In an incident packed Stage 5 of the Tour de France, Mark Cavendish, the missile from the Isle of Man, overcame his doubters and claimed his first stage win of this year’s tour.
It was his sixteenth stage win in four years, his first in 2011, and the third time he has won Stage 5 of the Tour de France.
In yet another difficult, narrow, uphill finish to a stage, it looked a lost cause with Cavendish in tenth position with 500 metres to go.
But he was not to be denied.
He got on to the wheel of Sky’s Geraint Thomas and then went deep into the red zone to overtake Phillipe Gilbert on the line.
Cavendish, who is never short of an opinion, had this to say at the completion end of the stage.
“I think what the organisers have done this year is they’ve made it hard to have a proper bunch sprint”
“We’ve got the best team and we’ve dominated the sprints of the Tour de France, so they’ve tried to make it a handicap this year.”
“That wasn’t a bunch sprint, that was hard, that was real hard at the finish, actually, proper hard when you see Gilbert, Hushovd and Rojas at the finish.”
“Them last couple of hundred metres my legs were really, really going. I’m really happy with that.”
The overall standings were unchanged at the completion of the stage.
Yellow jersey holder Thor Hushovd (10th), Cadel Evan (11th), Alberto Contador (35th) and Andy Schleck (39th) all recorded the same time as the winner.
However, the stage was marred by a ridiculous amount of spills and crashes which resulted in two riders having to abandon the tour. Other riders who hit the dirt included heavyweights Contador and Robert Gesink.
The falls were so frequent it must have crossed the French Constabulary’s mind to set up a random breath testing station during the stage.
Stage 6 of the tour from Dinan to Lisieux is a “flat” stage through the rolling landscape of Normandy.
It is also the tour’s longest stage at 226.5 kilometres
The stage finish has again been set up to take away the dominance of Cavendish’s HTC-Highroad team. There is a nasty little climb 1.5 kilometres from the finish which will eliminate the chance of a bunch sprint.
This finish will present yet another chance for Gilbert to clinch his second win of the tour and also feed Cavendish’s contempt for the tour organisers.
I can’t see Cavendish making it two in a row. The win looked to have taken too much out him.
But, expect him to add to his impressive tally of wins as the tour continues.
Post script: Cavendish’s last tweet
“Shit, just saw my post-race interview on TV. Just going to clip my facial hair before bed #looklikeahobo”
Stage 5 Results
POS No. Name Team Time
1 171 Mark CAVENDISH THR 03:38:32
2 032 Philippe GILBERT OLO 03:38:32
3 088 Jose Joaquin ROJAS MOV 03:38:32
4 156 Tony GALLOPIN COF 03:38:32
5 117 Geraint THOMAS SKY 03:38:32
6 033 André GREIPEL OLO 03:38:32
7 105 Sébastien HINAULT ALM 03:38:32
8 132 William BONNET FDJ 03:38:32
9 095 Daniel OSS LIQ 03:38:32
10 051 Thor HUSHOVD GRM 03:38:32
11 141 Cadel EVANS BMC 03:38:32
35 001 Alberto CONTADOR SBS 03:38:32
49 011 Andy SCHLECK LEO 03:38:32
Overall Standings
POS No. Name Team Time Gap
1 051 Thor HUSHOVD GRM 17:36:57 00:00:00
2 141 Cadel EVANS BMC 17:36:58 00:00:01
3 018 Frank SCHLECK LEO 17:37:01 00:00:04
4 056 David MILLAR GRM 17:37:05 00:00:08
5 074 Andréas KLÖDEN RSH 17:37:07 00:00:10
6 111 Bradley WIGGINS SKY 17:37:07 00:00:10
7 117 Geraint THOMAS SKY 17:37:09 00:00:12
8 114 Edvald Boasson HAGEN SKY 17:37:09 00:00:12
9 013 Jakob FUGLSANG LEO 17:37:09 00:00:12
10 011 Andy SCHLECK LEO 17:37:09 00:00:12
39 001 Alberto CONTADOR SBS 17:38:39 00:01:42
Overall Standing – Australians
POS No. Name Team Gap Time
2 141 Cadel EVANS BMC 00:00:00 17:36:58
82 005 Richie PORTE SBS 00:04:24 17:41:22
87 113 Simon GERRANS SKY 00:04:31 17:41:29
90 174 Matthew GOSS THR 00:04:53 17:41:51
98 016 Stuart O’GRADY LEO 00:06:09 17:43:07
130 177 Mark RENSHAW THR 00:09:16 17:46:14
Green Sprint Jersey Standings
POS No. Name Team Points
1 032 Philippe GILBERT OLO 120
2 088 Jose Joaquin ROJAS MOV 112
3 141 Cadel EVANS BMC 90
4 171 Mark CAVENDISH THR 84
5 051 Thor HUSHOVD GRM 82
schtumpy
Guest
Apologies AS. 4 and a bit Tours. Still an impressive record. Still a bit of a prat.
Greg Russell
Roar Guru
So let me guess: you went to the 1998 World Cup in France, then treated yourself to some down time in Greece. 1998 was Stuart O'Grady's first TdF. So let's do a "where are they now?" O'Grady is still riding the Tour, having not missed one since his debut, a remarkable feat of endurance (I don't know what the record is for most Tours in a row, but O'Grady's 14 cannot be too far off it). Ullrich, arguably the most talented road-racing cyclist of all time, is a big, fat, bitter and twisted refugee in Switzerland. And Pantani is in a coffin. Who would have foreseen all this? It's remarkable how paths diverge.
Greg, football is my sporting wife but I do have mistresses. I watched the scandalous, drug riddled Tour of 1998 on Eurosport when I was idling in Greece. Watched Pantani and Ulrich smash themselves up the slopes. Made amazing TV. We're lucky that SBS has brought the Tour to our screens in Australia.
Greg Russell
Roar Guru
Hey AS, I thought you were a monogamous football man. What's going on here? You don't want to become a dilettante comme moi!
Schtumpy - it's actually 4 and a bit tours. Most people forget his debut tour in 2007. He didn't win a stage, crashed twice and abandoned after stage 10. I'm pretty sure Cavendish has forgotten about it.
schtumpy
Guest
While le Tour is all about the mountains and time trials when all is said and done, there is still nothing to compare watching the fastest guy passing the other sprinters at the end of a bunch sprint as if they are standing still. And Cav is the fastest guy on a bike I have ever seen. Faster than Petacchi, faster than McEwan. And 16 stage wins in 3 and a bit tours is jaw dropping. Over how many years did it take Robbie to win 12? Goodness me though, he can be a bit of a prat sometimes, can't he? Conditions, rules, point systems etc change year by year in the Grand Tours. Deal with it Cav.
Thanks for the comments guys. I had quick look at the stages ahead and stage 11next week looks the most best suited for a big bunch sprint (last few km are dead straight) That's one stage finish Cavendish won't be complaining about.
nordozzz
Roar Guru
varies year to year, not as many chances but some transition stages in between. They have the run through the massif-central (sp?) in addition to pyrennes and alps. Plus the start has had so many uphill finish stages.
jameswm
Guest
That was a great effort by Cav to win that. No lead-out train and uphill finish, he showed how good he is. Surely there will be some flatter stages on wider roads as well?
Whites
Guest
Have to also say that the SBS iPhone App for the Tour is fantastic. All the action live and free.
nordozzz
Roar Guru
re bunch sprints ... having less intermediates is meaning we're getting some better contested sprints for the green jersey, mid-stage. Maybe they've limited the finish sprinting opportunities to get them to focus on the earlier ones. Either way am enjoying it all round this Tour, more so Giro last year tbh...