The top-10 stories of the second half of the 2011 Tour de France
- By Steve Frothingham
- Published Jul. 25, 2011
- Updated Jul. 26, 2011 at 2:20 PM EDT
After a week in France, Velo editor in chief Ben Delaney wrote about his choices for the top-10 moments of the first week. Now with the great gift of hindsight, we’ll pick the top 10 most important stories of weeks 2 and 3.
10. Greipel beats Cavendish straight up
It’s a story that had been building since at least 2010: HTC was blessed with at least two star sprinters: Mark Cavendish and André Greipel. Greipel realized he would never get a chance to compete for stage wins as long as he was on the same team as Cavendish, so he switched to the more modest Omega Pharma-Lotto squad for 2011. His new team lacked the lead-out train horsepower of HTC, but finally, on stage 10, Greipel and Cavendish wound up positioned for a straight up, man-to-man sprint. The result? Greipel outpowered Cavendish in the final meters.
Cavendish later said he made a mistake by jumping too soon, but was gracious in defeat. “Yeah, André just came past and beat me. I’m happy for him. He’s come to the Tour de France and he’s won. I’m disappointed, I feel I made a mistake. But Greipel beat me, so there’s no excuse I can say about that.”
Cavendish ultimately won five stages and the green jersey, while Greipel didn’t win another. But he took away a satisfying stage win and accomplished something very few other sprinters have done in the last four years — beating Cavendish in a straight-up, side-by-side sprint. With Cavendish reported to be looking to other teams for 2012, Greipel may get more opportunities in future Tours.
FILED UNDER: News / Road / Tour de France