CYCLING TOUR DE FRANCE:SPRINTING AT 60 kilometres per hour is dangerous enough at the best of times, but head-butting one of your rivals and then veering across to impede another is a risk too far. That was the verdict of the Tour de France organisers yesterday, who disqualified Mark Renshaw (HTC-Columbia) minutes after his team leader Mark Cavendish won the stage.
Renshaw is Cavendish’s lead-out man, the rider who guides him in the build-up to the sprint and who then sacrifices his own chances in launching the gallop. They have had a very successful partnership, but things started to go astray yesterday when Garmin Transitions’ lead-out man Julian Dean subtly cut across Renshaw’s path with about 400 metres to go.
The Australian butted his side three times in a bid to fend him off, a move which by itself which might have escaped sanction due to Dean’s own change in direction.
However, he then veered left to block Garmin sprint leader Tyler Farrar, who was trying to close down Cavendish and take the win.
Farrar had to settle for third, with Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre-Farnese Vini) swooping to nab second and the green points jersey. Ireland’s Nicolas Roche (Ag2r La Modiale) didn’t sprint but was a solid 17th.
“It’s nice to keep winning,” said Cavendish, speaking after the stage but before he learned his team-mate would be heading home.
“Mark held Julian Dean off and opened the door for me to go. It was Julian who put his elbow in and if Mark didn’t push back there was a chance they could have locked elbows and gone down.”
The 13-time Tour stage winner and his team later lodged an appeal, but the Tour organisers did not let Renshaw back in.
The 11th stage covered 184.5 mainly flat kilometres from Sisteron to Bourg-lès-Valence and was one of the hottest of this year’s Tour. Ground temperatures nudged 60 degrees, riders guzzled countless bottles and water was sprayed on the road in places to stop the surface melting.
Unsurprisingly, the bunch was in the mood for a quieter day and didn’t resist when Anthony Geslin (Française des Jeux), Stephane Augé (Cofidis) and Jose-Alberto Benitez (Footon-Servetto) went clear immediately after the start.
These stayed clear for almost the whole stage, but the move was finally brought back 23 kilometres from the line. Several other forays followed yet despite efforts by certain teams to split the bunch, there was no stopping a mass sprint.
That led to the win for Cavendish, and also ensured there was no change to the overall standings. Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank) consequently preserved his 41 seconds lead over closest rival, last year’s Tour champion Alberto Contador (Astana).
Roche remained 13th overall, six minutes and 23 seconds behind Schleck.
“I felt fine today, there was no extra tiredness after yesterday,” the Irish pro said afterwards, referring to his time-gaining attack near the end of Wednesday’s leg. “It was a pretty slow start and everything was fine . . . there were no problems.”
Today’s stage is certain to be more decisive, though, with five categorised climbs awaiting the riders before the finish in Mende. It features a steep ramp up to the finish and Roche knows the peloton is certain to explode.
“It is going to be really hard all day,” he said, “and the last climb is very tough. I know it from Paris-Nice. My plan is to stay with the bunch and then go flat out up it. I just want to hang in there and see how it goes.”
The climbing ability of riders such as Schleck and Contador means they will take a more aggressive approach and they and the other overall contenders will scrap it out from the bottom.
Schleck is confident, but the hunch is that Contador may well steal a few seconds and begin what is likely to be a big push for yellow in the days ahead.
