minutes. Due to the four climbs of the stage, many attacks dictated the race also in the front group and consequently it fell apart during the stage. Barta was part of the lead until the final climb up to Plateau de Beille. The mountain had an average gradient of 7.9% over 16 kilometers and it caused many more attacks both in the lead as well as in the group of favorites. Joaquin Rodriguez (Katusha) secured the victory, Barta crossed the finish line in an impressive 6th okace. Chris Froome (Sky) managed to neutralize all attacks and he defended the yellow jersey.

"That was the last tough stage in the Pyrenees and it was assumed that on the Plateau de Beille the strong riders would decide the victory among themselves. Therefore, we wanted to ride defensively and energy-conserving today. But then a relatively large group was formed and Jan must have felt so good that he took the chance. And taking a closer look at the group, of course all the strong climbers were in it. Jan has been able to compete well in the group and did a great race. A sixth place in this stage is not what one would necessarily expect as he for sure doesn't like longer mountains. So it's been a great performance.", is the conclusion of today's stage of Sport Director Enrico Poitschke.

"Regarding Zak, it's a pity that he had to give up today. He has already proven that he is capable of doing Grand Tours and then to have to give up because of an inflammation, is certainly not easy. He will be missed in the following stages.", continues Poitschke.