A little help can go a long way on the Tour de France, especially when you are trying to set up a “train” with the aim of beating some of the fastest sprinters in the world.
After Saturday’s 172.5km eighth stage from Figeac to Toulouse, Luxembourg’s Kim Kirchen retained his six-second lead over Australia’s Cadel Evans, with Spain’s Alejandro Valverde still more than a minute in arrears.
The question now is whether the efforts of Kirchen’s Columbia team in recent days will prove a handicap in the mountains stages. On Saturday, the cosmopolitan American outfit proved unstoppable.
PHOTO: AP
It is no secret at the Tour that lining up a “train” to help deliver the main sprinter as close to the finish as possible before his final burst is probably the best tactic to winning a bunch sprint.
Again, Mark Cavendish was the main beneficiary of Columbia’s well-drilled tactic in a thrilling finale, the 23-year-old Isle of Man rider leaving a trio of accomplished veterans — Oscar Freire, Robbie McEwen and Erik Zabel — in his wake.
Helping Cavendish to his second win of this year’s race was Australian Adam Hansen, who recovered from a tough start to the undulating stage.
“The hard work paid off,” said Hansen, a race debutant who has the unenviable job of helping Cavendish on the flats and Kirchen on the climbs.
“It’s amazing, you always dream of being in the Tour de France, but I never thought I’d be at the front with the best team riding. It’s very special,” he said. “Cav [Cavendish] is really incredible. He has the fastest acceleration out of anyone. The fastest kick. If he can see the line there in the 200m, he’s a winner for sure.”
McEwen, left to battle on his own for prestigious stage wins, has been struggling since Silence-Lotto’s decision to put all their men behind Evans’ bid for the yellow jersey, an objective that will be put to the test in the high mountains of the Pyrenees.
The 34-year-old McEwen, who is said to be looking for a new team, came in 17th and has yet to win this year.
After Cavendish’s maiden stage win on the Tour at Chateauroux, he said that with such a team as his he could not help being the “best sprinter in the world.”
With two jerseys — Thomas Lovkvist is leading the under-25 overall standings — and now two stage wins, Columbia have become the dominant force on the Tour.
“It was brilliant. Once again you can see how well my team performed,” Cavendish said. “They nursed me back after I dropped off the back on the third category climb, they controlled the day, brought in the breakaway and then led me out excellently. To hold on to the yellow jersey and to get both first and second in the stage — it can’t really get any better, can it?”
Kirchen lost the points competition’s green jersey to Freire, but for the moment the Luxembourger is enjoying his time in a more prestigious one.
“It’s every rider’s dream — and I’ve waited 10 years to achieve it,” said Kirchen, who on Thursday became the first cyclist from his country to wear the yellow jersey since the great Charly Gaul in 1959.
Kirchen finished seventh overall last year, a result which has boosted his hopes of becoming a real challenger to pre-race yellow jersey favorites Evans and Valverde.
But Columbia’s efforts in recent days may cost them in the Pyrenees, into which the 31-year-old Evans will take a possible advantage over his Spanish rival.
Valverde’s confidence was shaken when he survived a potentially dangerous crash in midweek and he has at times seen his Caisse d’Epargne team working when they would have preferred to stay hidden in the bunch.
“Our biggest aim to do was to avoid crashes,” said Valverde, who is still sixth overall, 1 minute, 12 seconds behind Kirchen and 1 minutes, 6 seconds behind Evans in the general classification.
“We pulled through and now we’ll try and get through the Pyrenees as best we can without losing too much time so we can be confident for the Alps, where the Tour is likely to be decided,” Valverde said.
Evans is only six seconds off Kirchen and the yellow jersey is within reach — although with plenty of key stages to race, he may not want the responsibility just yet.
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