Wilco Kelderman survived the seventh stage of the Tour de France without any damage. Team LottoNL-Jumbo’s climber finished the first stage through the Pyrenees in the group with the overall contenders.

Paul Martens was part of the breakaway with Steve Cummings (Team Dimension Data), who attacked solo and won.

The stage Friday began with a long fight for the spots in the breakaway. “A group of 12 riders broke away, Cavendish and Sagan were there,” Sports Director Merijn Zeeman said. “That wasn’t a good situation for the fight for the green jersey, so they got caught, quickly. Afterwards, another war and 29 riders escaped.”

Break

“It was good that I was in the break,” German Paul Martens said. “When I looked around, I saw that there were a lot of strong men in the group, so I knew quite fast that I wasn’t going to have a big chance at winning this stage.”

Just before the riders reached the Col d’Aspin, the escape quickly fell apart. Martens added, “Our advantage, however, wasn’t big enough for me to be able to finish ahead the main group.”

The peloton rode a decent pace on the Col d’Aspin, but a big group of overall favourites managed to stay together. “Wilco Kelderman was well placed in that group,” Zeeman continued. “George Bennett was able to work for him, as well. Wilco was in good position before the descent.”

Warm-up

“The boys were supporting me today,” Kelderman said. “I was led out perfectly to the foot of the Col d’Aspin and afterwards, it was up to me to stay in front and monitor what was possible. This turned out to be a warm-up for tomorrow and the day after. It sounds easier than it was, but it went quite well for me.”

Dylan Groenewegen came through the first stage in the Pyrenees without problems, as well. “I was part of the gruppetto for the first time,” the sprinter added. “That was quite fun. You’re just riding pace uphill. It doesn’t go too fast, so it’s perfect. I was able to get along easily and from now on, I’m going to approach it day by day.”