Martin relishing mountain tests
The Garmin-SHARP rider had expected to cede significant time to the stage winner, in this case world champion Tony Martin, but his main goal was not to lose too much time on general classification.
The 26-year-old started the day in eighth overall, 2 mins 28 secs behind race leader Chris Froome (Team Sky) but following the latter’s blistering effort around the 33-kilometre course — which saw him finish second on the stage — Martin lost over three minutes and now trails Froome by almost six minutes.
It’s not such a travesty for Martin’s GC hopes, however, as he’ll look to the weekend’s gruelling mountain stages and next week’s hilly time-trial on Wednesday to claw time back.
Martin said that he was not worried about GC, but that won’t mean others will give him the kind of leeway he got on Sunday last.
“I’m just taking it day by day,” he said. “I’m treating it as if I’ve got 12 one-day races left and if the GC happens, it happens. It’s not what I came here for and there’s so much that can happen in these races. The main thing is to try and stay safe and get to the mountains, and then we’ll try and get another stage, and then who knows what will happen.”
His cousin Nicolas Roche fared much better yesterday, a product of being more suited to the flat time-trials but he also had his father Stephen advising him in his earpiece throughout the stage.
The Team Saxo-Tinkoff man finished 2.35 down on stage winner Tony Martin in 28th place and he jumps to 42nd on GC, though his ambitions of a high placing look dim.
But the day belonged to Froome and the Sky Team who, after Sunday’s ninth stage where they looked fallible, they now look to have the race well within their grasp.
Froome’s time of 36 minutes 41 seconds was 12 seconds off that of world time trial champion Tony Martin’s, but he can be happy to have taken more than two minutes out of both Alejandro Valverde and Alberto Contador to extend his lead in the general classification to 3.25 over Valverde.
“I’m really happy with how that stage went,” Froome said. “A time trial is always one of those really nervous days for a general classification rider.
“There are a lot of things that could go wrong but I was really happy to get through today with the time I had and having extended my lead on the other GC riders.”
Tony Martin’s victory will give Omega Pharma-Quick Step cause for celebration tonight after Mark Cavendish endured a rough ride on the 33km course from Avranches, jeered and whistled by some fans before being sprayed with urine by another.
Cavendish declined to comment on the matter, but his team spoke for him.
“I regret this, I always felt that cycling fans were gentlemen, enthusiastic people,” team manager Patrick Lefevere said.
“Mark is sad, he’s not upset, just sad. I cannot blame anyone, there are 100,000 or 200,000 people on the road, and one person decided to do this.”
The incident came with many fans still blaming Cavendish for a crash on yesterday’s stage 10 to Saint-Malo as the British national champion clashed with Tom Veelers in the final 100m, sending the Dutchman toppling to the ground.
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