AFTER A really hectic and high-speed finale on Sunday, stage two was a bit of a strange one. It was not really what I expected in that it was quite an easy day.
Nobody even attacked for the first 25 kilometres. We just rolled along talking. Three guys just jumped away and that was it; the break was gone. Back in the bunch, we just basically cruised along and took it easy before speeding up at the end and bringing them back.
That was perfect as the team had said to me before the start to try to save as much energy as possible for Tuesday’s stage, which is pretty lumpy, as well as the days after that.
It ended up being a sprinters’ day and Mark Cavendish won. Some of the team were riding for our sprinter Tyler Farrar in the finale, particularly Rob Robert Hunter but Tyler got a bit boxed in and it didn’t work out for him. But we achieved the primary objective, namely just staying out of trouble. There were no crashes, which was great after the few that happened on Sunday. Crashes are always a danger in the bunch but we do what we can to avoid them. I think a lot of it is an experience thing knowing where to ride.
That said, the sport is becoming more dangerous in the finales of races as nobody wants to lose any time, nobody wants to be held up by a crash. There is a relatively new rule whereby anyone who is delayed by a crash inside the final three kilometres gets the same time as the others, but things are still very nervous. Especially in these days when the Tour is won by seconds instead of the minutes it used to be.
Every second counts. If you lose 10 or 20 seconds on a stage because of through something stupid like being caught behind a crash, could affect the final outcome of the race.
That in turn is why it is so dangerous; all the general classification riders are stressed out and trying to be at the front to stay out of trouble. They are so worried about things going wrong, but the big sprinters are also trying to be up there to go for the stages.
There is no comparison between climbers and sprinters in terms of bulk; the sprinters are the big, muscular guys who can push others out of the way pretty easily. The climbers are much smaller, so it makes for quite dangerous racing.
Fortunately there were no crashes.
Earlier on, the start of the stage was interesting in that we got to the stage far earlier than usual. The team was staying close to the start and it took much less time than we expected to get there. We got there about two hours beforehand. Because of that, we had the opportunity to experience what the publicity caravan is like, the big fleet that goes ahead of the race and throws out free stuff to the spectators. It was pretty interesting to watch there are loads of random different cars, really unusual looking, as well as loud music, pretty girls dancing around and all that. It was quite something to see, and gives you an idea of the spectacle of the event.
We are constantly reminded of the size of the Tour, it’s so big. For example, there’s an army of helicopters carrying VIPs or whatever. They hassle us, hanging out by the race as we are going along, buzzing nearby. It’s like a clip out of a Vietnam movie ... the crowds are just huge all day too. Normally when we a stop for a nature break, there is never a problem ... there can be a long time between spectators at races, giving you privacy. But in the Tour, there is never 100 metres without people, so you have to get used to stopping next to someone to pee.
Next up is stage three to Boulogne-Sur-Mer. We are nervous about this stage there are a lot of little climbs close to the finish and it’s on really small roads. All it takes is a bit of bad positioning and you can lose time. I’ve been told to be prepared to help the guys out because it is really a very important day for the general classification. You can be sure somebody in the peloton will get caught out and lose the race there. As I write this, the weather is not looking great for the stage, but hopefully we’ll get lucky and the sun will continue. However,if it gets wet in the final it could be a really dangerous day.
Obviously to stay safe is the priority but it is also my job to the help the other guys and to take the necessary risks to be in the front. The problem is everybody is still pretty fresh, and that makes it super nervous. It is going to be all out war, I think. We’ll just have to see what happens.
The finish is a little similar to what we had on Sunday. I was eighth there but I’ll really have to concentrate on riding for the team leaders, the guys for the general classification. If Ryder Hesjedal, Christian (Vande Velde) or Tom (Danielson) miss a split in the bunch, I’ll have to go back and make sure they lose as little time as possible.
But if it is together at the end, and going by how I went on Sunday, the guys might end up helping me out. We’ll see it is definitely a play-it-by-ear thing, and I have to do my job for the team first.
Twitter: @DanMartin86