Mark Cavendish takes stage six as the peloton overcomes some late French resistence
Mark Cavendish (HTC-Highroad) has opened his account in the 2011 Tour de France, taking the fifth stage between Carhaix and Cap Fréhel in a bunch sprint. The Manxman came around Belgian champion Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto) in a late surge for the line, after the peloton had shut down a late attack from Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) and Jérémy Roy (FDJ). Green jersey José Joaquin Rojas (Movistar) was third at the end of a 164.5km stage that was marked by a number of crashes.
“It wasn’t a full on bunch sprint,” said Cavendish to French TV at the finish. “What the organiser has done this year is mix it up, make it hard for a proper bunch sprint. I think that is because we [HTC Highroad – ed] have been dominating the last years.
“The reason why we dominate at the sprint in the Tour de France…well, me personally,” he explained, “I put every other race on the back foot to be good at the Tour de France. We brought the best team to work on the sprint at the Tour de France, so we dominate the sprints at the Tour de France.”
The sprint was anything but simple for Cavendish and the HTC-Highroad team, with the Breton coastal terrain giving the opportunity for any number of attackers. Early on Sebastien Turgot (Europcar), Jose Ivan Gutierrez (Movistar), Tristan Valentin (Cofidis) and Anthony Delaplace (Saur-Sojasun) clipped away, but were later chased down by the Garmin-Cervélo team. Voeckler and Roy then tried, but they too were hauled back.
The HTC riders came through towards the end and did what they could to set their sprinter up. “The nine guys on the team all did a tremendous job today,” said Cavendish. “Although it didn’t look like a train, in the normal sense when I am at the back, they kept the pace high; they kept it strung out. If they hadn’t done their job, the bunch would have come and I would have been even further back. So they did it to keep it stretched out.
“As it happened, it was better for me to be further back as I got a run up then,” he added, after explaining that a run-in with former team-mate André Greipel (Omega Pharma Lotto) saw him lose ground. “It is always nice to overcome adversity and doubt. When people put handicaps on you, it is always extra satisfying to overcome that.”
World champion Thor Hushovd was also involved in the sprint, but appeared to go too early and finished tenth. More importantly, he successfully defended his overall lead and remains in yellow, one second clear of Cadel Evans (BMC Racing Team).
“It was a hard sprint. I didn’t know it was so hard,” he told French TV. “I was up there and I kind of sprinted for the stage win but also had a mind on defending the yellow jersey. It was kind of 50-50,” he said.
A short, but very sharp stage full of hidden dangers:
Although the stage was relatively short at 164.5km and contained just one 4th category climb, stage five was by no means going to be easy. There would be very little flat road to be found as the route made its way towards, then around, the rolling, exposed Côtes d’Armor. The stage passed through the town of Yffiniac, the birthplace of five-time Tour winner Bernard Hinault, who now works for the race organisation, after with 42km to go.
Although this was a stage that the sprinters would have liked the look of, the rolling nature of the roads, and the possible crosswinds from the English Channel could both favour a breakaway and see echelons and splits forming in the peloton.
There was action immediately from the start, but the first few attempted escapes were chased down as many of the teams battled to get their men in the expected breakaway. After four kilometres Sebastien Turgot (Europcar), Jose Ivan Gutierrez (Movistar), Tristan Valentin (Cofidis) and Anthony Delaplace (Saur-Sojasun) got away and were allowed to start building a lead.
Turgot was the best placed of the quartet, 3’12” behind yellow jersey Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervélo), and once again there was a repeat attacker in Gutierrez, who was in the long breakaway on stage three. After eight kilometres they were 1’25” ahead.
Delaplace’s presence in the break was the first showing of the Saur-Sojasun team in the race so far, in the team’s first ever appearance at the Tour de France. The Frenchman is the youngest rider in the race; not turning 22 until September 11th.
Hushovd’s Garmin-Cervélo team stationed itself on the front of the peloton, but was quite happy to watch the quartet’s advantage grow; after 40km it was just under five minutes and was still rising
Peloton so relaxed that riders have time for running repairs:
Such was the relaxed pace in the peloton that Fabian Cancellara stopped briefly to straighten his saddle after 30 kilometres, and was able to rejoin without any apparent effort.
The four leaders rode up the fourth category Côte de Gurunhuel together after 45.5km, but Delaplace sprinted in the final hundred metres to take the single point over the top. The peloton followed them over, some 5’33” behind.
On a narrow road after 60km there was a low speed crash towards the back of the peloton. Among those affected were British champion Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky) and French champion Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step). After a few bike changes though, all of the affected riders managed to remount and were able to rejoin without any trouble. The pace was relatively relaxed and Wiggins had time to change back to his original red, white and blue bike, matching his national champion’s jersey.
At the intermediate sprint at Goudelin after 70km Turgot jumped from the back of the group and, as the strong sprinter of the four, was able to take the maximum points without too much of a challenge from the others.
Another edgy sprint is followed by several nasty crashes:
Movistar came to the front of the peloton as it approached the sprint, just as they had done on stage four, on behalf of green jersey holder José Joaquin Rojas. HTC-Highroad too came to the front for Cavendish, as did Quick Step for Tom Boonen.
Cavendish found himself pushed over to the side of the road as Rojas moved left, forcing Boonen to do likewise. Boonen looked like he was about to take it, but Borut Bozic slipped past the Belgian in the final metres.
As the peloton slowed to regroup after the sprint Robert Gesink and a number of his Rabobank teammates came down on the left side of the road. The worst affected was RadioShack’s Janez Brajkovic, who stayed down for some time. The Slovenian was slowly back on his feet, but after being treated by the race doctor he was taken to hospital by ambulance, his race over.
A little further on another crash at the front of the field brought down race favourite Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-SunGard). The Spaniard changed his bike and was off again relatively quickly with a number of other riders, including Russian champion Pavel Brutt.
“It is really crazy when it is that windy on narrow roads…” said yellow jersey Hushovd afterwards. “Everybody wants to be in front so as not to be behind the splits if there is a crosswind. It’s not possible if too many guys want to be in the front, so then crashes happen.”
The activity at the sprint meant that after 90 kilometres the gap had dropped to below four minutes. Danish champion Nicky Sørensen (Saxo Bank-SunGard) was then brought down at the right side of the road as he was clipped by a camera moto, which was squeezing past the peloton. Reports from the race suggested that the motorcycle pilot was swiftly ejected from the event. Fortunately Sørensen wasn’t badly hurt and after getting a new bike, chased back on.
Break nearly caught, more crashes ensue:
Thanks to an injection of pace by Leopard Trek following Contador’s crash, the breakaway’s advantage dropped to just 42 seconds. The Spanish rider was able to rejoin, though, and with nobody wanting to pull back the four riders at that point, the pace dropped a little and the gap began to widen once more.
The peloton bunched together with the drop of speed and, with 60km to go, another crash near the back of the peloton saw Tom Boonen and much of his Quick Step team come down. The 2005 World champion stayed on the ground for a long time and, having sat up, seemed to have problems with his right shoulder. After some time the Belgian got back on his bike and slowly resumed the race. He was more than four minutes behind the peloton by now, however, and faced a long, painful ride alone.
With fifty kilometres to go the peloton had the four leaders in sight but slowed to leave them hanging out there for another few kilometres. It finally all came together five clicks later, with most of the race favourites swarming forwards to anticipate the expected crosswinds in the race’s final part.
By that point Boonen was more than six minutes behind, and had team-mate Addy Engels with him to try to ensure he made the time cut.
French Resistance to an almost-inevitable bunch sprint:
With 33 kilometres remaining, persistent breakaway rider Jeremy Roy (FDJ) attacked on a small rise and was quickly followed by Thomas Voeckler (Europcar). The peloton failed to respond to the two Frenchman and they quickly opened up a gap together; after a few kilometres they had 40 seconds, and with twenty kilometres to go it had been stretched to one minute.
At that point there was yet another crash as the peloton made its way through a small town; Ivan Velasco (Euskaltel-Euskadi) came down hard against the barriers. Fortunately he didn’t seem too badly hurt.
HTC-Highroad was moving forward to the front of the pelton once more, but there was no real chase and the gap went out to 1’08”. Garmin-Cervélo came up to join HTC-Highroad, though, and the gap was halved as the peloton’s speed went up. Other teams joined the chase, including Astana and BMC Racing, and the two Frenchmen looked doomed.
They had just 15 seconds with five kilometres to go, but neither Roy nor Voeckler were showing any signs of surrender, despite glances backwards. They had 14 seconds with four kilometres to go, but the gap had dropped to almost nothing one kilometre later.
Voeckler had no intention of giving up, though, and attacked again on a short climb. This effort brought him clear of an exhausted Roy.
Chaotic sprint to the line:
Vacansoleil-DCM joined the chase with just over two kilometres to go, but the former French champion held out for another 200 metres. He finally yielded and sat up, a brave bid proving unsuccessful.
Lampre-ISD then took over the front of the peloton for Alessandro Petacchi, but inside the final kilometre HTC-Highroad grabbed the lead back. Fearing that they might get swamped by late attacks, as they were on stage three, Matt Goss decided to let Tony Martin’s wheel go, and the German opened up a gap at the front.
The gap put the onus on other teams to take over the pacemaking but, on a short rise with about 700 metres to go, Edvald Boasson Hagen (Team Sky) launched a solo bid for the line. He hurtled clear and quickly overtook Martin, only to be chased down by Romain Feillu (Vacansoleil-DCM). Both faded on the way to the finish as Hushovd brought the other sprinters up to them.
Gilbert launched his sprint for the line but, having been virtually out of sight until that point, Cavendish came up on the wheel of white jersey Geraint Thomas (Team Sky). The Cannonball came around Gilbert, and lunged past him at the line to take his sixteenth Tour stage victory by half a length.
Finishing tenth on the stage, and with no time bonuses, Hushovd holds on to the yellow jersey by the same one-second lead over Cadel Evans (BMC Racing).
“Every day in yellow is a bonus for me,” said Hushovd afterwards. “I try to enjoy every day, even if it was hard out there today. Of course, tomorrow is a long stage but we will try to do our best to keep the jersey another day.”