CYCLING:EVERY YEAR at the Tour de France debate seems to rage over whether the first week's crashes are the worst ever seen. This stage was up there with other notorious days – Angers in 2003 and Valenciennes in 1994 – but those were both sprint pile-ups.
En route to Metz there were two vast chutes, the first 35kms into the stage, the second and the worst 25km from the finish, caused, so one version had it, by a rider removing a cover from his shoe in the peloton and swerving at speed.
The day’s medical bulletin listed 27 riders injured, but many more were being treated by their teams yesterday evening. Ten riders were taken to hospital after the stage for injuries ranging from loss of consciousness to deep cuts and dislocations. The overall picture of the race altered too, with two outside hopes for overall victory, Frank Schleck and the Giro d’Italia winner Ryder Hesjedal losing significant time.
Ireland’s Daniel Martin lost over 13 minutes on the day, with Nicolas Roche faring much better, coming in four seconds behind Peter Sagan.
In the minutes after Sagan had taken his third stage win in six days, outsprinting a bloodied Andre Greipel and a lead group reduced to only 61, the wounded pedalled stiffly through the crowd lining the barriers after the finish line, to warm applause.
To name but a few: Dutch rider Bauke Mollema, jersey ripped to shreds, shorts barely holding together over bloodied buttocks, Borut Bozic of Slovenia, streams of blood running down his legs, Koen de Kort with a graze on his left leg six inches across, Dries Devenyns of Belgium, right calf black all over from who knew how many chainrings.
The pile-up that had left the field in tatters came on a slightly descending country road as the Australian GreenEdge team were leading the field in pursuit of four escapees and it was, said David Millar, the worst crash he had ever seen.
“It was terrifying, we were going at a good 60-70kph. Once it started happening we didn’t even have a chance to really brake. I was lucky, I think, in that I was in the third wave. I started landing on guys, but bikes were hitting me, chain rings going up and over me and getting tangled up. I got bruises everywhere and I didn’t notice this until 5km to go.” ‘This’ was a cut that left his right arm covered in dried blood.
In the confusion Mark Cavendish punctured, apparently having locked his back wheel up braking to avoid falling, meaning that the world champion was unable to contest the sprint with Sagan and Greipel.
The big German rider had not been expecting to contest the sprint, having fallen heavily in the first big crash of the day, suffering cuts and bruises all over, and dislocating a shoulder.
“It popped back in, but it was painful and he was struggling,” said his manager Marc Sergeant. In the end, however, his leadout man Greg Henderson persuaded him to go for it, and only Sagan’s incredible final burst of power deprived him of a third stage win in three days.
Schleck dropped only two minutes nine seconds, but given that he is expected to lose time to Bradley Wiggins and Cadel Evans in the time trials, he could not afford to lose any time.
Today, with barely a pause for breath, the climbing phase of the Tour starts. There could be a new face in the yellow jersey at the uphill finish if Fabian Cancellara stutters after seven days in the lead, and lying second Wiggins is in pole position.
