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Stage Notes: Cancellara enjoying time in yellow; Cavendish misses fairytale finish
Cancellara yellow run could have legs
Fabian Cancellara’s run in the yellow jersey could last several days.
At least that’s what Team CSC is quietly hoping for following the big Swiss time machine’s dominant prologue victory.
“I am taking it day-to-day, but the team will work to keep me in yellow as long as possible,” Cancellara said after finishing safely in the bunch at 22nd. “I have a nice gap to the sprinters. We don’t want to let a breakaway stay away.”
Cancellara’s 13-second winning margin over Andreas Klöden was the third largest in Tour history, but more importantly, he opened up huge gaps to the sprinters who will be nipping at his heals to snatch away the maillot jaune thanks to time bonuses.
Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) was the best-placed sprinter in Saturday’s prologue in 28th at 41 seconds back. Others such as Daniele Bennati (Lampre-Fondital) and Tom Boonen (QuickStep-Innergetic) were even more distant, finishing 43 and 46 seconds slower respectively.
That head start all but guaranteed Cancellara’s yellow jersey run could last through at least stage three – if not longer.
“Today’s winner was perfect for us because McEwen was the worst-placed of all the sprinters,” said Team CSC sport director Kim Andersen, referring to McEwen’s 148th prologue run at 1:09 back. “We will work to protect the yellow jersey and we hope to get some help from the sprinter teams.”
That’s just what happened in Sunday’s 203km first stage. A five-man breakaway ripped up the narrow English lanes, but Team CSC quickly put Dave Zabriskie, Iñigo Cuesta and Jens Voigt on the front to keep the gap between a manageable five and six minutes.
QuickStep and Lampre took over the chase in the final 50km to doom the move to assure the sprint that kept Cancellara safely wrapped in yellow.
Hushovd took 12 seconds back with the second-place bonus to pull to eighth at 29 seconds back.
Team CSC likes the way the race scenarios are stacking up in its favor, at least in the immediate future.
The Norwegian ace would need to win the stage and its 20-second time bonus as well as time bonuses at the day’s three “hot sprints” to have a chance to capture the yellow jersey in Monday’s second stage.
Of course, Cancellara and Team CSC will have to work to prevent a breakaway from pulling away for good.
“Having the yellow jersey just increases our motivation,” said Zabriskie, who pulled hard in the first half of the stage. “With Fabian in the yellow jersey, it gives us something to pull for.”
Cavendish won’t finish Tour
British Tour rookie Mark Cavendish won’t be finishing his first Tour de France, but he’ll be back to fight for another shot at a stage victory following a nasty crash late in Sunday’s stage.
The highly touted English sprinter crashed just before the last climb in Sunday’s stage and was forced to make two bike changes that torpedoed his hopes of a miracle stage victory on home roads.
“It happened about 25km to go. There was a group of spectators on the side of the road and I was down quick as a flash and my bike was trashed,” Cavendish said. “I’ve got the usual cuts and bruises, but I’ll live to ride again.”
Cavendish – a winner of six races already this season - was forced to stop twice to change bikes and never caught back on to challenge for the sprint finish to cross the line 186th at 2:45 back.
T-Mobile boss Bob Stapleton said the team went to “Plan B” and sent Bernhard Eisel and Marcus Burghardt into the sprint.
“The fairytale finish wasn’t meant to be but we had Burghardt (eighth) so the backup plan worked out okay,” Stapleton said. “He went down pretty hard and, at that point, the peloton is really going fast, so it was impossible for him to get back to the bunch and then try to challenge for the victory. Remember, he’s still young. He’s a fighter. He fought hard to get onto the Tour team. He’ll be back to fight again.”
Stapleton confirmed that the 22-year-old won’t be expected to finish his Tour debut.
“He’ll finish the first six or seven stages and then pull out. It makes no sense for him to ride through the Alps and Pyrenees,” Stapleton said. “The main thing for him is to build his experience. This is a demanding race and we don’t want to burn him out.”
Bruyneel satisfied with Tour start
Discovery Channel boss Johan Bruyneel expressed satisfaction with the team’s performance at the start of the 2007 Tour de France.
Third and fifth, respectively, in Saturday’s open prologue bodes well for the team’s chances, the Belgian sport director said.
“Cancellara is the reigning world champion and he was the big favorite. George really wanted to win, but he should be satisfied with his performance,” Bruyneel said. “With George and Gusev in the top 5, it was a very good prologue for us.”
Bruyneel said he expected more from team captain Levi Leipheimer, who could only muster 26th at 40 seconds off the winning pace.
“I expected a little better. I didn’t expect him to be in the top 10, but I thought he could finish in the 10 to 15,” he said. “It’s not so bad because he’s still only a few seconds off the other GC rivals besides Klöden.”
Bruyneel said don’t expect to see Discovery Channel’s distinctive green and blue jerseys in the sprint finishes in the first week of the Tour.
“We didn’t bring a sprinter so we’re not going to be at the front. Like always, these first stages are always nervous and you want to avoid crashes. (Tomas) Vaitkus tried today early because (Robert) Hunter attacked with about a kilometer to go. He gave it a try. You never know,” said Bruyneel, who added the team won’t be looking for breakaway chances in the first week. “Probably not because the breakaways that we’ll want will come in the week after the Alps. Right now these stages are too controlled and will probably finish in sprints.”
