Cannondale-Garmin entered the Tour de France with the triumvirate of Ryder Hesjedal, Dan Martin and Andrew Talansky to target the general classification. A jour sans on the first summit finish of the Tour ended any final aspirations the team had of a top-five overall, and the emphasis has now squarely turned to attacking the pack.
After Martin’s valiant efforts on stage 11, Nathan Haas took it upon himself to infiltrate the already formed breakaway with Pierre-Luc Périchon (Bretagne-Séché Environnement) to continue the team’s aggressive stance.
Haas spent the majority of the first rest day in bed recovering from the diarrhea that had him suffering through the first week. The Tour debutant, however, with three Grand Tours under his belt, found the strength in almost 40-degree temperatures during stage 13 into Rodez, to attack his breakaway companions and strike out on his own. It went just as he had planned at the Muret departure several hours earlier.
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“I put my head down and went hard. It's not always something you can plan on doing, it's something you have to decide on the road,” Haas said. “I had a mission this morning, I was going to be in the breakaway.
“A rider like myself in a Grand Tour doesn’t actually get too many opportunities to go for the win so today I put the art of war into play and tried to be away from the guys who are faster then me in the finish. Unfortunately, they were faster than me in the end but it was fun trying.”
After Cannondale-Garmin’s’ disastrous day to La Pierre-Saint-Martin, director Charley Wegelius told Cyclingnews that the team would need to implement a new strategy for the remaining stages of the race. After Martin’s combative ride to Cauterets. Haas’ efforts reiterated that the team is going to be an aggressive fore to Paris.
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