With a bunch sprint expected at the end of today’s stage to Montpellier, Mark Cavendish is the rider that most will be watching. He’s grabbed three sprint wins thus far this year, increasing his Tour haul to 18 such victories in the past four years, and is hungry to once again hit the line first.
However fast Cavendish and the other sprinters look today, they have all been fighting the strain of hauling their fast twitch fibres over the Pyrenees. While they finish in the autobus on those days, rolling in many minutes behind the big guns, Cavendish has made clear that it is a battle to even do that.
“It’s been incredibly tough to just survive these mountains. I thought I was climbing well. I lost so much weight before this Tour de France but I just can’t seem to get the power out,” he said after the finish at Plateau de Beille. “I can’t get settled on the climb and it’s frustrating but I’ve got an incredible group of guys around me. If they’re not riding on the front, if they’re not leading me out, they could be having an easy day in the ‘grupetto’ but they’re dropping behind and towing me back when I’m dropped. I’m incredibly lucky to have them around.”
He said that a short message from one of the big GC contenders prior to yesterday’s stage brought it home to him how different things are for those chasing the yellow jersey. “It is funny though because we were watching Twitter this morning and Cadel was saying, ‘Now the Tour starts...’ and I was like, ‘I am absolutely on my knees...!’ and he’s saying that. It’s humbling, actually.”
The roles should reverse today, though, with Evans and the other GC riders content to roll in as part of the main bunch. Cavendish, Andre Greipel (Omega Pharma Lotto), Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Cervélo) and the other sprinters will be battling it out at the sharp end of things. The Briton said that whatever about tiredness, the adrenaline helps him click.
“It’s not hard for me to switch gears when I go from the mountains to the sprint stage because I can smell the finish line. And so that’s okay,” he explained.
“I believe I’m the best finisher of the job but I’m always in the best position to do that. You see that when I’m not in the best position, I don’t always win but my team does an incredible job to put me in this position and it’s hard for me to lose really.”