{"id":166184,"date":"2018-07-20T11:11:07","date_gmt":"2018-07-20T11:11:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=166184"},"modified":"2018-07-20T11:11:07","modified_gmt":"2018-07-20T11:11:07","slug":"week-two-whos-going-to-win-the-green-jersey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2018\/07\/20\/week-two-whos-going-to-win-the-green-jersey\/","title":{"rendered":"Week Two: Who\u2019s Going to Win the Green Jersey?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The mountains have been unforgiving and our favourite faces have been disappearing one by one. Will it be smooth sailing for Sagan from now on?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Stage 11 saw Cav and Kittel eliminated<\/strong><\/h2>\n

It wasn\u2019t the same Manxman we were accustomed to. Mark Cavendish finished just once in the TOP 10. And knew early in the stage 11 he was going to be eliminated. After only half of the route, he was already losing half an hour on the GC contenders. That\u2019s why he motioned his teammates to go on without him. Cav then rode with just a team car and the broom wagon to keep him company. In the end, he finished more than an hour behind Geraint Thomas. He did, however, show a great determination to finish.<\/p>\n

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Mark Cavendish, Stage 11, Alberville – La Rosiere Espace Bernardo on July 18th, 2018. \u00a9 AFP, Profimedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI never climb off. I climbed off as a neo-pro and I said that I\u2019d never do it again,\u201d Cavendish said. \u201cIt\u2019s important to finish, and the finish line will always come. After all the work my team does for me I can\u2019t just stop, I have to honour that and the race.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Manx Man already vowed to come back stronger next year. He is still looking to add to his 30 stage wins and ultimately beat Eddy Merckx\u2019s record of 34.<\/p>\n

The 30-year-old Kittel finished 44 minutes behind Thomas. The German was openly criticised by his sports director and might come back in a different jersey than Katusha\u2019s. Whether that happens or not, we\u2019ll be definitely on the lookout for him next year.<\/p>\n

Alpe d\u2019Huez claims even more souls<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Massive sprinters\u2019 exodus followed the very next day. The 12th stage saw Andr\u00e9 Greipel, Fernando Gaviria and Dylan Groenewegen all abandon the Grand Boucl\u00e9. They just didn\u2019t have any fuel left in their tanks and fell behind the peloton too much to make it any sense to continue the gruesome climbs.<\/p>\n

“With 2 victories, I’m looking back at a beautiful Tour de France!\u201d Groenewegen insisted.<\/p>\n

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\ud83c\uddeb\ud83c\uddf7#TDF2018<\/a><\/p>\n

Some great memories from last week!\ud83d\udcf8<\/p>\n

Thanks for everything @GroenewegenD<\/a> and get well soon!\ud83d\udc90#samenwinnen<\/a> #juichmee<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/IFQ7bnacBz<\/a><\/p>\n

— Team Visma | Lease a Bike (@vismaleaseabike) July 19, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n