Australian Caleb Ewan wins his second stage of this year's race after a sprint finish in Nimes
Tuesday 23 July 2019 18:06, UK
Geraint Thomas overcame a minor crash to retain second place overall as Caleb Ewan won stage 16 of the Tour de France.
Defending champion Thomas hit the deck with around 130km (80 miles) of the stage to go on the inside of a right-hand bend.
He was quickly brought back into the bunch by team-mates Dylan van Baarle and Jonathan Castroviejo and later dropped back to the Ineos car for a check with the team doctor.
It is the third time Thomas has crashed at this year's race but so far he has only picked up minor bumps and bruises.
Another of the pre-race favourites was not so lucky on Tuesday.
Astana rider Jakob Fuglsang's Tour was ended by a crash inside the last 30km (18 miles), the Dane ultimately climbing into an ambulance and out of a race in which he had sat ninth overall.
Lotto-Soudal's Ewan took his second stage victory in a sprint finish as he held off Deceuninck-Quick Step's Elia Viviani and Jumbo-Visma's Dylan Groenewegen at the end of the 177km (110 mile) stage, which started and finished in Nimes.
They were rare moments of drama until the end of a stage which had been raced in soaring temperatures of around 40 degrees in the south of France.
A five-man breakaway was given little leeway though not reeled in until the final three kilometres as the sprint trains moved up.
Thomas crossed the line with a few bumps and grazes but still second in the general classification, 1 min 35 seconds behind Deceuninck-Quick Step's Julian Alaphilippe.
Though the Welshman is in pole position should Alaphilippe fall away as expected in the Alps, four riders are bunched within 39 seconds of him, with the Tour as wide open as it has been for decades going into the final stages.
