Cavendish outkicks bunch to win his first Tour stage
Schumacher retains yellow jersey as Team Columbia takes control of stage 5
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With 10km to go in stage 5 of the Tour de France, Mark Cavendish’s Team Columbia teammates drilled it at the front of the chaotic peloton, burying themselves to set up their British sprint star. With 150 meters to go — and early breakaway rider Nicolas Vogondy of Agritubel still barely clear of the chase — Cavendish lit it up and repaid his teammates with a dominant win ahead of Oscar Freire (Rabobank) and Erik Zabel (Milram).
Race leader Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner) finished in the bunch to retain the yellow jersey.
Cavendish, 22, has quickly progressed since turning pro in 2005. In his second Tour, this was his first stage win. It was also a gratifying first Tour stage win of 2008 for Columbia, which had come frustrating close with Kim Kirchen on two occasions.
"I’m ecstatic," said Cavendish. "It was so close for the team all week. It’s great to get that win for the team. It’s the Tour — every child dreams about racing the Tour. It’s nice to have the world championship on the track, but the Tour stage will be remembered forever."
Schumacher also was pleased with his first day's ride in the maillot jaune. "We had the race under control. The team was strong from the beginning; we were confident and we controlled the race. It was long, hot, but a lot of supporters on the road. It was great to enjoy this day in the yellow jersey."
Stage 5 was the longest of the Tour, a 232km charge from Cholet to Chateauroux. Despite being the longest, it went quickly as it was the first flat day of this year’s Tour. Bombing east across the southern part of the Loire Valley, it seemed destined to be a day for the sprinters. However, three men put in an earnest effort to make it otherwise.
At 11km, Lilian Jegou (FDJ), Florent Brard (Cofidis) and French champion Vogondy of Agritubel went clear, buoyed by an early tailwind. Jegou was the man to instigate the first successful attack of the 95th Tour de France when he went clear early on stage 1. The trio built up a maximum lead of more than eight minutes before Schumacher’s Gerolsteiner squad began to turn the screws in defense of the yellow jersey.
Gerolsteiner steadily drove the pace at the front of the peloton, hoping some sprinters' teams would come forward. When the break hit the 20km-to-go mark, the gap had dwindled to 1:17, as Gerolsteiner started to get help chasing from Crédit Agricole and Columbia, among others.
At under 10km, the break battled on as the pace became frenetic in the peloton and the sprinters’ teams bumped and battled for position. Just inside 4km, the threesome had just 19 seconds, but they weren’t giving up.
Team Columbia then took control, forming a fierce blue line back to the arrow-shaped peloton. American George Hincapie commanded the charge, but it looked as though the break just might survive as it weaved through the city streets of Chateauroux.
Then, at 1.5km, Vogondy attacked his breakaway companions. Going under the red kite in his country’s tricolor kit, Vogondy gave it everything. The other two were caught, but Vogondy battled on.
Behind, Columbia riders flogged themselves to bring him in. "We had nine guys there in the last kilometer," said Cavendish.
As the pack neared 300 meters, Thor Hushovd’s Crédit Agricole teammate Mark Renshaw moved up to the right of the Columbia train to launch his sprinter. When Cavendish saw that, he jumped off teammate Gerald Ciolek's wheel, throwing his full weight into the sprint.
"I saw Renshaw with Hushovd with 250m," Cavendish said. "That’s still too early for me … (but) I had to go then, and my form’s good enough that I was able to hold it to the line."
The British speedster pulled even with a full-flight Hushovd just as Vogondy was finally being caught, then sat up to cruise triumphantly across the line.
"I was anxious to do it. The team was anxious for me to do it. Now I am finally atop the podium," exulted Cavendish. "I already thought of myself as a big name, but until you win a stage in the Tour, you can't count yourself as a great sprinter. When you have a team like my leadout, it’s impossible not to win. I'm glad I could pay them back."
As for Vogondy, he was philosophical about his near-miss.
"It’s my first big escape in this year’s Tour. I take pleasure from it because my legs felt good," he said. "We expected the sprinter teams to catch us earlier than they did. We were collaborating well. I attacked at the end when we still had some seconds. You never know in the Tour. I almost made it! It was so close. 50 meters less and I would have won."
Next up: Stage 6, a 195.5km leg from Aigurande to Super-Besse. The stage includes four categorized climbs and a 10-percent-grade summit finish. It's not long — less than 2km — but the road does pitch to 12 percent in spots.
And look for Schumacher to fight for that jersey once more.
"I was stupefied yesterday after winning the time trial," he said. "To win the maillot jaune was a bonus. Now I will try to defend it tomorrow. If we can keep it tomorrow then we can hold it for another few days, but we have to see how the legs are. The sixth stage is the first in the (medium) mountains, with an uphill finish, and all the favorites are sure to be there. But we'll be trying."
Race notes
- Stage 1 winner and GC hopeful Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Épargne) fell at 85km, and was later seen back in the caravan getting his arm and leg checked out. Team manager Eusebio Unzue later ruled out taking Valverde to hospital for a scan but said he may do so as a precaution depending on a first diagnosis from the team doctor. "Alejandro fell when he rode over an object on the road," explained Unzue. "His shoulder is hurting and he's got grazes on his forearm and his elbow, but for now we're not treating it as too serious. First he will see the team doctor and then, if needed, we will go to hospital to check things out."
- After gritting it out through a couple of days with a badly injured wrist, Barloworld’s Mauricio Soler quit at 12km. The Colombian won the King of the Mountains competition last year, and was hunting for a top GC spot this year before a stage-1 crash on the wrist he broke at the Giro d’Italia snuffed out his dreams.
—VeloNews editor Ben Delaney, European correspondent Andrew Hood and Agence France Presse contributed to this story.
Provisional top 5
1. Mark Cavendish (GB), Team Columbia
2. Oscar Freire (Sp), Rabobank
3. Erik Zabel (G) , Milram
4. Thor Hushovd (Nor), Crédit Agricole
5. Baden Cooke (Aus), Barloworld
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