Today's chaotic stage two of the Tour de France ended horribly for defending green jersey champion Thor Hushovd, with the race jury making the decision to nullify the competition following a major pile up as the race approached the finish. Hushovd and his Cervélo TestTeam worked hard on a day marked out as one they could increase his advantage in the fight for green to his closest rivals. They had done their job well and, before riders began to hit the pavement on the descent of the Col de Stockeu, looked poised to succeed in their task.
“I feel frustrated by what happened today. Our team was working hard and we would have had a good chance for victory. I feel like they have taken something away from us today. There were a few sprinters who did not make it to the front group, but there was no reason to not contest the sprint today. Everyone made a gentleman’s agreement not to sprint, but I lost an important opportunity to try to win the stage and gain points.”
Saxo Bank's Fabian Cancellara showed the tremendous respect he has in the peloton by organizing a truce in the maillot jaune to allow teammates and overall contenders Andy and Frank Schleck come back to the group of race favorites. His actions were done at the expense of his yellow jersey, but the Swiss rider demonstrated he was only focused on what was best for the team.
While Hushovd was disappointed with today's decision, the Paris-Roubaix runner-up will be perfectly at home and highly motivated tomorrow when the race takes in 13.2 kilometers of the feared pavé du Nord.
“The stage tomorrow will be very difficult. I have the confidence knowing that I can handle the cobblestones. I want to win the stage,” he said. It could very well end up being a showdown between he and "Hell of the North" winner Cancellara for the stage.
The Norwegian champion's teammate Jeremy Hunt did his job at the front of the peloton today, in what now amounts to wasted precious energy over the three-week test. The Briton will also be riding with something to prove during stage three, and combined with Hushovd, will make a formidable duo. “We pulled at the front all day. We all managed to get through. It was just chaos. In the end, they didn’t want to sprint. I cannot understand why. Hopefully there will be no points awarded for today's stage. It’s going to be chaos again tomorrow.”
For the sport director who sent his men to the front of the race, it was a bitter day on the road: “Everything was going to plan at first. It’s pretty bad for us. We took everything on our shoulders. No team wanted to start chasing. They wanted to let it go. We put up our hands and started to work. Everything was going well until the crash. If the crash wasn’t there, I am quite sure that there would have been a sprint and Thor would have been a big favorite," explained Jean-Paul van Poppel.
“What the other teams decide to do, that’s their problem. It doesn’t matter what they want or not want, our guys are really motivated. They decided not to sprint for the points, and Thor was really upset about that. It ended up badly because of the crash. Otherwise it could have been the flowers and maybe the champagne,” he said.
“Tuesday’s stage will be important. Anyone can win this stage, not just a cobblestone specialist. We have very strong prospects with Thor for the stage victory. It will also be important to keep Carlos [Sastre] out of trouble. The stage should not be too difficult, because there are 13 km of cobblestones, not 60 km. I don’t have a problem seeing the cobblestones in the Tour de France. It’s part of cycling. It will be a big spectacle for the race.”
The second year team will be one of the best equipped to handle the cobblestones tomorrow, and Classics specialist Andreas Klier says the strategy will play out well before the race even hits the pavé. “I think tomorrow will be a big spectacle," Klier admitted. “The cobblestones themselves will not be so hard. Positioning at the arrival to the cobbles is the key factor. Everyone will want to be at the front, but the road is only 6 to 8 meters wide. That’s the problem. This will create chaos."
Once the peloton hits the cobbles there is sure to be a crash. While the riders wait for the inevitable to happen, the urgency of the day will bring everyone's anticipation to its height.
“Everyone will be very nervous because they will be afraid of falling. If one of the big favorites crashes, or they are caught behind a crash, they can lose lots of time and their Tour is over," Klier added. "We’d like to win the stage with Thor and keep Carlos out of harm’s way. We have a very strong team for these cobblestones. I did not race Paris-Roubaix this year, so this will be my Paris-Roubaix.”