Team LottoNL Jumbo finished with two men in the top 10 of the Tour de France’s stage 12 up Mont Ventoux today. Bert-Jan Lindeman placed sixth and Sep Vanmarcke eighth behind winner Thomas de Gendt (Lotto-Soudal). De Gendt managed to shake off his fellow escapees and finished two seconds ahead of Serge Pauwels (Dimension Data).

Due to high 100kph winds, the organiser ended the stage six kilometres down from Mont Ventoux’s famous peak at Chalet Reynard.

Early in the stage, 13 men managed to break away from the peloton. Lindeman and Vanmarcke made the move.

"We were motivated to get in the break,” Sports Director Merijn Zeeman said. “We pointed out couple of riders to go along. And with such a long flat start, Vanmarcke and Lindeman were ideal."

Despite the gap quickly shooting to more than a quarter of an hour, it was not certain that the leaders were going to battle for a stage win.

“We were not sure because there was a lot of wind. There was a lot of speed in the peloton,” Zeeman added. “With two men in the top 10, though, we should be happy today. That’s a good result for us."

Lindeman

Lindeman managed to get up with Pauwels, De Gendt and Navarro. "I was hoping I could follow, and that after the beginning, they’d slow down. The pace was just a bit too high, though. After a few attacks, I dropped away, unfortunately,” said Lindeman.

"It's a missed opportunity, but my legs were no better today. On the flat, I had a good feeling, but on the climb, it became very tough.

“It was nice to ride clear on Mont Ventoux, but it was still disappointing because it was a chance to show something beautiful."

Vanmarcke 

"This was very nice because I never thought I could be eighth on Mont Ventoux,” Vanmarcke said. “It will not happen again soon.

He kept pushing when dropped.

"I went full-speed to ensure that I could finish in front of the GC guys and finish in the top 10.

“The intention today was mainly to get Lindeman in the escape, but I jumped in also. We still had the plan to force some echelons, but the peloton came closer, so it was better that we stayed together with more men."