Sky Procycling’s obvious progression from its somewhat-quiet first season continued yesterday when Edvald Boasson Hagen showed his versatility and power to blaze to victory in the Tour de France. The Norwegian jumped early but had the strength to hold off Milan-Sanremo winner Matt Goss (HTC Highroad) and race leader/world champion Thor Hushovd (Garmin- Cervélo) on the drag up to the line.
It is the biggest success thus far for the 24 year old, who previously took stage wins in the Giro d’Italia and Critérium du Dauphiné, as well as the overall classification in the Tour of Britain. “It’s hard to say anything now,” he said after the finish. “I am really happy…it is really great to take my first stage win in the Tour de France.”
Boasson Hagen showed his power at the end of Wednesday’s stage, but mistimed it and jumped several hundred metres too soon. He got things right yesterday and while Hushovd was glued to his wheel and in the perfect position to springboard past him, he simply couldn’t match his compatriot’s strength.
“I felt good yesterday but got it wrong, and today I really wanted to get the sprint,” Boasson Hagen said. “Geraint Thomas did a really good leadout as well, and it is just fantastic to win a stage in this Tour. That was the goal when I started and it is really good.”
Thomas has been very impressive thus far in the race and did some important work for his team-mate in the finale. He told French TV afterwards that it was time for Sky Procycling to pull off the victory. “We have been up there every stage so far, there or thereabouts. We knew we were in with a great chance today. It was just a massive team effort, a great team effort. Swifty sacrificed himself for me at the bottom, kept me in a good position riding in the wind. The other guys had gone back for bottles, capes.
“Fortunately I could guide Eddy to the last two hundred and try to deliver him as fast as I could. He finished it off perfectly.”
The result is a big relief for the team, both in its own significance and also because it shows that the decision to take Boasson Hagen to the Tour was the correct one. There was a question mark over him beforehand as he was suffering from shingles, but the incidence was short-lived and he bounced back in time.
“He was a bit sick before and probably came into it at eighty percent or whatever,” Swift explained. “But he has definitely come up now and as you can see today, he is super strong. For sure we are going to be contesting a few more of those finishes.”
As directeur sportif Sean Yates remarked, the harder finale to the race worked perfectly in making a selection. “It all came right today, the finish worked to Edvald’s advantage because that hill in the final kilometre got rid of the purer sprinters like Cav [Cavendish] – who on a flat finish is virtually unbeatable,” he said. “The way G [Geraint Thomas] and the rest of the team guided Edvald was top-notch and then the stage was made for him really. That was a great performance and a great day for the team.
“We’ve always known he is a great talent - he’s had a lot of bad luck over the last 18 months but today everything came together for him and the rest of the team.”
Last year the general perception was that the team arrived to big fanfare, promised much but wasn’t able to deliver on that. There’s been a very different feeling to things this year, with Sky Procycling coming across as more relaxed, less pressured and working better as a unit. It’s taken good results all year, including Bradley Wiggins’ overall victory in the Critérium du Dauphiné, and headed to the Tour highly motivated to show what it can do.
As team principal, Dave Brailsford has been working hard towards this first Tour victory. He said it is a milestone for the squad, the first British setup at such a high level. “It’s a big day and a super-exciting moment for the whole team – the riders, the staff, our partners and all our fans. This first Grand Tour stage win is also a key moment in our development and our history,” he explained.
“Who better to get it than Edvald, who’s been such a great rider for this team. It’s onwards and upwards from here but I think we should take a moment to savour it now and really take on board what we’ve achieved. We’re still a young team and to accomplish this in such a short space of time is very exciting. We’ll look forward to building on that now.”
Taking at least one stage win was a target, but the team also has aims for the general classification. Wiggins was fourth two years ago and has rebuilt after a disappointing 2010; he has a chance of taking a podium finish and everybody on the team is focussed on that. As a result Brailsford said that the riders will not allow themselves to be distracted by what was achieved yesterday.
“We’ll have a glass of champagne to toast Edvald’s victory but there will be no wild celebrations,” he said. “We’ll save those until Paris. We just have to enjoy the moment now though because every member of this team has worked so hard to get us where we are today.”
Saturday’s stage to Super Besse should reveal more about Wiggins’ chances. He’s currently sixth overall, just ten seconds back, and a strong ride on the climb could move him up further. Hushovd is in yellow but will need to pull out a massive effort to still be there at the finish of tomorrow’s stage.
Another jersey which could change hands is the white jersey in the best young rider competition. Thomas is leading that, but is level on time with Boasson Hagen. He said that he will fight to hold onto it. “I have felt good since the start of the race, really. Me and Eddy [are] first and second in that best young riders. He is desperate to get that jersey off me…I keep winding him up about it, but he’s not going to get it…not for a while yet,” he smiled.