Stage 4 -- July 4: Abbeville to Rouen, 214.5 km (133.3 mi)
Stage 5 -- July 5: Rouen to Saint-Quentin, 196 .5 km (122 mi)
Crashes inside the final kilometers have become a common sight. Tyler Farrar was the latest victom and it brought out the rage within him. Photograph: Bogdan Cristel/Reuters
The last two days have been the stages the pure sprinters have been looking forward to ever since this Tour began. Totally flat, with yesterday's having not a single categorised climb. It was always going to end up with the big bunch sprint. Sure groups would go clear but inevitably be washed away inside the run for the line. Saying that, yesterday's break almost threw a spanner into the works and had the line come 500 meters earlier, might well have cost the sprinters a shot at glory. Were the race radio's that aid the tempo of the bunch to catch these breaks not working?
Either way these sorts of finishes really do have a sad inevitable conclusion about them these days. The break goes clear early, builds up a big lead, stays away simmering in the sun all day, and then, with the finish not far away the gap comes crashing down as the teams of the sprinters turn up the heat at the front of the bunch, reeling them in just in time for the leadout trains to start doing their thing. And I fully maintain that the dreaded race radio is to blame. No longer do riders go on initiative or trying to calculate how to bring back a break on the information they get from the time-gaps posted on a blackboard being held by a bloke on the back of a motorbike. Rather, they have someone in their ear telling them that the speed of the men up the road is such-and-such so if they ride at this speed they will catch them with exactly ten kilometers to go. Yesterday was a rare exception of a break almost working.
And that's my little rant for the day.
Other than that both stages still had finishes full of drama and whatever I might say about this manufacturing of bunch sprints, there is still no greater sight in the sport than the bunch charging to the line through the final kilometer. And thank goodness for that rule about everyone getting the same time if there is a crash inside the final three clicks for without it there might well have been mayhem, though maybe it's the cynic in me, but I don't think it's a coincidence that riders start getting more wreckless once they know that any split in the bunch due to a crash won't cause half the field time.
I mean, Tyler Farrar was brought down yesterday and after trundling to the line covered in blood he made his way straight to the team-bus of Argos Shimano rather than the ambulance, looking for Tom Veelers whom he felt had caused the crash while shouting "You don't do that to someone". Farrar was furious and sadly for the onlooking hoard of media wasn't able to find his man, but if Veelers did indeed cause the crash by riding just a little too recklessly, he might have had more than just Farrar at his door had he split up the field with more than three K's to go, costing some big names time.
André Greipel stays out of trouble and completes the double. Photograph: AFP
The day before it was Cavendish who was brought down and again it seen a slew of riders crossing the line a few minutes later than André Greipel, the man who benefited most and who steered well clear of the danger to win both stages. With less pure sprinter style stages this year than in most others -- there's only three real opportunities for them left, including Paris -- Greipel's rivals will be jealous that he has swallowed up two of those opportunities for himself already.
The talk after the Cavendish crash was the exact roll Team Sky should be taking in this tour. Some felt they should be giving more support and protection to their World Champion sprinter, though rightly I believe they need to focus that protection on Wiggins. Cavendish can survive on his own and proved it on stage two, and sometimes there's nothing you can do to avoid a crash whether your team-mates are around you or not. Saying that, having Team Sky ride right at the front for Cav, but with Wiggins also in a protected position might work well for both and keep any potential crashes behind them.
They did that yesterday but when push came to shove and the sprinting started early thanks to the break only being caught in the final few hundred yards and on a shallow but leg grinding uphill drag, Cavendish couldn't come around four of his rivals before the line. Maybe a little banged up from the day before, maybe worn out on the type of finish, whatever it was Cavendish tried to come from too far back and had to settle for fifth. A shame really given that his rival for the Green jersey, Peter Sagan, had been caught up in the Farrar crash and was for once not involved in the points scoring and this would have been a great opportunity to close what was quickly becoming a sizable gap.
But that's the Tour for you ... always unpredictable and always full of drama and we're still not entirely through the first week. Don't you just love it?
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Unfortunately, every time there is a sprint the script is always the same: everyone wants to stay ahead, everyone thinks they have good legs and do manoeuvres that cause crashes. We are at the Tour de France and a victory here is worth a lot, but the risks are just too high. Though the thought that I could have been hurt worse helps me overcome the sorrow.” -- Peter Sagan finds a bright side to being one of the latest riders caught up in a crash.
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FAKE TWEET OF THE DAY
@TylerFarrar Hey @TVeelers you bastard, you better watch your back wheel tomorrow...
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ABANDONMENT'S
Maarten Tjallingii of Rabobank didn't start stage four, while Marcel Kittel finally succumbed to his illness, which was causing questionable bowel movements, on stage five when he withdrew from the race.
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STAGE 4 RESULT
1. Andre Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Belisol in 5-18-32
2. Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre-ISD
3. Tom Veelers (Ned) Argos-Shimano all at same time
STAGE 5 RESULT
1. Andre Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Belisol in 4h 41' 30"
2. Matt Goss (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
3. Juan Jose Haedo (Arg) Saxo Bank - Tinkoff Bank all at same time
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE 5
1. Fabian Cancellara (Swi) RadioShack-Nissan 24h 45' 32"
2. Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Team Sky at 7 sec
3. Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma QuickStep at same time
4. Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing at 10 sec
5. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Team Sky at 11 sec
6. Denis Menchov (Rus) Katusha at 13 sec
7. Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing at 17 sec
8. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas at 18 sec
9. Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin-Sharp at same time
10. Andreas Kloden (Ger) Radioshack-Nissan at 19 sec
