Tour de Suisse Stage 4 – Cavendish!

Prendas_BannerAdvertJuly2011

Mark Cavendish timed his sprint to perfection on a hard fought, long distance sprint on stage 4 of the Tour de Suisse where Bradley Wiggins crashed

RST Cycle Clothing & Trigon Bikes

Tour de Suisse Stage 4 – Cavendish!

Omega Pharma – Quick-Step’s Mark Cavendish timed his sprint to perfection in a hard fought, long distance sprint at the end of the 160km stage 4 in the Tour de Suisse on Tuesday.

170614-OPQS-Tour-Suisse-Stage-4--Arrival-Cavendish-_Tim-De-Waele

PHOTO: OPQS/Tim De Waele

OPQS, who worked on the front all day to chase down the breakaway with 10km to go, escorted Cavendish to the front with a kilometre left in the race. Several top sprinters were in good position for the sprint, but it was Cavendish who knew the right moment to launch. He passed his rivals who went early on an uphill sprint into the wind, using his second kick that no other rider could match. Juan Jose Lobato (Movistar) was 2nd, and Peter Sagan (Cannondale) 3rd.

It was the 9th victory of the British Champion in 2014.

Teammate Tony Martin held onto the yellow jersey after staying near the front to protect his GC leadership. Tour de Suisse Stage 5 may also end in a bunch sprint.

170614-OPQS-Tour-Suisse-Stage-4--Podium-Cavendish-_Tim-De-Waele

PHOTO: OPQS/Tim De Waele

“It was a headwind finish, and very chaotic in the peloton,” Cavendish said. “A lot of teams were trying to get it right. My team worked really hard to chase down the breakaway and stay in the front the entire day to protect me, they were really committed”.

“Then, I followed Mark Renshaw in the final and Mark was incredible. He led me through the peloton, and put me in the position to lead it out. It was a headwind and uphill finish, so it was really about timing your sprint perfectly. I knew I had to go between 200 meters and 150 meters to go. So, I waited, and even though the others jumped before, I still went at the right time”.

“I was able to hold on until the finish. My main competitors of the Tour de France aren’t here with the exception of Sagan, who will go for the green jersey but maybe isn’t a pure sprinter. But still, a win like this gives me confidence. I also have to thank my teammates today for taking care of me and then guiding me to the front at the right moment in the end. I’m proud of the guys and am happy to finish off their effort. We also kept the jersey with Tony so it’s a perfect day for the team.”

Crash for Wiggins
Laurens De Vreese (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) and Daniel Teklehaimanot (MTN-Qhubeka) composed the day’s breakaway but the pair were never allowed more than a three-and-a-half minute lead and were reeled in with 13 km to go. The bad news for Sky, and Bradley Wiggins, was a crash for the former Tour de France winner. Wiggins got back on his bike after banging his knee and then finished the stage almost 12 minutes down. No word yet on how he is post stage.

Ben Swift meanwhile was 15th, Alex Dowsett 32nd, Peter Kennaugh 88th, Luke Rowe 136th. Kennaugh is still in 11th place overall at 29 seconds behind leader Tony Martin.

 

Other Results on VeloUK (including reports containing results)

Other News on VeloUK

Tags: ,