Mark Cavendish, after claiming his 16th Tour de France win, will harbour affectionate memories of today’s stage to Cap Frehel, but many in the battered and bruised Tour peloton will remember the stage for different reasons.
Bloodied and aching after numerous crashes on another dramatic stage, the riders took refuge in their team buses after the finish, nursing road rash and cuts and bruises after another day of frayed tempers and tangles with motorbikes out on the Breton roads.
Worst hit was the Quickstep team from Belgium. The team’s manager, Patrick Lefevere, with his shock of white hair and world weary demeanour, is the embodiment of ashen-faced. After five of his riders hit the deck, including the fast-fading former superstar, Tom Boonen, Lefevere had every reason to feel down in the dumps.
“(Kevin) De Weert crashed alongside (Alberto) Contador, (Sylvain) Chavanel and then (Gert) Steegmans, (Gerald) Ciolek and Tom (Boonen) in the same crash,” Lefevere said. “I can only repeat what my riders have told me, that the choice of roads used on the stage is irresponsible.”
There’s little doubt that the heightened competition for points at the intermediate sprints has fuelled some of the jockeying for position. “Maybe the team that’s won has got nothing to complain about, but our guys aren’t happy with the wind conditions and with the intermediate sprints,” Lefevere said. Both Boonen and fellow team leader Sylvain Chavanel, taken to hospital after the finish for x-rays on a shoulder injury, may not start tomorrow’s sixth stage.
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Bad luck aside, however, Boonen, once a rival to Cavendish in the sprint stages, increasingly appears to be a busted flush. “Tom’s complaining that his head is spinning,” Lefevere said, “his helmet shattered upon impact.” The Belgian refused to confirm if Boonen, once the darling of his domestic scene, would start tomorrow morning. “We’ll see,” he said, “we’ll have to take stock later.”