I always enjoy getting back to Europe to watch the big races with my tour groups.
There’s something about seeing the races from the roadside that offers so much more than does just the television coverage, which sometimes feel like you’re watching a video game.
The apparent expertise many viewers feel after watching from their couch attests to this.
Obviously I spent many years inside the peloton as well, but from the roadside you can see the pain on the rider’s faces, appreciate the gradients and the road surfaces, and feel a little of what the riders are going through.
Never more so has this been noticeable than on the side of the road on Stage 5 of this year’s Tour de France. The conditions were terrible, the suffering of many riders apparent, as well as the delight of a select few who thrived when things got tough.
Adding to our experience was the fact that we’d just ridden the same roads the day prior, in the rain no less. It was slippery enough at our leisurely pace, and I predicted carnage for the considerably more demanding situation the peloton faced riding over the same surfaces.
The stage certainly didn’t disappoint on that front. There were multiple races going on at once, with GC and stage ambitions getting considerably mixed up at times.
Lars Boom took a memorable stage win, no doubt. He was relatively low-key in the build up to the stage, unlike Peter Sagan and Fabian Cancellara, whom he outperformed convincingly to take line honours.
But the real standout was Vincenzo Nibali.
His performance so far this tour has been excellent. Pre-Tour, he looked to be the weakest of the main contenders, but he really threw himself into the race with gusto. His stage win on day two was impressive and well deserved, but his efforts on Stage 5 should be lauded as a significant claim on the possibility of holding yellow all the way to Paris.
He hasn’t been afraid to attack early in the Tour, taking the race with both hands and without fear at any opportunity.
If Nibali wins this year’s Tour, Astana will have been defending on every race day except two. That would be remarkable, but there is so much racing to go that it’s probably not yet worth considering.
Chris Froome’s multiple falls and subsequent abandonment were a real shame. The anticipated battle between him and Contador can no longer take place. On the other hand, Nibali has presented himself as a much greater threat to Alberto Contador than we’d credited him.
The nearly three-minute advantage Nibali took on the cobbles means Contador will have to be at his aggressive best in the mountains, and that will be exciting to watch.
As an Aussie, I also can’t help but see a small silver lining to Froome pulling out, and that is the possibility of seeing Richie Porte receive the support of Team Sky at the Tour.
Some critics claimed that Sky were foolish to leave Bradley Wiggins at home instead of taking him as a viable plan B, but Sky has a number of riders who could still contend for a top-five finish.
Emerging from the cobbles in reasonable condition, Richie is now the highest ranked Sky rider on general classification, in eighth place at 1.54, and perhaps the most likely to take over the leadership.
The mountains will tell us if his form is as good as it was last year, but after missing his chance at Giro d’Italia leadership, I really hope to see Richie given a chance to find his legs here in France.
No one wishes for their team leader’s demise, and the emotions for Richie right now are probably a mixture of disappointment for his friend, Chris Froome, and at the same time a nervous excitement for the possibilities to come.
The first time I had the support of my team was also at le Tour, when my team leader, Jene Rene Bernauseau, had a bad day while I had an excellent one, taking yellow atop Pla d’Adet. Coincidentally, that was also Stage 5 of the Tour.
Nothing prepared me for the responsibility of leading the team, so I had to take it in my stride and do the best I could. The experience made me grow a great deal as a cyclist and probably defined the course of my career.
Maybe, with some luck on his side, we’ll see the next generation of Aussie Tour de France contenders step up into the limelight this year. I certainly hope so, and will be on the roadside cheering Richie all the way to Paris.
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