With the yellow jersey down to a two-horse race the sprinters keep things interesting
With the contenders for the yellow jersey observing something of a truce on the flat stages between the Alps and Pyrénées, the battle between the sprinters comes to the fore once more. While the yellow jersey is already looking to be down to a two-horse race, the green jersey looks to be a far more open competition.
Petacchi takes the initiative
Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre-Farnese Vini) held the jersey after winning the chaotic first stage into the Belgian capital, Brussels; Norwegian champion Thor Hushovd (Cervélo TestTeam) took it from him after winning the cobbled stage to Arenberg Porte du Hainaut and had held it ever since.
With his second place on the stage into Bourg-lès-Valence today, and Hushovd’s seventh place, Petacchi took the jersey back and intends to hold it all the way to Paris.
“I'm sorry I didn't win,” said Petacchi, “but I'm happy for the conquering of the green jersey: it's a beautiful prize for my team mates effort and I'll try to keep it with me as long as possible."
With Petacchi consistently sprinting better than Hushovd, he should have the clear advantage; Petacchi’s main rivals may not be the other sprinters though, but the Pyrénées. Like his Italian sprint king predecessor, Mario Cipollini, Ale-Jet barely knows what Paris’ Avenue des Champs-Elysées looks like; he’s only finished the Tour once, on his debut appearance in 2001.
Much of Petacchi’s – and indeed Cipollini’s – reason for not getting to Paris was been that he has recently ridden the Giro d’Italia, his home tour. There he has rarely had a problem getting to the finish, in what is generally a much more mountainous race. He has won a total of 21 stages in the Giro, including and incredible 9 in the 2004 race; he also won the maglia ciclamino, the Italian equivalent to the green jersey, in that race.
He also took the points jersey at the 2005 Vuelta a España, proving that he can finish a Grand Tour away from home.
All this was a long time ago though, but with two stages under his belt in the Tour so far he’s proved that there’s still some life left in his 36-year-old legs. He was also forced to abandon the Giro on stage 8 this year, and so will be fresher than in previous Tours.
Thor knows how to win green
While Petacchi’s longevity at the Tour can be called into question, it’s the big thing that Hushovd has in his favour. The Norwegian champion has only abandoned one of the Tours de France that he’s started: that 2001 race that Petacchi finished, which was Hushovd’s debut. His season has been badly affected by the broken collarbone that he sustained in a training accident in May, but he’s hoping that his experience and stamina will come to his aid.
“I know I am not as fast as last year in the sprint,” Hushovd admitted after his 7th place today. “My injury slowed down my preparation for the Tour. I feel like I am getting stronger day by day.
“I am sure the green jersey battle will come down to Paris,” he continued. “I have to stay focused on doing my sprints and try to get as many points as possible. The Tour de France is long. Anything can happen. You never know what happens from one day to the next.”
Hushovd already has two green jerseys in his wardrobe back in Norway: one from 2005 and one from last year. If anyone knows how to add a third to that list, he does.
It’s not just a two-horse race
As well as the two front-runners, there are three other riders in contention just a few points back.
Robbie McEwen (Katusha) sits in third place in the standings. It’s been a tough Tour for the Australian, who's spent more time on the tarmac than most, including a collision with a TV journalist just after crossing the finish line.
McEwen has been finishing consistently at the front in all of the sprint stages, including four 4th places, and consistency is what the jersey is all about. Like Hushovd, he has taken green home before, in 2002, 2004 and 2006; if he can recover from his bumps and bruises, and not pick up any new ones, the Queenslander will fight all the way to Paris.
After hitting the tarmac on stage 1 into Brussels, then completely messing up on stage 4 into Reims, Mark Cavendish (HTC-Columbia) was all but written off in the competition in the Tour’s first few days. Three stage wins later though, as well as winning the bunch sprint into Gap yesterday, have put the Manx Missile right back into contention.
As Cavendish knows, it only takes a crash or a mistimed move to make a sprinter miss out on the points on a stage. Hushovd seems to be unable to compete with the really fast sprinters this year, so he may well be catchable anyway, but if Petacchi has a bad day Cavendish could be right up there.
The one big thing working against Cavendish is that he is presently unwilling to chase points at intermediate sprints throughout the stage. He was beaten by just 10 points by Hushovd last year, which can be attributed to the Norwegian taking intermediate sprints.
"It's still possible,” he says. “There are two or three sprints left in the race, and hopefully I can get more wins. We'll see what happens then and take it stage by stage."
The fifth name, the dark horse, is that of Jose Rojas (Caisse d’Epargne). The 25-year-old is riding only his second Tour de France, having finished 4th in the green jersey classification last year. Like McEwen, Rojas’ owes his place to consistently finishing in the top ten in all the sprint stages. So far he’s not looked like actually winning a stage, which may ultimately prevent him from competing for the jersey in Paris.
Green jersey standings after stage 11
1. Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini 161pts
2. Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervélo TestTeam 157
3. Robbie McEwen (Aus) Team Katusha 138
4. Mark Cavendish (GBr) HTC-Columbia 132
5. Jose Rojas (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne 122