The first stage of the Tour of Ireland was held today under overcast skies. Home favorite and Irish National Champion Daniel Martin of Team Garmin-Chipotle began the day with his own personal battle with a touch of food poisoning. Thankfully the young Irishman bounced back and finished the day in the main bunch.
Perhaps the surprise of the day was that Mark Cavendish of Team Columbia only had one bike length on his fellow sprinters as he galloped home for the win. When asked by Gary Imlach about his experience of coming out of the Tour de France with four stage wins followed up by a dismal Olympic showing the Cavendish answered, “My form is not so good, my head is a little gone, and I’m a little depressed after the Olympics.” from The Isle of Man native took his frustration out on the roads of Ireland today punctuating his “Majorly bitter” feelings about his Madison performance in Beijing.
For the last 20 kilometers the race was full gas, and Team Columbia delivered their sprint star to the line perfectly once again. “It’s nice to get back and ride with the team, it’s a superb bunch of guys,” said Cavendish. It seems that the “good old days” of the Cipollini sprint train might be reincarnated for now.