CYCLING TOUR DE FRANCE:FROM TEARS to cheers. After showing strong emotion in taking his first stage win of this year's race on Thursday, Mark Cavendish was calmer, composed and more confident after another fine sprint victory yesterday.
The HTC Columbia rider thrives on self-belief and, once he turned a difficult season around two days ago, it was virtually assured more triumphs would follow soon.
He profited from the work of the Garmin Transitions team inside the final two kilometres of the stage to Gueugnon, clinically waiting until just the right moment to lunge for the line.
Chief rival Tyler Farrar was well placed on his wheel but made the error of allowing Cavendish to jump first. The Isle of Man rider has wicked acceleration and once he kicked there was no getting him back.
“It was a hard stage actually, up and down all day,” the smiling 25-year-old told reporters at the end of what was the longest stage of this year’s race. “It was a tough slog for our guys but they rode incredibly well. They kept the gap down [to the day’s break], and then it was a case of everybody jumping in at the end.”
Earlier, Mathieu Perget (Caisse d’Epargne) sparked off the day’s breakaway move when he went clear almost immediately after the start. He was joined by Germany’s Sebastian Lang (Omega Pharma-Lotto) and Spanish rider Ruben Perez Moreno (Euskaltel-Euskadi), and together this trio opened a lead of eight minutes on the undulating terrain.
However, the sprinter’s teams were in complete control and despite the late reinforcements of Dmitri Champion (Ag2R-La Mondiale) and Anthony Charteau (BBox Bouygues Telecom), who jumped across on the final hill and added renewed vigour to the break, the move was hauled back with 10 kilometres to go.
“We knew it was going to be a tactical last climb but it played in our favour a little bit because it stopped us having to follow the chase at the end,” Cavendish explained.
“We were able to infiltrate the lead-out. I just followed Mark [Renshaw] as usual and it was just a case of finishing off the incredible work that my team-mates did.”
Cavendish and the other sprinters opened a small, three-second gap in the high-speed gallop to the line.
All the race favourites finished in the main bunch just behind them, including overnight leader Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank). Nicolas Roche was also there, opting not to sprint to save energy for today’s first mountain stage.
He rolled in 42nd and remains a superb 11th overall, one minute and 42 seconds behind Cancellara.
Earlier this week he made it clear his target was to steer clear of trouble and ensure he didn’t lose any time before the mountains; now that goal has been achieved, he heads into the next phase in a solid position.
Roche pared off a couple of kilos of weight prior to the start of the season and has been climbing more strongly than before. He admits to being nervous heading into the mountains, but so too are all the other team leaders.
As last year’s Tour winner, Alberto Contador, explained, the sensations can be good on the flatter stages but you never really know how you are going until the road tilts upwards.
“I don’t know how my condition is,” the Spaniard admitted. “Tomorrow [Saturday] we can draw some conclusions, but more so on the day to Morzine [Sunday], which is harder. I hope that things go well.”
Roche made it clear this week he doesn’t see himself quite on a par with Contador, Andy Schleck and Lance Armstrong, the top riders from last year. “I’m in the next group of riders,” he admitted, “probably behind those fighting for the top 10.”
That’s as expected for a strong rider in his second Tour, but he’ll still fight tooth and nail in the high mountains. Many of those who are ahead of him are not climbing specialists and so, if he is feeling good today, he could edge into the top 10 at this point of the race.
One who is determined to dig as deep as possible is Cancellara. He has led for all bar one day of this year’s Tour, but at 80kg, his chances of matching the lighter riders are not good.
Still, he promised to hold on if he can. “I’ll be very proud if I can have the yellow jersey for one more day,” he said. “If not, I won’t be sad. Tomorrow we start with mountains and it’ll depend on how the race will unfold. Maybe I will still have the jersey after the stage tomorrow but maybe not. I’m prepared for the next phase . . .”
What works in his favour is the fact that today’s climbs are tough, but not impossible. The 165.5km stage to Station des Rousses passes through the Jura, not the Alps, and so the ramps he will face are second category ascents rather than dizzying, high-altitude climbs.
Tomorrow’s leg to Morzine-Avoriaz is another matter entirely, though; the Tour is poised to get a whole lot more interesting.
