Stage 11: Good Day at the Office

HTC-Highroad is celebrating tonight. The American team drove the peloton all day, finally launching Mark Cavendish for his third stage win at the 2011 Tour de France. Despite another day of lousy weather, Stage 11 delivered an exciting sprint finish before the race moves into the big mountains tomorrow.

Hesjedal

With their sights on the stage win, HTC took responsibility for keeping the six-man breakaway under control. They were joined by riders including Canadian Ryder Hesjedal of Garmin-Cervelo, whose team had hopes for their sprinter, American Tyler Farrar. Yet the break lasted longer than expected, and HTC squeezed its riders to the limits amid growing wind and dark rain clouds. Lars Bak and Matt Goss were among those who spent their energy in reel in the break, dropping back several kilometers before the finish.

With 2K to go, German Tony Martin and Australian Mark Renshaw led Cavendish, the 26-year-old from Britain’s Isle of Man. For Garmin, Briton David Millar and Norwegian Thor Hushovd shepherded Farrar toward the finish. At the same time, Team Sky worked for Edvald Boasson Hagen, and Omega Pharma-Lotto for yesterday’s winner, Andre Greipel. Sky tried to cut through the HTC and Garmin lead-outs, then Garmin appeared to launch Farrar too early. He could not keep pace. Cavendish soared to victory, ahead of Greipel, his former teammate and rival. The top two places were a switch of yesterday’s results, not surprising given Cavendish’s dislike for losing.

“Good day in the office,” tweeted Cav’s lead-out man, the 28-year-old Renshaw who resembles Prince Harry. “Even if it was a little wet everybody on the bus is happy. We used everybody & everything to win today. Very happy!”

With the stage win and more intermediate sprint points in the bank, Cavendish donned the green jersey, while the other jerseys remained in place. The Manxman tweeted, “(F)inally got my grubby little Manx mitts on the Green Jersey. We will try & keep it until Paris. 2 more sprints.. Montpellier & Paris!” He dedicated his win to a boy facing leukemia and was cheered on by students visiting from the Isle of Man.

The general classification (G.C.) contenders stayed out of trouble again today, and Stage 12 will mark their first true battle. Cadel Evans leads the pre-race favorites with 11 seconds ahead of Andy Schleck and 1 minute, 41 seconds ahead of Alberto Contador. Aiming to win his fourth Tour de France, Contador is eager to shake off the spate of bad luck from the first week of the race, including multiple crashes for him and his teammates. “After many troubles finally the mountain is coming!” he tweeted. “My knee is going better.” It is unclear whether the Spaniard is posturing or if the knee is actually injured.

Tomorrow, it will be Contador’s responsibility to attack. He is the defending champ, but more importantly, he is 00:01:41 behind Evans. It is up to him to take back that time. The next three stages are in the Pyrenees, and all the G.C. men will be looking for opportunities to snuff their rivals’ hopes. In addition to the Big Three, Andreas Kloden, Ivan Basso, and Robert Gesink are elite contenders, who are unlikely but still able to win.

Do not be surprised if a breakaway wins the stage. Many riders are already so far behind the G.C. contenders, that they have no chance of winning. Even if they ride ahead and gain many minutes of time, they are still no threat, so there is no reason to waste energy to chase them. On the other hand, some wildcard riders are within reach of a win, so Contador and the boys will not let them get away; examples include Peter Velits of HTC-Highroad. The general classification men are focused on the yellow jersey more than the stage win.

Stage 12 is relatively flat in the first half of the 211 total kilometers. Around 70K to the finish, the climbing begins with a Category 1 climb at 7.5% grade. (Climbs are rated from 4 for easiest to 1 for difficult and Hors Categorie for “beyond category”) The remaining two climbs are Hors Categorie. The Col du Tourmalet is over 17 kilometers, and the rapid descent will be a nail-biter. The final climb at Luz-Ardiden is 13.3 kilometers at 7.4% grade, and it will be painful to even watch on TV.

To catch the heart-stopping descent and brutal final climb, tune in to at least the last hour of racing. Each pedal stroke will be brutal.

Post-race interview with Cavendish: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/22825103/vp/43742904#43742904

Stage 11 top finishers:

1. Mark Cavendish (HTC-Highroad)

2. Andre Greiple (Omega Pharma-Lotto)

3. Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Cervelo)

4. Denis Galimzyanov (Katusha)

5. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Team Sky)

Complete Stage 11 results: http://www.letour.fr/2011/TDF/LIVE/us/1100/classement/index.html

Stage 12 map & profile: http://www.letour.fr/2011/TDF/LIVE/us/1200/etape_par_etape.html