So despite being a mountain stage, the climbers and the leaders of the general classification seemed to be thinking ahead to the ‘high mountain’ stages of the next two days. Contador did attack, seemingly as much testing out his rivals as anything. Evans covered every move with an economy of effort that suggests he’s ready to protect the time his has over the other main contenders, pushing on to take 21 seconds out of Contador and Samuel Sanchez and over a minute from Andy Schleck on what’s supposed to be the Schleck’s preferred racing terrain.
But with bigger mountain stages to come Andy Schleck claimed to unperterbed. Meanwhile that left the door open for breakaway stage win. Canada’s Ryder Hesjedal led over the final climb, but once Norway’s Edvald Boasson Hagen, of Team Sky, caught the Garmin-Cervello rider, that gave the pursuing Thor Hushovd the green light to chase down the leaders.
As a team mate of Ryder Hesjedal, Hushovd would have left his colleague out in front if he was heading for a lone stage win. But now Hushovd proceeded to give a master class in mountain descending. Reaching speeds of almost 70mph Hushovd caught the leaders and outwitted fellow Norwegian Boasson Hagen to take the stage, his second of the Tour and his first ever mountain stage victory. The big Norwegian is starting to rival Voeckler as man of the Tour. But not quite. The Frenchman even tried to stay with Contador today and lost just 15 seconds, to remain in yellow.
The next day sees the Tour nip over the French border, with the stage finishing in Italy at Pinerolo. A mere 110 miles through the Alps. Once again the main contenders seemed to be testing each other out, without making a decisive move. Up the road a 13 man break was allowed to stay away until yesterday’s runner up Edvald Boasson Hagen attacked on the last climb and was able to descend alone into Pinerolo for another stage win for Norway. No wonder there are so many Norwegian flags to be seen at the roadside!
Comedy moment of the day was provided by Thomas Voeckler, who in his desperation to avoid losing time on the final descent, missed a corner and sailed straight into courtyard of a house. It cost him around 30 seconds, but he managed to finish the day in still in yellow.
Voeckler of course, has been telling anyone who sticks a microphone under his nose that he cannot keep the lead in the Alps and stage 18 looks like the day his prediction has to come true.
At over 124 miles long, stage 18 takes in three massive climbs out of Italy as the Tour retuns to France. To ‘celebrate’ a hundred years of the tour in the Alps – although I doubt all the riders saw it that way! – the stage peaked at 9,000ft, the highest the Tour has ever been, before going over the Col d’Izoard and finishing on top of the Cold’Galibier.
That’s just silly. So is attacking almost 40 miles before the end of the stage. Which is precisely what Andy Schleck does. Suddenly the hesitancy of the previous days has gone and the two time runner up proceeds to shred the rest of the field and win alone on the Galibier, the highest finish in Tour history.
All the talk was of how this was a throwback to old school bike racing; no team tactics, just one man taking on and attempting to break his rivals. Which is pretty much what Schleck did. Except not quite. The significance of this stage will only be clear when the race reaches Paris. Andy didn’t quite take yellow. The indominable Voeckler producing a memorable fight back to haul himself up the Galibier, losing time but keeping the yellow jersey by 15 seconds. Cadel Evans slipped back to 4th overall behind both Schleck brothers. But not by much.
In fact Evans was the one general classification contender to fight back, cutting Scheck’s time advantage in half over the last 10km to limit his losses on the day. Contador looked like the big loser on the day, but was it a move that will see Andy Schelck wearing yellow in Paris, or just a great stage win. Remarkably, it’s still too close to call.
Mark Cavendish limped home in the final group, outside the elimination time, but with 80 plus riders, the group was too big a group to be eliminated. So that’s alright. Except, all the riders were deducted 20 points, applicable to their standings in either of the points competitions. Obviously anyone in with a chance in the King of the Mountains competition was not going to be rolling in with the last group. But from the sprinters, it did matter.
Cavendish duly lost 20 points, but his nearest rival - Spain's José Joaquín Rojas – was not in the last group, so the Manxman’s lead is suddenly down to 15 points.
Next day sees a short stage, just 68 miles long. So an easier day? Er, no. Three climbs, first up the Col d’Telegraphe, then back up the Galibier (the hard way!) and in case that’s not enough the stage climaxes on Alpe d’Huez, probably the most iconic mountain in Tour history, which two days previously was covered in snow. Not a picnic. But it is the last day in the mountains and this is where the organisers have designed the Tour to be won.
As if to show that anything Andy Schleck can do, Alberto Contador attacks on the first climb of the day. Schelck, Evans and Voeckler all respond. But Evans quickly drops off the pace getting off his bike twice and examining the back wheel accusingly, before changing bikes. Has the bad luck that has haunted Evans in recent Tours returned?
Next to drop off is Voeckler who remained stuck in an agonising no-mans land between Contador and the chasing group, as if refusing to admit defeat. Gradually the group containing Evans reels in Voeckler, before Evans launches an improbable lone chase. By the top of the Galibier, Andy Schleck leads the stage overall but coming down the mountain it all comes back together. So Contador attacks again.
Just as before the field is ripped apart. With 5km left Contador looks to be riding alone to the summit. Samuel Sanchez and Europcar’s young Frenchman Pierre Roland are giving chase 25 seconds back. The Schlecks and Evans are a minute behind and Voeckler looks set to finally give up the yellow jersey, as he’s 3 minutes off the pace.
But Contador is on the limit, Sanchez and Roland are catching him. Sanchez has done all the work to reach the leader, but then Roland jumps him and Contador. His timing is perfect the two experienced men cannot respond and it is Roland who come in alone to take the blue riband stage, becoming the first French stage winner of the 2011 Tour and he bags the white jersey of the best young rider into the bargain.
But the real story unfolds a minute later when the Schlecks and Evans arrive together. Andy has done enough to claim the yellow jersey, but all through the mountains they have never really shaken off Evans. Still it is not over, with less than a minute separating leader Andy from brother Frank in second and Evans 57 second behind in third.
It will all come down to the individual time trial. Evans is acknowledged to have the edge in time trials, but Andy surprised a lot of people with how much he improved in the time trial last year. Could Andy hang on?
Saturday afternoon in Grenoble and it’s wet, making the time trial course more ‘technical’. That’s ‘difficult’ to you and me. It is drying out, but neither of the Schecks is reckoned to be keen on riding in the wet. One up to Cadel?
If it was an advantage it really didn’t matter. Evans made sure it didn’t. He rode the time trial of a man believing he would arrive in Paris in yellow. Andy Schleck didn’t. Only HTC’s Tony Martin went round quicker than Evans. By one second.
In just 26 and a half miles Evans turned a 57 second deficit into a one and a half minute lead. And that was the Tour won and lost.
Samuel Sanchez may not have won on Alpe d’Huez, but he did confirm his King of the Mountains jersey for Paris, so it would be a procession into Paris the next day.
But not quite, the one issue that is just possibly still live is the green points jersey. After both Cavendish & Rojas finished in the same time on the last mountain stage there remained just 15 points between them with 65 up for grabs in Paris.
However, Cavendish has won in Paris for the last two years and even without the incentive of securing the green jersey would have been a good bet to do it again. In fact you’d have been a fool to bet against him.
The HTC train did the job they do better than anyone over the last kilometre and a half, before Cavendish launched himself for the line. André Greipel tried to challenge and Edvald Boasson Hagen got closer than anyone, but it wasn’t even close. Cavendish wins by a full bike length (a long way over a short sprint) for a Champs-Elysées hat-trick.
Cadel Evans finish safely in the main field escorted by his BMC team to become the first Australian and the oldest post-war, winner of the Tour. Andy Schleck showed remarkable decency in acknowledging that the best man had won, but he’s got a few more Tours in him yet, his time will come. As for Evans, he’s been Mr Consistency over the whole three weeks, always keeping at the front and avoiding trouble, seemingly able to answer every challenge. Not flashy, but the best man certainly did win overall.
Meanwhile that stage win took Cavendish to 20 stage victories in just four Tours and made him the first ever British winner of the Green jersey. It’s the first British victory in any category for 27 years – since Robert Millar won the King of the Mountains – and they remain the only two Britons to win in any category of the Tour, ever. At this rate he’s on course to break the all time record for stage wins (32 held by Eddie Merckx, of course) sometime during the 2014 Tour.
Of course nothing is that simple. For a start off Cavendish doesn’t even know who he’ll be racing for next season (at least officially) as The HCT team looks set to be disbanded as their main sponsor withdraws. Rumours are already rife of a link up with Team Sky. British team, British rider...you can see the thinking, but what if there’s room for Cavendish, but not Bernie Eisel and Mark Renshaw...
With Cavendish nothing is ever straightforward, but don’t, whatever you do, bet against him.
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