World champion takes the shortest stage of the race as the mountains loom in the distance
Mark Cavendish (Team Sky) proved once again that he is the sprinter to beat in this year’s Giro d’Italia, with his third victory on stage thirteen, between Savone and Cevere, on the shortest road stage of the race. The World champion – wearing the red points jersey – took the line at the end of the flat 121km course more than a length clear of his nearest challenger, despite having to check his sprint as the gap beside the barriers closed a little ahead of him.
Norwegian champion Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) was the best of a large group of sprinters behind Cavendish, taking his best result of the race so far, just ahead of the World champion’s former lead out man Mark Renshaw (Rabobank), who also took his best so far.
“The [Team Sky] guys did so, so good today,” said Cavendish afterwards. “We can learn a lot from today. Greenedge did a great lead out and I was lucky that Goss closed down Renshaw and so opened the door for me. But I’m happy to have won.
“I’ve always said that if you look to try to beat another team and not focus on winning yourself, you won’t win,” he added. “That’s what we did today. As long as I’m in this team, we’ll always try to win and not worry about anyone else.”
Cavendish has started previous Giri with the premeditated intention of climbing off before the tough final week, but this time – with the race heading into the Alps the next day – the World champion insists that this is not the case.
“I came to the Giro d’Italia 100% determined to go all the way to Milan,” he said. “I wanted to win the red [points] jersey. Because of the crashes, the red jersey went out of the window a little bit. But I’ve recovered now and I’m feeling ok.
“As long as I don’t miss the time cut, I don’t see myself going home just yet.”
The stage was characterised by the expected breakway, as Martijn Keizer (Vacansoleil-DCM) and Francesco Failli (Farnese Vini-Selle Italia) escaped almost immediately, to form a two-man move for the day. The duo was allowed to open up a lead that reached a maximum of 5’30” in the first half of the stage, before steadily being wound in by Team Sky, FDJ-BigMat and Orica-GreenEdge.
Although the intensity of the peloton’s pace never rose very high, the two leaders’ advantage shrank very quickly in the second half of the stage, and they were caught with just under 22km to go.
Julien Berard (AG2R La Mondiale), Fabio Felline (Androni Giocattoli-Venezuela) and Julien Vermote (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) escaped towards the top of a short rise with seven kilometres to go. With the sprinters’ teams reorganised behind them though, the new breakaway trio was to last just two kilometres before being swept up.
Team Sky and Saxo Bank fought for supremacy in the final kilometres, but it was Orica-GreenEdge that took over as the line approached and set up stage three winner Matt Goss. The Australian was unable to hold off the rest of the sprinters however and, despite checking his speed a little as Goss briefly moved a little towards the barriers, Cavendish was able to power past his former teammate and take what ended up being a simple victory.
Race leader Joaquim Rodríguez (Katusha) passed a relatively quiet day in the peloton, and would take his Maglia Rosa into the Alps the following day.
There’s very little to foil the sprinters but Keizer and Failli try anyway
The rolling stage would take a predominantly northwesterly course, heading inland from the Ligurian coast, as the race took one step closer to the big Alpine rendezvous of the weekend.
The 4th category climb to Montezemolo, after 31.7km, would provide an ideal springboard for a breakaway group, and the sprinters’ teams would have just 90km to catch them. Only a couple of small bumps inside the final ten kilometres could deny the sprinters but – after several complicated finishing straights, featuring tight corners in the final kilometres – they were to be treated to seven kilometres of virtually arrow-straight tarmac as they wound up their legs to the line.
Keizer and Failli escaped almost immediately and, as Team Sky and FDJ-BigMat took control of the peloton, soon opened up a lead of more than four minutes. Failli was the best placed, some 43’59” behind Rodríguez and so there was nothing for the Katusha team to worry about; this was one of the few remaining chances for the sprinters though and so the duo was allowed to get no further.
As they passed the 100km to go signs, the to leaders were 3’33” ahead. Keizer was out to take back the lead in the Premio della Fuga classification, while Failli doubtless had the words of team manager Luca Scinto ringing in his ears; the Tuscan had been angry that his team had missed the previous day’s successful move, and expected his riders to make amends in this short stage.
After 25km a crash involving the previous day’s winner Lars Bak (Lotto-Belisol) and Reto Hollenstein (NetApp) at the rear of the peloton saw Hollenstein go down, and not get up. The Swiss rider was attended on the road for some time, but left the race by ambulance with an apparent broken collarbone.
Team Sky and FDJ-BigMat eased the pace of the peloton a little on the climb to Montezemolo, so as to not put their sprinters under pressure, and over the top the gap to Keizer and Failli had stretched to 5’30”, as blue jersey Michal Golas (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) sprinted for the final point over the top.
With no more climbs to come the sprinters’ teams begin to close the gap
With the major obstacle of the day behind them, the two sprinters’ teams began the long, steady task of pulling back the two leaders at just the right moment. Into the final 50km, the gap was down to 2’30”, as Orica-GreenEdge moved forward to help.
Under the 40km to go banner, Keizer and Failli were just 1’04” ahead and, as the Vacansoleil-DCM rider was allowed to roll over the Traguardo Volante sprint line, in Carrù with 38.3km to go, it was just 54 seconds as Cavendish sprinted for the remaining points.
Following the sprint the chase relaxed a little, as a number of riders stopped for ‘comfort breaks’ and Cavendish went back to his team car to change his helmet. Liquigas-Cannondale and Katusha rolled forward as the gap grew to 1’11” again; it was up as far as 1’20” as the two leaders approached the final kilometre, but Team Sky’s Jeremy Hunt had taken up station on the front again and, as Rabobank sent a man forward, it was coming down again.
With 22km still to go Failli and Keizer were virtually freewheeling, just a handful of seconds ahead and, just a few hundred metres later they sat up and allowed the peloton to sweep them up. The pace of the peloton was very low, as a number of the general classification leaders had their teams bring them to the front; the wide-spread bunch had to squeeze a little to get between the barriers at the 20km to go banner.
FDJ-BigMat began to lift the pace again however, and Rabobank and Orica-GreenEdge began to come forward in force.
Nobody seemed willing, or able, to launch a counter attack, as the different sprinters’ teams exchanged turns at the front of the peloton. Even the small blip, in Cherasco with 10km to go, didn’t provoke anything, although Cesare Benedetti (NetApp) and Dominique Rollin (FDJ-BigMat) came together and crashed.
One last try to stop the inevitable sprint
Movistar and Liquigas-Cannondale led the peloton up the last, hairpinned rise to the finishing straight, but as they were approaching the top Berard jumped away with Felline on his wheel. Vermote jumped across to them and the three began to work together but, with 5km to go Gamin-Barracuda and Team Sky reeled them in.
Former Maglia Rosa Ramunas Navardauskas was leading for the American team, with Movistar and Team Sky in his slipstream, but Farnese Vini-Selle Italia and Saxo Bank were trying to take over. The Danish team had control as they entered the final three kilometres, but Team Sky wanted it back and pulled the team forward up the middle of the road with one and a half left.
Under the flamme rouge, Cavendish had three black, white and blue jerseys ahead of him – with Renshaw and stage eleven winner Roberto Ferrari (Androni Giocattoli-Venezuela) on his wheel – but Tomas Vaitkus pulled the Orica-GreenEdge train past as the line approached. The Lithuanian pulled over for teammate Brett Lancaster to take over, and the Australian launched his compatriot into his sprint.
Cavendish got himself onto Goss’ wheel and was beginning to come around the Australian but – as his former teammate twitched a little and closed the gap to the barriers slightly – he was forced to check. With the way reopened in front of him, Cavendish was able to relaunch himself though, and took the stage by a clear length.
With Rodríguez and all the leading riders in the general classification finishing safely in the peloton, the Catalan would head into the mountains the following day with his narrow lead intact.