It was always going to be a stressful day. First-week nerves were compounded by the prospect of a tough stage, the first in France, which started across the border in Orchies. It is unusual to feature a stage with five short, steep climbs – which were categorised for the mountains jersey competition – early in the first week and this one, close to the coast, came with the threat of winds and a twisty last 70 kilometres. The team left the hotel in Belgium, with its quirky displays of jersey tributes, and focused on the race to Boulogne-sur-Mer. The riders had studied the notes, heeded the tactics talk, trusted in each other. The carers had prepared bidons and foil-wrapped rice cakes, bite-size sandwiches and cake with fruit jam to fuel them.
Musettes were safely handed over in the feed zone, but just over an hour after the peloton had taken on board their energising snacks came news of the second crash of the day. At 15.10 it was reported Kanstantsin Siutsou was on the ground; by 15.20 the news broke that he was out of the 2012 Tour. ‘It sounded bad,’ says Richie Porte. ‘Sean [Yates] has a very direct manner on the radio. He suddenly came on and said, “Kosta is no longer with you …”’
Kosta’s injury was serious: a fractured left tibia. ‘I was in the middle of the peloton on a small narrow climb when I heard Sean on the radio saying it was an important part of the race and telling me to stay in the front with Bradley,’ he recalls. ‘As I started moving to the front, somebody began to crash. I braked and put out my left leg. Riders and bikes went over it. When I woke up, my body was in one place, my left leg felt like it was in another place. I had no feeling. I remember the shock, trying to get up, people saying “Come on, come on” – and then I was in an ambulance.’
Siutsou’s withdrawal – the first in the 2012 Tour – was a blow for the team, both in terms of morale and also with regards to ongoing tactical logistics. The Belarusian had been chosen for the team because he was one of the strongest riders on all terrains, a tireless workhorse on the flat who could go right into the high mountains if required. ‘When we accepted the challenge of pursuing multiple objectives at the Tour, we knew that we needed super-strong guys like Kosta who can take on very high workloads, performing at the highest level, day in, day out,’ said Tim Kerrison.
‘It really affected us,’ says Michael Rogers, who roomed with Siutsou. ‘We’d done a whole year together, we’re all pretty close, and Kosta was one of our key men throughout our successful season. Stage 3 was a big day, stressful anyway and extra stressful because it was windy, which always creates anxiety. There were crashes left, right and centre. When the news came through, we all went into that world of wondering what we were going to do without him. It’s not a good frame of mind. We needed to snap out of it. We were lucky to get through the day.’
Like Wiggins in 2011, it was Kosta’s fate to follow the Tour from a hospital bed on television and via the Team Sky website. ‘It was painful. The focus for a long time had been Tour, Tour, Tour. I was so happy the night before it started. It was my first Tour, I knew I was ready to do my job for Bradley, particularly at the beginning of the long mountains, and sometimes to work for Mark in the flat. And then one day changed everything for me. But I am thankful. After every stage, the guys sent me messages saying, “You’re still with us in the Tour. You’re staying together with us.” We are a close unit of workers.’
It was not until 2 September – 61 days after his crash – that Kosta got back on his bike. ‘I was still unable to put weight on my leg when I walked, but I took my bike on the road and when I turned around, 10km from home, some people saw my Sky kit and started chanting: “Wig-gins, Wig-gins …”’
Kanstantsin Siutsou. Key engine-room guy. Age: 30. Nationality: Belarussian. Career highlights [as of eve of 2012 Tour de France]: Top 10 finishes in Giro d’Italia and Critérium du Dauphiné in June, and Belarussian national time trial champion [2011].