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ysobelleSomeone described today's stage as a "rolling rest day." It was the shortest stage of the Tour, and quite flat. After yesterday, I'd imagine most of the remaining 191 men are fine with that. The surprise today came at the end, really, and not from what happened so much as from what didn't.
The end of a stage is a masterwork of strategy and technicality. If a team has a sprinter, they're getting ready for the line from 15, 20km back. They get their team to the front of the peloton, and stay there no matter what. From that point on, every man has a specific purpose. They guard their sprinter, and line up in front of him one by one, to take him to the line. It's called a lead-out train, and it gets their man to the end with as much of his strength preserved as possible. When the last lead-out man peels off, the team's sprinter takes off like a rocket, and goes for the line as hard as he can.
The last few years, probably the best of these rocket men has been Columbia/HTC's Mark Cavendish. Last year, in fact, he became the British rider with the most-ever stage wins-- six in the Tour alone. He's had a titanic battle with the Norwegian National Champion, Thor Hushovd, over the years, and the green jersey of the points competition goes back and forth between them. But if Columbia, and more specifically their lead-out man Mark Renshaw, can get Cavendish to the right position, he'll go like he's been fired from a bike-shaped cannon.
But today? He got to the front. He got to the position. But when he got to the line...he stopped. It was obvious he knew he just didn't have it. Something was wrong. Alessandro Petacchi, nicknamed Ale-Jet, got his Lampre jersey over the line first, displaying his old dominating form of years ago. Cavendish, meanwhile, sagged in his saddle, looking at the ground. Done.
This is not the Mark Cavendish who shot off his mouth last year until half the peloton wanted to shove a cleat in it. This isn't the guy who demonstrated that if his team could get him to the line, he'd be the first over it. (He did say, as well, that he considered it his duty to repay the incredible work his teammates did for him.) So what's up?
His teammates, and even other riders, all say they're sure he'll win a stage. They don't seem overly worried. And again, it's only Stage Four, he has plenty of time to wipe up the floor with the rest of the sprinters. We'll have to wait and see.
No change in the General Classification, today. No major crashes, but one fall was bad enough to oust Euskatel Euskadi rider Amets Txurruka, who-- say it with me-- broke his collarbone. What does that make, now, five? And again, he finished the stage before abandoning.
If only these guys' bones were as strong as their wills.
The end of a stage is a masterwork of strategy and technicality. If a team has a sprinter, they're getting ready for the line from 15, 20km back. They get their team to the front of the peloton, and stay there no matter what. From that point on, every man has a specific purpose. They guard their sprinter, and line up in front of him one by one, to take him to the line. It's called a lead-out train, and it gets their man to the end with as much of his strength preserved as possible. When the last lead-out man peels off, the team's sprinter takes off like a rocket, and goes for the line as hard as he can.
The last few years, probably the best of these rocket men has been Columbia/HTC's Mark Cavendish. Last year, in fact, he became the British rider with the most-ever stage wins-- six in the Tour alone. He's had a titanic battle with the Norwegian National Champion, Thor Hushovd, over the years, and the green jersey of the points competition goes back and forth between them. But if Columbia, and more specifically their lead-out man Mark Renshaw, can get Cavendish to the right position, he'll go like he's been fired from a bike-shaped cannon.
But today? He got to the front. He got to the position. But when he got to the line...he stopped. It was obvious he knew he just didn't have it. Something was wrong. Alessandro Petacchi, nicknamed Ale-Jet, got his Lampre jersey over the line first, displaying his old dominating form of years ago. Cavendish, meanwhile, sagged in his saddle, looking at the ground. Done.
This is not the Mark Cavendish who shot off his mouth last year until half the peloton wanted to shove a cleat in it. This isn't the guy who demonstrated that if his team could get him to the line, he'd be the first over it. (He did say, as well, that he considered it his duty to repay the incredible work his teammates did for him.) So what's up?
His teammates, and even other riders, all say they're sure he'll win a stage. They don't seem overly worried. And again, it's only Stage Four, he has plenty of time to wipe up the floor with the rest of the sprinters. We'll have to wait and see.
No change in the General Classification, today. No major crashes, but one fall was bad enough to oust Euskatel Euskadi rider Amets Txurruka, who-- say it with me-- broke his collarbone. What does that make, now, five? And again, he finished the stage before abandoning.
If only these guys' bones were as strong as their wills.