RIMINI – When the bus arrives Mark Cavendish He's staring into space. He's an automaton. They make room for him among the fans and journalists waiting for him. Team manager Vinokourov is also waiting for him, who gives him an encouraging pat and opens the bus curtain for him. Cav slips inside silently.
His debut day at the Tour de France It was much, much harder than he expected. Okay, the Florence-Rimini wasn't for him, but like this… Second to last at 39'12” from Romain Bardet.
Red alert
It was well known that sprinters like him would struggle towards Rimini. And in fact, that's what happened. Fabio Jakobsen, For example, it didn't go well. He even finished last, right behind Cav, and he didn't have the Englishman's problems.
Something must have happened at the start of the season at Astana. The heat? A too-cold drink or something solid before the start? Something must have jammed the turquoises' intestines. Suddenly, "Cav" and Gazzoli gave up. Michele was even forced to retire.
They both vomited (there's even a video (of the Englishman). Mark was on the descent when it happened. Imagine his grit, his determination: he vomits, but he carries on. He doesn't lose focus, he keeps riding. At that moment he was already more than 8 minutes behind the leader of the race.
Astana-Qazaqstan, which is all for him, stands firm against him. At the first sign of pressure, Gazzoli, Bol, Morkov, and Ballerini, essentially his sprint team, are stopped. A few kilometers later, when the gap begins to become worrying and Gazzoli has thrown in the towel, Fedorov is also called back.
Zazà's words
A real shame, because all in all Cav seemed to be doing well. At the team presentation he was truly radiant. And just a few days before Stefano Zanini, the sports director had told us that all in all Cav was arriving at this Tour in more than good condition.
«I saw him racing in Switzerland – Zanini told us – and even though the course wasn't exactly for sprinters, he performed well. On the way up, when he broke away, a lot of people had already fallen behind. I would say that the Tour de Suisse, if not a real test, was the completion of a good block of work for Mark."
Prepared knight
These words from the Lombard sporting director were thunderous when today the first to break away, and well ahead of schedule, was Cavendish himself.
"Mark's training program," Zazà said, "was good. In the last race he was motivated and so was the team around him, the same as the Tour de France. After Switzerland, Mark spent a few days at home and then back in Greece with his coach. Vasilis AnastopoulosEven though it's hot there, he's comfortable. He's completed another block of work. He was supposed to go there. And that also helped him feel at ease."
A well-built "castle," in short, but one that collapsed after 45 kilometers of the Tour de France. There must be something wrong with it.
Cav is experienced. He's been through a lot and has a lot of grit. Now the goal is to recover as soon as possible and it won't be easy given the level and the route that this Tour de France offers..
Don't give up
After his arrival, Cavendish tried to tone things down. He said he wanted to race like this, on the safe side. Perhaps he would have preferred to drop back on the next climb. And in part, that might have been a correct assessment, but between the images that nail him, Gazzoli's withdrawal, and a huge delay, it's clear it couldn't have been just a tactical choice.
A tactical choice, we repeat, that is understandable and which, all things considered, perhaps they were also harbouring within Astana.
«More than the distance of the Turin stage itself, a good 230 kilometres, the effort accumulated in the first two stages could make the difference in view of the first sprint – Zanini had always told us – They are two tough stages: you tackle 3.700 meters of altitude difference in the first and over 2.000 in the second».
As if to say that the idea of running on savings was real, concrete.
35 project
The Englishman is aiming for the all-time record of 35 victories to break away from Eddy Merckx, and he will have this first big opportunity in the Piacenza-Torino. Some have dubbed the Englishman's challenge "Project 35." He's not giving up. And Cav's determination to reach the finish line yesterday is legendary.
«The third stage is a stage for sprinters – said Zanini – Towards Turin there are just a few category four climbs, one of which is 50 kilometres from the finish. He saw it live Mark RenshawIt's a flat stage that will give us the first sprint of the Tour, and we hope it goes well straight away. Once the dent is out, the pain is out!
The final kilometers are fairly straightforward. There are some nice straights, but also several roundabouts and traffic islands, and these obstacles are often decisive (at least for the positions and consequently for the rest of the sprint, ed.). There are two bends in the final kilometre, two “left-left”, the last of which ends 750 metres from the finish line.. But otherwise, as I said, it's a smooth finish. I saw it on VeloViewer. It's all asphalt and it looks good too."
