Tour View - Stage 1
When I first began following professional cycling ten years ago my favorite rider to follow was Mario Cipollini. Immediately I was drawn to him because of his amazing sprint, his showmanship, his Saeco train, and his ability to always win with panache. Super Mario understood the entertainment side of cycling and always took the opportunity put the spotlight on himself, but then he always delivered the team to victory. I'm not big on those who are less than humble, but I guess that just proves opposites attract. Cipo in my book is the greatest sprinter ever.
I have always been drawn to sprinters much like home run hitters in baseball. Not that I don't stand in awe of mountain climbers or those who hit for a high average, but the men who have explosive power gain my attention. It has taken me a few years to let go of Cipo and begin admiring another sprinter. Truthfully I admire them all, but at the top of the list these days has to be Robbie McEwen of Predictor-Lotto.
McEwen's sprint victory at the end of Stage 1 was a jaw-dropping effort that is nothing short of amazing. With about 20k to go McEwen got caught behind a crash in the field, and as he was waiting for the tangled riders to get up someone nailed him from behind. Down he went over his bars and injured his hand and leg. The Predictor-Lotto team held back several riders as a pack of about 15 riders formed a chase group to catch the pack. This self-less effort from McEwen's team was expected, but they also have to protect Cadel Evans in his pursuit of an overall GC finish. This meant half the guys helped McEwen while the other half stuck with Evans in the main field.
McEwen's boys earned their paychecks and towed him for about 15k to the main pack. McEwen then earned his paycheck and rewarded his teammates' effort with a sprint that will go down as one of the more unbelievable ones of his career. This marked his 12th career Tour stage win, and even he seemed amazed at what happened. There's no question that McEwen is able to score sprint victories with less help in the last kilometer than any other rider in the peloton. Cipo, Zabel, Petacchi, et al relied on a fast train leadout after passing the red kite, but McEwen seems to feast on chaotic sprints when nobody has control.
I'm sure there were people watching on TV listening to Liggett and Sherwen thinking, "what's the big deal?" Any bike racer will tell you that chasing down the main pack with less than 20k to go is difficult in and of itself. You're lucky just to see the pack again. Then to catch the pack and move up amongst 180+ riders when the race is at its fastest is another feat. Heck, even to move up from the back to the front without chasing off the back is next to impossible. For most riders being at the back with only 6k to go means a pack finish, but when you've got the class of McEwen the impossible becomes possible.
As McEwen and his team were chasing there was Tom Boonen's Quik Step team on the front driving the pace. Boonen and his boys kept the pressure on hoping McEwen's team would not reach the pack. Then Erik Zabel's team Milram made their train present on the front looking to keep the explosive Australian out of contention. Boonen and Zabel may have thought McEwen's effort to reach the pack taxed him so badly that sprinting for a win would be impossible. Those guys know all about McEwen's explosiveness, but their lack of aggression in the last few hundred meters provided McEwen's opportunity.
Afterward McEwen was asked how he was able to move up in the pack those few kilometers. I'm paraphrasing here, but he said, "keeping my head together and being mentally strong....as long as I've done my best I can be happy......now I'm real happy." Yeah, I bet!
Look for Stage 2 as another opportunity for sprinters to show their prowess. The race ends in Gent, Belgium, which will have Boonen excited to win in front of the home crowd. However, there's one monkey wrench in those plans for Boonen; Preditor-Lotto is a Belgian squad and McEwen's virtual home away from Australia is Gent.
There are a few lessons to learn from watching Stage 1 today. First, never give up. Anything is possible if you stay focused, remain calm, be patient and execute your abilities. I'm reminded of a victory by Axel Merckx years ago in the Giro d'Italia. He was with a breakaway but crashed badly down a bad descent. He climbed out of the woods, looked over his machine, and then buried his head to chase. The leaders had put considerable time into him, but he caught them, attacked them, and rode in solo for victory. I can't remember the stage or year it happened, but I'll never forget Liggett telling kids at home "to never give up!"
T-Mobile rider Mark Cavendish provided lessons in patience as he appeared to have several mechanical issues late in the race. Through those mechanicals he appeared to become more and more frustrated and less and less focused. Too much frustration can put you in a state of panic, which will hamper your ability to rejoin the group. Had he remained calm it would not only have helped him but also the team's support car as they were trying to swap out wheels and eventually a new bike.
Second, obviously when you're a sprinter and catch the pack after chasing your goal is to move to the front. However, getting to the front portion after chasing should be your main objective every time. Mentally you are already in chase mode and focused on catching the leaders, so when you do catch them keep going until you're safely back into the front portion of the field. Regain your position and relax only when you've made it back all the way to the front. In other words, don't be satisfied with having caught the pack and sit on the back.
Third, be a good teammate by riding unselfishly at all times for the good of the entire team. It's easier to help your team with eight other guys to count on to contribute, but this can be done even when you've only got two or three on your squad. Everyone can't win the race, but if your team is focused on getting the best rider in position to win then the whole team wins.
Victories are much sweeter if there are teammates to share it with.
Come on sprinters, light my fire - - Here's a little more background noise on the sprinters of the 2007 Tour de France.
I have always been drawn to sprinters much like home run hitters in baseball. Not that I don't stand in awe of mountain climbers or those who hit for a high average, but the men who have explosive power gain my attention. It has taken me a few years to let go of Cipo and begin admiring another sprinter. Truthfully I admire them all, but at the top of the list these days has to be Robbie McEwen of Predictor-Lotto.
McEwen's sprint victory at the end of Stage 1 was a jaw-dropping effort that is nothing short of amazing. With about 20k to go McEwen got caught behind a crash in the field, and as he was waiting for the tangled riders to get up someone nailed him from behind. Down he went over his bars and injured his hand and leg. The Predictor-Lotto team held back several riders as a pack of about 15 riders formed a chase group to catch the pack. This self-less effort from McEwen's team was expected, but they also have to protect Cadel Evans in his pursuit of an overall GC finish. This meant half the guys helped McEwen while the other half stuck with Evans in the main field.
McEwen's boys earned their paychecks and towed him for about 15k to the main pack. McEwen then earned his paycheck and rewarded his teammates' effort with a sprint that will go down as one of the more unbelievable ones of his career. This marked his 12th career Tour stage win, and even he seemed amazed at what happened. There's no question that McEwen is able to score sprint victories with less help in the last kilometer than any other rider in the peloton. Cipo, Zabel, Petacchi, et al relied on a fast train leadout after passing the red kite, but McEwen seems to feast on chaotic sprints when nobody has control.
I'm sure there were people watching on TV listening to Liggett and Sherwen thinking, "what's the big deal?" Any bike racer will tell you that chasing down the main pack with less than 20k to go is difficult in and of itself. You're lucky just to see the pack again. Then to catch the pack and move up amongst 180+ riders when the race is at its fastest is another feat. Heck, even to move up from the back to the front without chasing off the back is next to impossible. For most riders being at the back with only 6k to go means a pack finish, but when you've got the class of McEwen the impossible becomes possible.
As McEwen and his team were chasing there was Tom Boonen's Quik Step team on the front driving the pace. Boonen and his boys kept the pressure on hoping McEwen's team would not reach the pack. Then Erik Zabel's team Milram made their train present on the front looking to keep the explosive Australian out of contention. Boonen and Zabel may have thought McEwen's effort to reach the pack taxed him so badly that sprinting for a win would be impossible. Those guys know all about McEwen's explosiveness, but their lack of aggression in the last few hundred meters provided McEwen's opportunity.
Afterward McEwen was asked how he was able to move up in the pack those few kilometers. I'm paraphrasing here, but he said, "keeping my head together and being mentally strong....as long as I've done my best I can be happy......now I'm real happy." Yeah, I bet!
Look for Stage 2 as another opportunity for sprinters to show their prowess. The race ends in Gent, Belgium, which will have Boonen excited to win in front of the home crowd. However, there's one monkey wrench in those plans for Boonen; Preditor-Lotto is a Belgian squad and McEwen's virtual home away from Australia is Gent.
There are a few lessons to learn from watching Stage 1 today. First, never give up. Anything is possible if you stay focused, remain calm, be patient and execute your abilities. I'm reminded of a victory by Axel Merckx years ago in the Giro d'Italia. He was with a breakaway but crashed badly down a bad descent. He climbed out of the woods, looked over his machine, and then buried his head to chase. The leaders had put considerable time into him, but he caught them, attacked them, and rode in solo for victory. I can't remember the stage or year it happened, but I'll never forget Liggett telling kids at home "to never give up!"
T-Mobile rider Mark Cavendish provided lessons in patience as he appeared to have several mechanical issues late in the race. Through those mechanicals he appeared to become more and more frustrated and less and less focused. Too much frustration can put you in a state of panic, which will hamper your ability to rejoin the group. Had he remained calm it would not only have helped him but also the team's support car as they were trying to swap out wheels and eventually a new bike.
Second, obviously when you're a sprinter and catch the pack after chasing your goal is to move to the front. However, getting to the front portion after chasing should be your main objective every time. Mentally you are already in chase mode and focused on catching the leaders, so when you do catch them keep going until you're safely back into the front portion of the field. Regain your position and relax only when you've made it back all the way to the front. In other words, don't be satisfied with having caught the pack and sit on the back.
Third, be a good teammate by riding unselfishly at all times for the good of the entire team. It's easier to help your team with eight other guys to count on to contribute, but this can be done even when you've only got two or three on your squad. Everyone can't win the race, but if your team is focused on getting the best rider in position to win then the whole team wins.
Victories are much sweeter if there are teammates to share it with.
Come on sprinters, light my fire - - Here's a little more background noise on the sprinters of the 2007 Tour de France.
posted by NashvilleCyclist.com at 7/08/2007 12:26:00 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home