The first Grand Tour of 2012, the Giro d’Italia, is upon us, and I’ll be looking at the sprints for The Roar throughout the three weeks.
It promises to be a far bigger festival of speed than the Tour de France this year.
The 2012 Tour route isn’t really built for sprinters, but I reckon seven out of the 21 Giro stages are certain to finish with a bunch sprint, and there are several others that could to.
So why is that?
Because the key sprinters have teams that are backing them rather than an overall contender.
They are Matt Goss (Orica-Green Edge) and Mark Cavendish (Team Sky), and their teams should have the combined power to retrieve any breakaways exactly when and where they need to, which is just before the finish.
It’s basic stuff for a sprinter’s team. Let a break go so the race has something to focus on but not stress about, then pick up the pace to reel it in just before the final five-kilometre 70kph dash to the finish.
Then the lead-out train starts, and Goss and Cavendish both have expresses.
Jack Bobridge, Jens Keukeleire, Svein Tuft, Bret Lancaster and Thomas Vaitkus will launch Goss at the line, with Peter Kennaugh, Ian Stannard, Ben Swift, Geraint Thomas and Bernard Eisel doing the same for Cavendish.
That’s what sprinting is about these days. Lead-out trains work like the stages of a rocket, with fast strong road riders who can go all day, like Tuft, Vaitkus and Stannard providing the launch power. They will be the main guys who slowly crank the pace up to escape velocity during the final 20km. That prevents anybody else attacking.
Then the track speed of the likes of Bobridge, Swift and Thomas will take over at team pursuit speed for the final run in to the finish.
The whole thing is set up for the head of the rocket, the sprinters. Tactics, what everyone else is doing, the shape, length and slope of the finish straight, wind direction and gut feel all help decide when a sprinter explodes off the last wheel of the train.
And that is where Cavendish is so good. Nobody can accelerate from 60 to 70 kph as fast as Cav, and nobody can quite reach his top speed. Goss nearly can, but nearly won’t win it in a straight head to head with Cav.
Goss will have to rely on finesse.
That’s where leaning on the opposition to try and break their line, initiating the sprint earlier, or using another’s effort as a lead-out comes in. It’s also where the other sprinters fit into the picture.
Daniele Bennati of Italy, American Tyler Farrar and Australian Mark Renshaw are fast but their teams have other objectives, so they probably won’t commit to a lead-out. These sprinters will try to infiltrate the others, maybe with a team mate or two to help.
A bunch finish is a fascinating thing to watch, a thing of grace and beauty too. Seen from the air the thing ebbs and flows, with the advantage seeming to pass one way then another. Mark Cavendish studies them, which helps him second guess the opposition.
But Sprinters have something other than courage and speed, they can slow down time in their heads. Racing drivers can do the same, and so can you.
Have you’ve ever fallen off your bike, or had some sort of accident, maybe in a car? Did it all seem to happen in slow motion?
That’s what the best sprinters see in sprints.
You often see a sprinter go on what looks like the wrong side of an opponent, only for a gap to open up at the last split-second. Cavendish did it in the 2012 road world championships
They weren’t just lucky, heightened awareness helps them slow the action in their heads so time is running at two speeds; one is real time running for us watching, the other is a slow motion version running inside their heads.
Sprints are a fascinating part of any stage race, and I think the ones coming up in this year’s Giro are going to be vintage.
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