TOUR DE FRANCETEARS COURSING down his face, Mark Cavendish yesterday topped the Tour podium for the 11th time in his career after taking what might be his most meaningful victory to date.
The Manxman had been unimpressive in Wednesday’s stage, failing to match the speed of his sprinting rivals, but he was a transformed rider heading into the historic town of Montargis.
His HTC Columbia team worked hard to bring back a long-distance break by Jurgen van de Walle (QuickStep), Jose Ivan Gutierrez (Caisse d’Epargne) and Julian El Fares (Cofidis), bringing things together with three kilometres to go. And while the rival Garmin Transitions team took over and tried to usher sprinter Tyler Farrar to victory, Cavendish had the speed, commitment and determination to snatch the win.
He edged out former team-mates Gerald Ciolek (Milram), Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky) and the rest of the main bunch, with Ireland’s Nicolas Roche coming in a fine 14th.
“All that pressure that has built up through the year has finally been lifted,” said Cavendish, wearied from a hot day in the saddle and from the raw emotions of the finish. “For sure, I’m going to try and win more stages, but thank God, the work paid off today.”
The 25-year-old has had a difficult time in recent months, partly of his making, but also due to bad luck. He broke off his engagement to his longtime girlfriend, had a difficult relationship with a model, nearly lost his best friend in a motorbike accident, saw his brother go to prison and suffered a severe dental infection when he insisted on training the day after having teeth removed.
As a result, he has been in poor form, but his win yesterday turned things around. He thrives on confidence and it’s entirely possible he will take several more stages.
“It’s the Tour de France, it’s the biggest bike race in the world, and it was the goal this year to win again,” he said. “But it doesn’t matter how much you say criticism is not going to affect you, it does. It puts pressure on you.”
The bunch sprint ensured there was no change to the general classification. Yellow jersey wearer Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank) preserved his 23-second advantage over the Briton Geraint Thomas (Sky).
Roche remains 11th overall, one minute 42 seconds behind the race leader. His good form is highlighted by the fact he snagged a high placing without really going for the sprint.
Cavendish’s win won’t come as a surprise to Roche. Prior to the stage he said he felt the Briton just needed things to fall into place.
“Self-belief is hugely important to sprinters,” he said. “You see one guy and he wins 10 races in a row, then he is not competitive for a while. Sprinters are all as quick as each other, but it is all in the head. It’s a question of confidence. Once he [Cavendish] can find the right move, the right flow, then he’ll start winning again.”
Now that he’s back in the groove, his HTC team will do its utmost on today’s stage to Gueugnon to ensure a second victory. The undulating, 204.5km leg is a little more undulating, though, being dotted with a quartet of fourth category climbs. A bunch gallop is still the most likely outcome, but those ramps will give the breakaway specialists sufficient hope to try once again.
