Tour Watch

Stage 2 - Sunday, July 5 2009: Monaco - Brignoles 187km | Results

Members Know Best: British Cycling's members know the sport better than anyone and we're inviting you to share your thoughts on this Tour de France - use the comments section at the bottom of this page, or email them to editor@britishcycling.org.uk - For a start, who's going to win and why?

So Easy for Cavendish

It was all so easy in the end. As the head of the peloton turned the final corner and headed into the finishing straight in Brignoles, Mark Cavendish's Columbia-HTC team were the dominant presence at the tip of the arrow head of riders. However, several riders close to the front misjudged the final right-hander and although only a couple came down, the resulting chaos of braking, falling and overshooting riders thinned out the head of the race to a handful of riders. Tom Boonen was one rider who was forced to a halt.

Mark Cavendish in action in last week's national championships in Wales (Image: Andy Whitehouse)

Cavendish was odds-on to win anyway, but all of a sudden what few troubles he might have had melted away as his last lead-out man peeled off, leaving the Manxman to pull clear and sprint for the line, taking no chances. Garmin-Slipstream's Tyler Farrar is a fine sprinter, and he and lead-out man Julian Dean had held onto the Columbia-HTC train in the run-in, but he could do nothing but enjoy the best seat in the house as Cavendish roared across the line to take the win.

Earlier, the Columbia-HTC team had been instrumental in bringing back a break of four riders who spent much of the stage trying to build up a decent lead. The reached five minutes lead, but in sweltering conditions and with the peloton fresh and hungry, they were hauled back comfortably inside the last 10 kilometers.

Columbia-HTC then massed at the front of the field and gave Cavendish the perfect ride in to the finish. The final bend chaos underlined the need to be well placed in the run-in and it wasn't good luck that they avoided the problems which virtually split the peloton in two: planning, hard work and single-minded commitment to getting their rider to the finish meant they were always in control of their own destinies, clear at the front.

So Cav' has started the Tour in the best possible way. Even if you're the strongest sprinter in the race, things can go wrong and you can begin to lose confidence and get twitchy. With such an emphatic and well-planned win under his belt, he can look forward to a relatively pressure free pursuit of further stage wins and, perhaps, ultimately, winning the green jersey.

Finally, the other Brits: Dave Miller, Charly Wegelius and Brad Wiggins all successfully finished in the main field.

Queston of the day: Who can catch Cavendish?

Answer: It's never going to be easy, but Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Slipstream, Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervelo Test Team, Heinrich Haussler (Ger) Cervelo Test Team, Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step and Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank are amongst his main rivals for the sprint stages. But it's probably fair to say that on current form none are Cavendish's equal in a traditional bunch sprint and none have a team as well-drilled and committed to the cause. On ITV 4, Chris Boardman summed it up nicely when he said "the only way to beat him is not to get into a sprint with him!"

What's next? Stage 3 - Monday, July 6 2009: Marseille - La Grande-Motte 196.5 km