A MAN DOWN
Tuesday 3 July / Orchies to Boulogne-sur-Mer, 197km
ROUTE/ A brutal test, starting on cobblestone back lanes and ending on a 700-metre lung-busting slog uphill after a trip around the wind-lashed tops of the Monts du Boulonnais above the port of Boulogne. The day included six climbs – two Category-3 and four Category-4 – with the first kicking in 35km from the finish.
THE CHALLENGE/ The third of three tough opening road stages will show form and intent.
HOW IT UNFOLDED/ Polka-dot jersey holder Michael Morkov led a breakaway for the third time in as many stages when he disappeared with Andriy Grivko, Giovanni Bernaudeau, Ruben Perez and Sébastien Minard. Thereafter the day’s chase was marred by several pile-ups. Team Sky’s Kanstantsin Siutsou crashed out, fracturing his left tibia, and became the first rider to pull out of the 2012 Tour – a fate which was played up by rivals as bad news for Wiggins, now a team mate down. A later crash saw José Joaquín Rojas, who was second in the points classification in 2011, also withdraw.
The Fast Five were swallowed up by the bunch, with Grivko holding out until 7km to the finish, where Chavanel launched an attack on the descent of the penultimate climb. Into the final kilometre the peloton hunted Chavanel down on tight narrow roads in a nerve-fraying finish. The Frenchman capitulated, caught by a dynamic peloton with Wiggins, Evans and Sagan all in contention.
More drama. A crash within sight of the line saw Wiggins trapped while a group of 20 riders went clear. Sagan pressed on for victory and claimed the stage ahead of Team Sky’s Edvald Boasson Hagen to retain the green points jersey. It was tense for Wiggins. He finished 53rd, almost a minute down, but was awarded the same time as the winner because of a rule regarding crashes in the final 3km, thus remaining second overall, seven seconds behind Cancellara.
‘You can’t look backwards in this sport, you have to look forwards. It’s like boxing. You take a punch, but as long as you have still got gloves on and are fighting you can still knock the other bloke out. That’s the approach we have got to take,’ said Brailsford.
‘It’s not ideal because Kosta is a strong rider, a classic mountain domestique and one of the key workers in the team. We are sad to see him go home. The first week of the Tour is inherently risky. You just have to take it on the chin. It’s a question of staying upright on your bike. Bradley has done that today. He has got through. Another box ticked.’
STAGE 3 RESULT:
Winner: Peter Sagan (Svk); Liquigas-Cannondale; 04h 42’ 58”
2. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor); Team Sky; @ 01”
3. Peter Velits (Svk); Omega Pharma; @ 01”
OVERALL STANDINGS
1 Fabian Cancellara (Swi); RadioShack; 14h 45’ 30”
2 Bradley Wiggins (GB); Team Sky; @ 07”
3 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra); Omega Pharma; @ 07”
‘It’s a setback, but not a devastating setback. Bradley’s a very good climber so he can do that first part in the key mountain stages. But to be honest the climbing department, as it were, is probably where we’re at our strongest.’
Dave Brailsford