Tour de France Stage 4 Recap: A Brutal Sprint Finish and Shocking Disqualification
An early Belgian breakaway again, and all-out carnage in the last meter; who’s at fault when a top contender crashes?
A sprint implies grace and finesse, but all too often, it resembles a gladiatorial bloodbath. Sprinters are big riders, pedaling at the limits of human exertion, and contesting a winning line on a narrow stretch of road. Some accidents are inevitable, but others are caused by inappropriate aggression, which seemed to be the case today.
What Went Wrong
It was an exceptional muddle. The day started with an early break by a lone Belgian, Guillaume Van Keirsbulck of Wanty, a hard effort that earned him the most aggressive rider award, a lone King of the Mountains point, and the intermediate sprint victory, all-in-all, a nice 1,000 euro bonus to split with his team. He was finally caught near the 16km remaining mark, largely thanks to the efforts of countryman Thomas De Gendt riding for sprinter Andre Greipel and his Lotto-Soudal team.
After the catch, the road narrowed and the pace picked up, but most of the sprinters seemed to be in weak positions for a win. By the final 2km, Marcel Kittel wasn’t even in the pack.
I predicted a Mark Cavendish win last night, and it was looking solid. Kittel and team were MIA, Cav’s Dimension Data was setting the pace, and freelancers and Lotto alike were playing catch-up. But where was Cavendish? He disappeared from view, and it looked like Greipel and Frenchman Arnaud Demare were going to grab lead-outs from Cav’s loyal lieutenant, Mark Renshaw.
Renshaw is Cavendish’s lead-out man, a support role for strong riders who aren’t quite sprinters themselves. The lead-out man rushes nearly to the line, then pulls aside, spent, as the sprinter ‘launches’ to the finish. Renshaw and Cavendish have an unusually close partnership, begun in 2009, and interrupted by a two-year hiatus after their Columbia-Highroad team folded. At the time, Cavendish compared the pain of their split to a romantic dissolution, and they have been happily reunited since 2014.
Renshaw had to pull aside, and it was clearly anyone’s race. Peter Sagan was on the prowl, hunting for a wheel; Alexander Kristoff, still under pressure for a win; Greipel; a suddenly visible Cavendish; and even Demare, a likely winner according to many commentators.
Demare was the clear favorite in this group. Earlier, he’d forecast his strength when he bested his fellow sprinters in the intermediate sprint at kilometer 157.5, with a seemingly effortless but heavily-contested dash. They were fighting for second place and points toward the Green Jersey for most consistent rider, two minutes behind solo breakaway Kiersbulck. Demare took 17 points, followed by Sagan for 15, Greipel for 13, and Marcel Kittel earning 11. The trick with an intermediate sprint is to win without expending too much effort en route to the bigger prize at the finish, and Demare shot it perfectly.
Demare Wins — Got It. But Who Crashed?
Almost there! There is only one official rule for the final sprint: do not leave your line. Demare may have been slightly guilty of this, but he was clear of other riders, and didn’t put anyone in danger. He can enjoy his incredible sprint victory— a first for France since 2006 — guilt-free.
He rode across the line with an easy smile, seemingly unaware of the carnage unfolding just meters behind. Most commentators seemed to rush to the defense of Sagan, right in the middle of it, even as video clearly showed him launching an elbow at Cavendish, who was launching along Sagan’s right, between the Wolverine and the barriers.
The overhead looked damning. Sagan veers roughly 3 meters to his right, over and into Cav’s line, and Cav makes the brave or foolish choice to keep going regardless. As Sagan drifts closer, Cav taps his body with his left shoulder, trying to steer clear of a collision, and Sagan seems to lash out with an elbow. The shoulder check is a classic track cycling move, an appropriate way to hold your line, unlike elbows or even headbutting, which earned teammate Renshaw a 2010 TDF disqualification.
I’m not sure why Cavendish crashed after that contact, as it looks like he began to fall before Sagan’s elbow appears, but it still looks like Sagan was at fault. Even if he didn’t connect, his rightward move is in clear violation of the only official sprinting regulation, and where is Cav going to go but into the barrier?
Just after crumpling against the barrier and collapsing, Cavendish lay on the ground as big John Degenkolb rolled over him before joining him on the tarmac. Sagan crossed the line second, and Kristoff came in a close third, both of the men well behind a dominant Demare.
It was thrilling, albeit with a sense of guilt and grief for the crashed out sprinters. Degenkolb seemed uninjured, but Cavendish lay on the ground for far too long, and was rumored to have a broken clavicle.
Cavendish’s post-race interview had him reiterate warm feelings for Sagan, but questioned his elbow. Others were angrier; team director Roger Hammond was outraged by the crash, and even Greipel spoke out. Known to be a gentle, kind figure, he described himself as “pissed” at Sagan today and yesterday, when Sagan seemed to elbow him too.
I almost wrote about yesterday’s incident but didn’t; it looked out-of-character and pointless, and went unmentioned by the commentators. In retrospect, it may be significant, either as a sign of carelessness or malice. As the group approached the intermediate stage, he threw his elbow right, directing it at Greipel. The two men weren’t in contention for a line or the sprint, and it was a confusing move by a man who is well-liked and admired by the peloton.
Sagan Disqualified From The Tour
A full hour after the finish, it was still unclear what penalties if any would be given to Sagan, or even if he was guilty of the crash. Opinions diverged sharply, with many American fans defending him on social media. Sagan went straight to Dimension Data to apologize to Cavendish, and the two men seemed to handle a hard moment with grace.
Dimension Data continued to deny any fractures for Cavendish, who looks quite torn up in photos, and an announcement was made that Sagan would receive a fairly light punishment. For the offense, he was docked 30 points in the Green Jersey classification, an award he won by a massive margin of 282 points over Kittel’s 228 last year, and given last place on today’s stage. Twenty minutes later, though, something changed.
I’m not sure what changed, but Hammond, the director from Dimension Data, called for disqualification on Twitter. He compared it unfavorably to the disqualification of Renshaw in 2010, and implied Sagan was protected by favoritism. It was quite the shock twenty minutes later when I saw the official announcement that Sagan was disqualified from the rest of the race. His 2017 Tour de France is over.
Is It Fair? Did He Really Elbow Cavendish?
Short answer: I don’t know. I like Sagan; I like Cavendish. I wouldn’t say I’m unfairly biased for either man, and mostly feel enormously sad about the entire dust-up. For his part, Sagan denies realizing Cavendish was there at all, but one has to ask why he kept going to the right? A head-on video suggests he should have seen Cavendish, and even if he didn’t, he’s obligated to ride a straight line and a straight sprint. He didn’t do either, as you can see in this video with NBC commentary.
Looking at photo after photo, I think Sagan was at fault, but I don’t suspect malice, just vigor and careless racing. The aerial view seems to show him clearly elbow Cav, but the head-on view suggests he’s just stabilized himself by locking his arm out. It seems the crash was caused by being squeezed between bike and barrier.
If he knew Cavendish was there, it was an extremely inconsiderate, dangerous, and inappropriate move. Sagan had plenty of room to his left, and I suspect he was trying to box out the man he can’t out sprint. I think he deserves a penalty, but I’m not sure that ending his tour is a fair decision. I suspect they arrived at a probably erroneous conclusion that Sagan was behaving maliciously, which seems more likely perhaps if you look at his aggressive behavior yesterday.
“No one comes out of it well. This is a sad, sad day for the sport, Sagan is a hero and an idol of mine, but a precedent has to be set.” — Roger Hammond
Hammond admitted he was wrong about the elbow contact, and struck a more conciliatory tone after the verdict was announced. Hopefully Sagan will come back in 2018 as the same daring racer, but with a little more focus and caution, particularly for the well-being of his friends and colleagues.
Where Was Kittel?
It seems his team had a crash, taking them out of the final bunch, along with Yellow Jersey winner Geraint Thomas. No injuries reported, nor a cause for the crash, which I’m guessing was just caused by an overlapping wheel on a tight turn. Regardless, I don’t think Kittel had a shot in this wind; the guy is huge, and he’s best when he’s not battered around like a sail.
With both Thomas and Kittel uninjured, it was essentially a non-event, and its occurrence near the finish line resulted in all participants receiving the same time as the rest of the peloton. This is due to a rule which makes sprint finishes safer; everyone in the final kilometers is given the same time, meaning that Yellow Jersey contenders don’t have to finish in the sprint bunches.
Final Standings
It’s a sad day for the Tour, with Cavendish suggesting he’ll abandon, citing pain in the shoulder he broke at the end of stage one in 2014, and Sagan disqualified.
This changed the final sprint rankings, but with little overall impact. Demare retains the lead, Kristoff moves into second, and Greipel into third. Greipel’s goal is always a stage win; he often abandons the race before Paris, and isn’t a points competitor. For Kristoff’s part, second is meaningless; he desperately needs to win a stage to regain the confidence of his team. Second place, particularly on a technicality, brings him no closer to his goal.
The Untold Story: Sky’s Inter-team rivalry?
Look at the face on Geraint Thomas as he stands for the Yellow Jersey. This isn’t British stoicism, nor is it soreness from his tumble. It’s resignation. The normally exuberant Welshman has celebrated day after day, but he knows that it’s all over tomorrow, when he’ll have to give his Yellow Jersey to his Team Sky leader, Chris Froome.
Tomorrow’s stage features the return of la Planche des belles filles, a strenuous category 1 mountain top that Chris Froome rode to his first victory in 2012. It’s a near certainty that Team Sky is planning a similar victory tomorrow, and with it, the cementing of Froome’s podium ambitions.
Thomas’ grim face was briefly disappointing; isn’t three days in yellow something to be proud of? After Demare’s jubilant award ceremony, this looked like a funeral. Things became clear quickly, though, between his tragic expression and words of resignation in the post-race interview.
“Well, it depends on what the team tactics are. I’ll try to keep it, but I’ll do what I’m told tomorrow, and we’ll see what happens.” — Geraint Thomas on Stage Five
This is a big part of why Team Sky, although made up of great and respectable riders, rarely makes for impressive viewing. Much like the New York Yankees, it’s an all-star collection of GC contenders riding as domestiques for one man. It’s good strategy, and probably the only way to win, but what makes Sky different from, for example, Porte’s BMC squad, is the sheer caliber of the support riders.
Any of these riders could challenge any other rider for yellow, with the exception of their captain, Froome. The situation lends itself to conflict, just as it did for 2012 squad leader Bradley Wiggins and then domestique Froome. Froome knew he could win the Tour, but was relegated to ride for Wiggins; the scenario played out again in 2015 between Porte and Froome, and led to Porte striking out on his own.
It’s unlikely that Thomas will repeat it; he’s already 32, and seems too much the loyal teammate to entertain the thought. It still must hurt, though, as evidenced by the look on his face today, and I’m wondering what we’ll see on the road tomorrow.
Predictions For Tomorrow
Ongoing debates over Sagan’s DQ, a massive show-down between Porte and Froome on the summit finish at la planche, a lethargic attack by Nairo Quintana or Alberto Contador, and the sprinters, sobered after today, struggling to survive the tough climb while they recover to do it all again on Thursday.
On a Strange Note About That Breakaway…
Maybe it’s the excellent tactical commentary by Matthew Keenan and Robbie McEwen (I watch the NBC Gold livestream), but somehow, the breakaways just aren’t that thrilling this year. I’m not sure why, but I think it’s the more sober voice of McEwen, who serves as a replacement for Paul Sherwen. Sherwen and McEwen are both former professional racers, but Sherwen had a tendency to dramatize every move. McEwen seems to be more difficult to impress, and his thoughtful commentary lays bare much of the mystique of the breakaway.
Overall, I’m delighted by the switch. Keenan and McEwen make a great team, with each comfortably taking the role of a predecessor. Professional journalist Keenan seems a perfect replacement for fellow journalist Phil Liggett, and what he lacks in castle trivia, he makes up for with livelier, more attentive analysis. The two have a great patter, and seem to carry on more dynamic conversations, but I do think the lack of enthusiasm for every hare-brained move makes me slightly more cynical about the breaks.
And On An Even Stranger One?
“You’re welcome. I usually charge… (awkwardly long pause) two to three million dollars for each of these.” — Taylor Phinney on time trialing
Look, Taylor Phinney is cool as hell, and if you disagree, you just haven’t watched him sharing time trial tips in this Global Cycling Network video. He doesn’t wear race radio (“I have a lot of voices in my head already”), doesn’t care about power meters, and says you should be riding higher on your TT bike.
You’re happy a Frenchman won at last, right?
Sure, whatever. See you tomorrow.
I’m (attempting) to blog the 2017 TDF each day. This is Stage Four.
Read the whole series: Stage One, Stage Two, Stage Three
Follow me on Twitter or Facebook for updates, or here on Medium. Just want to see photos from bike rides? Don’t worry, I have Instagram too. Website is davidstreever.com.
Can I fit in another (two) plugs? I wrote two bike books for Falcon Guides. They are both good! You can buy them at Amazon and other places, too. Best Bike Rides Connecticut (Amazon) and Best Bike Rides Long Island (Amazon)
