Yet another day of survival for Mark Cavendish, as again he finished safely within the time limit, behind the ever faithful Bernhard Eisel, albeit after a crash early on, Cav's handlebars being caught up with a spectator's flag. It really doesn't matter that he finished 152nd out of 153.
Oh, by the way, Team Sky are simply dominating the Tour - Wiggins and Froome are about to make it a Belgian/Kenyan 1-2!!!
Just three stages left, including the coronation of Bradley Wiggins as the first ever British TDF winner and hopefully a "four-in-a-row" victory for Mark Cavendish on the streets of Paris.
In fact, Stage 18, on Friday, may provide Cav with an opportunity to remind everyone that he is the main man... We shall see.
Nothing to see here, everybody move on.... Mark finished safely within the time limit in the Pyrenees where he finished 134th out of 152 finishers, some 33 minutes down on stage winner, and all round entertainer, Thomas Voeckler.
Another quiet day for Mark Cavendish at the Tour de France, where he finished safely in the Peloton... Here's hoping we are all being saved for a Tour de Force on the Champs Elysees this Sunday followed by gold the following weekend on the streets of London... We can dare to dream!
An illuminating interview with Mark on ITV4's highlights programme tonight, he spoke about his role on the team this year, as a Super Domestique, this was backed up with an interview with race leader, Bradley Wiggins, and his hope to repay Cavendish this weekend and at the Olympics.
Another stage, another day in the Autobus for Mark Cavendish. Having previously worked for his Sky Team mates, in his "Super Domestique" role, Cav then finished 28:18 down on the winner, to ensure another day in the Tour...
Stage 14 suffered from a number of punctures, as a result of tacks being placed on the road, read all about it here.
Mark endured a frustrating day on stage 13 of Le Tour - he was dropped on the final climb of the day (without the support of team mates) and was unable to contest the sprint finish, which went to former team mate, Andre Griepel. Sky's efforts are centred on victory and possible/probable 1-2 for Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome. The consensus in the cycling media is that Mark is now waiting for the Olympics - better days ahead?
Meanwhile, The Sun published an interesting family/lifestyle story on Mark on Saturday.
Well, british riders are re-writing the record books at this year's Tour de France... I felt a sense of pride for David Millar when he crossed the line to take victory today - in doing so, became the fourth british rider to win a stage of the Tour de France in Cav's, Chris Froome's and Bradley Wiggins' footsteps. Not only a british victory today, but on the anniversary of Tommy Simpson's death some 45 years ago.
Indeed, all the british riders present at the Tour and who are in the GB road race team in the olympics in a few weeks' time have won a tour stage. The exception is Ian Stannard, who became the british road race champion just a couple of weeks ago...
David Millar is a rider who still attracts praise and criticism in equal measures, an ex-doper who has served his time and who now works tirelessly in the fight against doping for the Slipstream team (currently called Garmin-Sharp) and at the very least showed remorse for his previous actions, I personally believe everybody deserves a second chance in life and it is a fitting way that Millar claimed a Tour stage victory today, given, at 35, he is nearing the end of a truncated pro career. He will also act as the captain for the road team in the Olympics, his place in the olympics, not being something he actively pursued and challenged for...
I hope that Cav is hoping to make his mark tomorrow, Stage 13 - a sprint stage, as again he rode in near the back, conserving energy and hoping for better days.... Wiggo and Froome continue to dominate for Team Sky at the sharp end of the race. Brad has written a suitably vehement piece for the Guardian today against the naysayers...
