Cavendish closes in on Merckx record
Stage 10 report from Valence: Mark Cavendish took advantage of a perfect lead-out to win the 33rd stage of his Tour de France career and move within one of Eddy Merckx’s record.
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Stage 10 top five
- 1. Mark Cavendish (Deceuninck Quick-Step) 4hr 14min 07sec
- 2. Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma)
- 3. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix)
- 4. Nacer Bouhanni (Team Arkéa-Samsic)
- 5. Michael Matthews (Team Bike Exchange)
Mark Cavendish speaks ...
“It was old-shool, run-of-the-mill, like you read in a cycling magazine lead-out,” he tells a Tour reporter when asked how he won today’s stage. “You just get the lads on the front to pull as fast as they can so nobody can come up and try to come past you and then do the finish.
“We knew this finish because ... I didn’t make it last time we did this finish because I got dropped. It was in 2015 the year Greipel won it. We studied it and knew that if we took the last corner wide we could keep the speed. We wwere confident we had the team for the sprint despite the split.
“Again, I’m just humbled, man. You’ve got the winner of the Tour of Flanders, you’ve got the World Champion who’s also had the yellow jersey here, you’ve got Michael Morkov who’s going for the Olymnpics ... they’re all just leaving everything on the road for me. I haver to finish it off, y’know. I didn’t really do anything apart from the last 150 metres.”
Cavendish is beside himself with delight. One by one, he hugs each and every one of his Deceuninck Quick-Step teammates, who are unquestionably the best lead-out team in the business. This is an astonishing sporting comeback we’re seeing from the Manx Missile.
Cavendish gets a perfect lead-out. He kicked clear, turned on the after-burners and was able to hold off the challenge of Wout van Aert and Jasper Philipsen by about half a wheel width. He is now just one stage win shy of Eddy Merckx’s all time record.
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Cavendish wins the stage!!!
Mark Cavendish makes it 33 stage wins in the Tour de France!
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500m to go: Bouhanni, Sagan, Cavendish, Matthews and Wout van Aert are all in contention.
1km to go: Cavendish’s three-man train remains intact, towing their man along. Michael Matthews is on his wheel.
2km to go: Cees Bol is back near the front, as is Peter Sagan.
3.5km to go: Cavendish is four riders back at the front, with three members of his lead-out train in front of him. Can they keep that pace going or have they shoveled too much coal into the furnace too early?
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6km to go: Having been caught in the split, Andre Greipel, formerly a bunch sprint winner in Valence, is back in the front bunch.
8 min: DSM have been caught out by the wind and will do well to get their sprinter Cess Bol back into contention for the finish. Mark Cavendish remains in the front bunch about 20 riders back. “It’s a great talent to have to be able to float around in that position like that,” says Sean Kelly.
10km to go: The peloton has split into three distinctive groups. Richard Carapaz from Ineos Grenadiers is near the front of the first one, trying to put some pressure on Pogacar.
13km to go: Jumbo-Visma, Deceuninck Quick-Step and Movistar are all trying to force the issue at the front of the bunch, while crosswinds are causing cracks further back in the bunch. There is some serious sprinting and GC talent at the front of the peloton, going at a ridiculous speed trying to avoid getting left behind. Cavendish remains in a good position and Sonny Colbrelli is on his wheel.
16km to go: There’s a split in the bunch. Sagan, Cavendish and Wout van Aert are in the front group, which has opened a small gap on the yellow jersey group. It’s soon closed but they are going at a ferocious speed being dictated by Wout van Aert’s Jumbo-Visma team.
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18km to go: The road is wide with the peloton hogging the left-hand side. First and second on GC, Tadej Pogacar and Ben O’Connor are up near the front with their teams.
21km to go: It seems the Italian for hat is “capello”.
22km to go: Chapeau – or whatever the Italian for ‘hat” is – to Sonny Cobrelli, who has already rejoined the peloton following that mechanical.
25km to go: Disaster for Sonny Colbrelli, whose rear wheel punctures. He drops out of the bunch, picks up a spare bike and will have a major job on his hands to get back in anything resembling contention for the sprint finish. He’ll almost certainly get back into the bunch, but how much petrol will he use up doing so?
29km to go: The teams of Nacer Bouhanni and Wout van Aert are both getting their sprinters up towards the front of the bunch, where Mark Cavendish is also nicely placed. His Deceuninck Quick-Step teammates are towing the bunch along.
More pedantry to counter Tony Hodgetts’ pedantry: “Geologically Mont Ventoux is part of the Alps,” writes Martin Gilbert. “And the forecast for tomorrow is for a storm with lightning and everything. A geographer would call that ‘a storm in the Alps’. I’ve taken the day off tomorrow so I can watch the whole thing. I hope it doesn’t get cut short.”
🔚 🇨🇦 @HugoHoule is caught by the peloton. End of the breakaway!
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 6, 2021
🔚 🇨🇦 Hugo Houle est repris par le peloton. Fin de l'échappée !#TDF2021 pic.twitter.com/nkhceWWBcE
36km to go: Michael Matthews’ Team Bike Exchange colleagues put the hammer down at the front of the bunch, hoping to make life difficult for some of the more thoroughbred sprinters. As they do so, assorted riders start getting shelled out the back. “The kettle is boiling and it’s getting hotter and hotter,” says Sean Kelly on Eurosport. Mark Cavendish is nicely placed about 25 places back from the front. The breakaway has been caught.
An email: “Vaucluse happens to be in Provence,” writes Ian Davis.
An email: Ben Tuff has responded to Tony Hodgetts’ pedantry with some of his own. And I for one am inclined to agree with him. “Mount Ventoux is part of The Alps,” he says. “Because it doesn’t have other mountains around it, people make this mistake. MV is actually part of the sub alpine chains and because these are not morphologically distinct from the Western Alp arch, these sub alpine chains are counted as part of the alps proper, including MV. It’s also in Vaucluse. Family holidays were always an education.” We could have done with this debate to pass the time earlier in the stage before things started getting a little interesting.
An email: “That tunnel photo is tremendously evocative to me, and to anyone who has cycled south from Grenoble,” writes Alistair Connor. “You coast over the top of the Vercors and as you exit the tunnel, the light, the air, everything is different, and you’re in Provence.”
46km to go: Tosh van der Sande (Lotto-Soudal) and Hugo Houle (Astana-Premier Tech) are being reeled in and currently have an advantage of just 19 seconds over the chasing pack.
50km to go: On Eurosport, Rob Hatch has revealed that the news from the finish line is that the wind has picked up. The riders might be facing a headwind for the finish. It’s around now that the riders will be starting to get a little nervy.
51km to go: The gap is hovering around the one-minute mark with the leaders heading towards the final uphill of the day. It’s a steep enough climb, uncategorised mind ... and unlikely to cause any of the sprinters any problems.
58km to go: It looks like Geraint Thomas might have gone down in that crash I mentioned a few moments ago, as his shorts are ripped. “If he didn’t have bad luck he’d have no luck at all,” says Carlton Kirby on Eurosport’s commentary.
62km to go: An email: “Thomas Voeckler on French TV has been talking about windy conditions and exposed roads towards the end of the stage, with potential fireworks in prospect,” writes Matt Cast. Here’s hoping Tommy is correct because even by the snake-belly low standards of “transition” stages, today’s has been an absolute snoozefest. The gap is at 1min 20sec.
65km to go: All involved in the crash get back on their bikes and set off on in pursuit of the peloton, with Richie Porte shouting angrily at the driver of a race motorbike who pulls alongside him to take a lingering look at his bloodied left elbow.
66km to go: There’s been a minor crash in the bunch, with Luke Rowe and Richie Porte from Ineos Grenadiers hitting the deck. Wout van Aert was among the other riders who were held up. Jumbo-Visma’s Mike Teunissen also comes off his bike.
76km to go: The post-lunch gap goes back out to 1min 50sec, with Tosh van der Sande and Hugo Houle ploughing their lonely furrow.
81km to go: As the riders pass through the feed zone, the gap closes to a minute.
An email: “Mont Ventoux is in Provence, not the Alps, so no Alpine storm tomorrow,” writes pedantry’s Tony Hodgetts. “A procession for Pogacer tomorrow though, in the big chain ring, accelerating away from the whole peloton at will.”
92km to go: A little over halfway through today’s stage and after that brief flurry of activity, the bunch settles down ahead of the final business of the day. It’s almost certain to be a group sprint and with several high profile fastmen already klicking their heels at home, Mark Cavendish, Sonny Colbrelli, Nacer Bouhanni, Wout van Aert and possibly Peter Sagan will be among the favourites.
Intermediate sprint result
1. Van der Sande 20 pts
2. Houle 17 pts
3. Colbrelli 15 pts
4. Matthews 13 pts
5. Philipsen 11 pts
6. Sagan 10 pts
7. Ballerini 9 pts
8. Asgreen 8 pts
9. Sweeny 7 pts
10. Dillier 6 pts
11. Küng 5 pts
12. Oss 4 pts
13. Formolo 3 pts
14. Herrada 2 pts
15. Hirschi 1 pt
- Michael Matthews moves to within 25 points of Cavendish, with Sonny Colbrelli a further seven points behind.
According to our temporarily defected colleague @AdamBlythe89 the key point in the run-in to the sprint is at 9km to go. It'll be essential for the teams to be up front here.
— Orla Chennaoui (@SportsOrla) July 6, 2021
106km to go: Cavendish doesn’t contest the intermediate sprint, clearly keeping his powder dry for a tilt at the stage win. Colbreli holds off Michael Matthews to be first from the main bunch over the line.
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109km to go: The two breakaway riders pass under the banner for the intermediate sprint with a lead of 2min 25sec. Back in the peloton, Michael Matthews’ Bike Exchange teammates move to the front as they prepare another attempt to chip away at Mark Cavendish’s lead in the points category. Sonny Colbreli will also be contesting the maximum number of points left available.
110km to go: The gap remains at a steady 3min 45sec and there’s a crash at the back of the bunch. Danish sprinter Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) hits the asphalt quite hard but climbs back on his bike in pursuit of the peloton he just crashed out of. Julien Simon (Total Energies) also went down and his now drafting his way back to the bunch behind his team car.
Mark Cavendish speaks: Well, spoke ... before the start of today’s stage.
“I’m tired, but I think everybody’s tired,” he said. “Like you said, it was a crazy first week. I think it was great to watch at home, but yeah … the show goes on, doesn’t it? I think it’s the same for everyone. It doesn’t matter how fast or slow you go up the mountains, everybody gets some muscle damage, you know. It’s the nature of the game.
“It’s not the first time I’ve done the Tour de France, I know about it. It means on days like today, you have to pick and choose your sprint days, I guess. Obviously there’s less teams that want to control the bunch. I think more teams will take an opportunity for a breakaway. One man, even a rider like Tim Declercq, isn’t going to be able to control a massive group of riders if they get away. So that’s what we have to be careful of.”
Mission one accomplished - today’s breakaway is conprised of just two people.
124km to go: Our two leaders continue their descent of the Col de Couz, barreling along at 52 kilometres per hour.
131km to go: There is one King of the Mountains point available today at the top of the Category 4 Col de Couz and it’s snaffled by Hugo Houle.
139km to go: Pardon the analogy – I am well aware it’s Tuesday and all the riders are wearing Tour-sanctioned, cycling-appropriate Lycra.
141km to go: The two chaps in the breakaway are being kept on a fairly tight rein, their lead now down to 3min 39sec. They don’t look too bothered and are chatting away to each other on what continues to be a very relaxed day with a kind of casual, dress-down Friday feel about it.
143km to go: In the breakaway, Tosh van der Sande gets some running repairs, his team car pulling al;ongside him so a mechanic can lean out the back window and oil his chain.
150km to go: The gap is at 4min 29sec as nothing much continues to happen at great length on this transition stage. It’s the calm before tomorrow’s Alpine storm, when the riders have to tackle not one but two ascents of Mont Ventoux.
160km to go: The gap is stretched to 5min 10sec, with Tosh van der Sande (Lotto-Soudal) and Hugo Houle (Astana-Premier Tech) making the pace for today.
Early break today, being let out on the elastic @bglendenning, but I only have eyes for Cav. Oddly after having no expectations a week ago, now I'm so nervous about him winning today, let alone (whisper it) No.34. Given the reaction to finishing Stage 9, he must feel it. Come on!
— Guy Hornsby (@GuyHornsby) July 6, 2021
Team Bike Exchange’s stage nine diary
The Australian team chronicle their efforts to get Michael Matthews closer to Mark Cavendish in the Green Jersey points classification on Sunday’s gruelling stage nine.
173km to go: There’s lots of chatting and joking going on in a very relaxed looking peloton as the two-man escape party stretch the gap to 4min 16sec.
185km to go: Lotto-Soudal rider Tosh van der Sande and Astana-Premier Tech’s Hugo Houle have opened a gap of 90 seconds on the bunch.
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190km to go: The peloton leaves Albertville and is given the signal to race by race director Christian Prudhomme. Lotto Soudal warhorse and breakaway specialist Thomas De Gendt is front and centre of the bunch, having stated after stage eight that it took everything he had to stay in touch with the peloton.
““I rode one of my best ten-minute efforts ever at the start [of stage 8],” he told Sporza, in an interview picked up by Cycling Weekly. “ Those values have been recorded since 2013. Normally, with those values, I can ride the whole peloton to pieces. Here, I was 100 metres behind in a group of 70 riders – and I started from the front row. When you’re not in the peloton after that it’s clear that the general level is just much higher.”
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Stage 10 has begun ...
The roll-out is well under way and racing is due to begin in a couple of minutes.
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Top five on General Classification
- Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 34hr 11min 10sec
- Ben O’Connor (AG2R Citreon) +2min 01sec
- Rigoberto Uran (EF-Education-Nippo) +5min 18sec
- Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) +5min 32sec
- Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) +5min 33sec
Out of the race: A total of 12 riders who completed stage eight failed to start stage nine, started it but failed to complete it, finished outside the time limit or threw in the towel since it ended.
Primoz Roglic, Arnaud Demare, Mathiu van der Poel, Tim Merlier Nans Peters and Bryan Coquard are among the more high profile absentees from the start of stage 10 today. A total of 19 riders have withdrawn from the race for one reason or another since the race began, leaving a 157-strong peloton.
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Stage 10: Albertville–Valence (190.7km)
William Fotheringham’s stage-by-stage guide: This might be more interesting than your average flat “transition” stage because there’s just enough climbing at key points to suggest that the sprint teams might not have it all their own way. If Sagan is feeling frisky he might try to burn off one or two of the heavier brethren, and if Ewan’s Lotto have lost riders who would normally work to control the stage [narrator’s voice: Ewan’s Lotto have lost Ewan], or if Deceuninck are marshalling Alaphilippe in the yellow jersey [narrator’s voice: they aren’t], the chances are a break will succeed with an opportunistic win for a rider like Thomas De Gendt or Søren Kragh Andersen.
