2015 Tour Stage 13 highlights: Van Avermaet edges out Sagan in thrilling finish
Greg van Avermaet showed powers of perseverance to hold off Peter Sagan and win Friday's 13th stage from Muret to Rodez.
Mark Cavendish thought he had a slim chance of a 27th stage victory on the 198.5-kilometre route, but the concluding climb of Saint-Pierre was 570 metres long at 9.6 per cent, which is the same average gradient as the punishing Mur de Huy.
It was more suited to the likes of Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo) and John Degenkolb (Giant-Alpecin), but it was Belgian Van Avermaet who claimed his first Tour stage success.
Sagan looked to be rounding the BMC Racing rider in the finishing straight, but Van Avermaet gritted his teeth to ensure the Slovakian's search for a first stage win in two years goes on.
There was small consolation for Sagan, who retained the points classification leader's green jersey after Andre Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) temporarily dislodged him from the lead at the day's intermediate sprint.
Chris Froome (Team Sky) finished sixth, seven seconds behind, to maintain his overall advantage of two minutes 52 seconds over second-placed Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing).
Nairo Quintana stayed third, 3:09 adrift as the top of the general classification remained unchanged, with Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) still fifth, 4:03 back.
Watch Stage 13 highlights:
Six riders formed the day's breakaway, with Degenkolb's Giant-Alpecin and Sagan's Tinkoff-Saxo squads pulling on the front of the peloton.
Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal), Cyril Gautier (Europcar) and Wilco Kelderman (LottoNL-Jumbo) made a forlorn bid to stay away as their escapee companions were swallowed up by the charging peloton.
MTN-Qhubeka, working for Edvald Boasson Hagen, Alexander Kristoff's Katusha's and Cavendish's Etixx-QuickStep squad joined the pursuit.
The trio passed the 1km to go banner still in front and led as the climb began, but were caught with the finishing line in sight.
Van Avermaet proved the strongest as Sagan appeared to slow to a standstill, apparently believing his fifth stage win was in his grasp.
He may get another chance on Saturday's 14th stage, the 178.5km from Rodez to Mende.
Lance Armstrong, who was stripped of a record seven Tour titles for doping, rode to Mende on Friday alongside Geoff Thomas.
The former England footballer is aiming to raise £1million for Cure Leukaemia by riding the entire Tour route one day ahead of the professional peloton. He and 10 others will continue to Paris as Armstrong exits.
The Mende finish includes a sharp 3km climb to the finish where some of the overall contenders may bid to take a few seconds from Froome.