Will now slip into super-domestique role for Andy Schleck
Saxo Bank’s Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank) relinquished his yellow jersey to Frenchman Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step) following stage seven today, in what was the first test in the mountains for the riders in this year’s Tour de France. The Swiss powerhouse rode an impressive prologue and snatched the maillot jaune to make it four editions of the race where he has donned the sport’s most coveted fleece (2004, 2007, 2009 and 2010).
In the end, the temperature was a big factor on a day that turned out to be more difficult than the peloton expected.
“I was blocked,” Cancellara told Le Parisien about his legs during the stage. “It was hot, very hot. For me, it was too much. I could hold on no longer.”
Cancellara has picked up the yellow jersey twice in this year’s race, first after a blistering prologue performance, and then on the cobblestones of stage three, where he took it off the shoulders of an unlucky Chavanel. The Frenchman, who would have looked forward to the pavé, flatted three times on the way to the finish, which opened up a healthy gap to the Saxo Bank rider.
The prior day Cancellara had sacrificed his time in yellow by lobbying to neutralize the stage when his team leaders Andy and Frank Schleck were involved in a massive pile-up. Perhaps karma found the jersey back on the Swiss rider’s shoulders just 24 hours later.
“I had beautiful days with the yellow Jersey,” he reflected after today’s stage. “Tomorrow, I will ride in my normal Jersey. Things will be much more quiet and stress-free.”
Tomorrow Cancellara will go back to his role as the world’s most powerful domestique for teammate Andy, on a day where the peloton will take in five categorized climbs ending with the category one climb to the Avoriaz ski resort in the town of Morzine. Cancellara’s job for the day will likely be finished 30 kilometers before the finish, somewhere along the category one Col de la Ramaz climb. It will then be up to Schleck and the climbers on the squad to fend off the fireworks from defending Tour de France champion Alberto Contador (Astana).