Cadel Evans is here to play. For the fourth straight stage, the Australian demonstrated good form and determination, steadily increasing the pressure on his rivals for the yellow jersey. Today in Stage 4, he edged out race favorite Alberto Contador to secure his first official stage win at the Tour de France. Evans has a long road to Paris, but the BMC rider is building his confidence, an important factor for this two-time runner-up.
Rain and wind complicated the race, which featured another interesting intermediate sprint for points. After the five-man break passed through, Farrar was next, securing 10 points for a total of 68 thus far. This places him behind green jersey leader Jose Joaquin Rojas, who has 74 points, and indicates that Farrar and his team Garmin-Cervelo are going for the green jersey despite their statements that they are focused exclusively on stage wins. Today, Mark Cavendish came in behind Farrar and earned 7 points. Cav and Thor Hushovd were stripped of the points they won at yesterday’s intermediate sprint by race referees who punished them for leaving their lines at the sprint finish. While the penalty was widely criticized as unnecessary, the result is that the two are further behind in the points competition.
The real drama started at about 2 kilometers to the finish, when the teams of the race favorites jockeyed to get their rider to a safe position at front. Fabian Cancellara was working for Andy Schleck, Luis Leon Sanchez for Robert Gesink, Edvald Boasson Hagen for Bradley Wiggins, and George Hincapie for Cadel Evans, among others. All of the general classification (G.C.) contenders were there. On top of that, teams with riders chasing the stage win were in the mix, including Omega Pharma-Lotto and Philippe Gilbert who hoped to win a second stage on his 29th birthday.
It was one tough climb, relatively short but steep with sections at 15% grade. The preceding undulating roads added to the challenge. “That’s the hardest 2K climb I’ve ever done, I think,” said American Chris Horner, who was unknowingly riding with a flat tire for some time. Though the true tests come in the Pyrenees and the Alps starting next week, the stage at Mur-de-Bretagne provided the first opportunity for the G.C. contenders to test each other’s climbing legs.
Contador was most eager to make a move on his rivals to gain back the precious seconds he lost in the first two stages. Dancing on the pedals, the Spaniard first attacked at 1.3K to go but was quickly matched by Gilbert, the Belgian birthday boy, with the other riders following. Contador attacked again at 1.1K, and this time Evans matched and passed him. Evans pressed on up to the finish. In the final meters, Contador attempted to beat him to the line, believing he had bested the Australian with his final lunge, but he was wrong. Evans captured the win by a few inches in a photo finish.
The stage is Evans first official Tour de France victory. In 2007, he was awarded first place in the time trial after Alexandre Vinokourov was disqualified for doping. Today’s win will boost the confidence of Evans and his team, though the challenge will be to keep it up for two and a half more weeks. When things go wrong for Evans, he has failed to recover in the past, and he will certainly want to pace himself for the road ahead.
Contador missed his chance to take back time on his rivals, including Evans and Schleck. There is plenty of racing ahead, and everything can change in the big mountains. However, each misstep is like a mosquito bite for Contador—annoying, not serious by itself, but when they add up, it can be a distraction. At the biggest race in the world, nobody can afford a distraction.
Tomorrow, we are back to the sprints. Tyler Farrar will be riding high, Alessandro Petacchi will be itching for some results, and Mark Cavendish will be one mad Manxman. The madder Cavendish gets, the more exciting the final 5 kilometers. This time, he will be facing down a new obstacle—Farrar’s Team Garmin, joyous from their most successful Tour to date. Be sure to watch the last half hour of TV coverage on Versus. I will be on the edge of my seat!
Post-race interview with Cadel Evans: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-ojeabQIyw
View complete Stage 4 results and overall standings: http://www.letour.fr/2011/TDF/LIVE/us/400/classement/index.html
View Stage 5 map and profile:
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