In a new feature, the Cyclingnews team pick their rider of the day from the Tour of California. Mark Cavendish is the fourth rider to be chosen, and we will be selecting a rider after each stage.
It's not every day that one of the top sprinters in the world decides to jump into the breakaway halfway through a stage race. The sprinter's job is to wait patiently in the bunch, shielded from the wind while his teammates grind away on the front, chasing down the day's escapees in the final kilometers so the fast man can go to work in the last few hundred metres. Mark Cavendish blew that model apart on Wednesday during stage 4 from Morro Bay to Laguna Seca Raceway.
Cavendish trails only Wednesday stage winner Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) in career stage wins at the Tour of California, with nine victories to his credit in the Golden State. But while Sagan has won two stages so far this year, Cavendish has struggled with the increased climbing of the 2016 route. His best finish so far this year was 31st on stage 1.
ADVERTISEMENT
Wednesday's effort may have looked to some like an attempt to salvage some pride, or possibly just a chance to shake things up in a week that may not have gone to plan so far. But Cavendish said his escape was about setting up his teammate Nathan Haas with a chance for the final sprint [Haas finished third behind Sagan and BMC's Greg Van Avermaet – ed.] and flying the Dimension Data colours on TV in support of the Qhubeka charity that lies at the heart of his South African-based team.
"We had a good card to play with Nathan Haas in the final, which he wanted to but we didn't want to have to ride to do that, because we wanted as many guys as possible in the final to help him," Cavendish said in the post-stage press conference. "So the option to support that was to get in the break."
Cavendish is quite familiar with California's scenic Highway 1, which comprised most of the route for stage 4 up the California coast, and he was "virtually" familiar with the finish at the legendary racetrack outside of Monterey. So, despite the breakaway's inability to stick it to the line, Haas podium finish and a beautiful route with a unique finish made for a special day
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest News http://ift.tt/1Tl80oi
No comments:
Post a Comment