Mark Cavendish (UK) took the race in a bunch sprint. For those who had been watching the various Worlds Road Races over the week, this shouldn't have been a surprise. All of the races had ended in bunch sprints. Bunch sprints are Cavendish's specialty (and in fact his only chance to win) and he made it payoff after a long, hard race.
That said Cavendish was amazing. His team rode at the front like his HTC-High Road team has done for him for year. The difference today is that his lead out train was swallowed by great tactics fron the Australian team. Then Cavendish frellanced his way to the front taking the win in a sprint where he didn;t have his optimal lead out.
Beware the foreign language on this. It is the entire last lap. Just skip to the 15 minute mark to see only the sprint.
Matt Goss (Australia) could have won won this race, but it would have been controversial. Goss finished second and took the silver medal, but he was in the lead and chose not to move towards the barrier. Had he done so, he would have blocked Cavendish's line to the front clearing the way for himself to win the sprint. Had he done so, Cavendish would have complained forever about his soon to be former teammate (both ride for the disbanding HTC-High Road team) blocking him out and we would have had controversy. Given the at time uneven leadership of the UCI, it would be interesting to see what they wold have done as far as race rulings.
Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland) almost made up for his defeat in the time trial, but he was pipped at the line for the bronze medal. Of all the people on the list of favorites, Cancellara was one of the least likely to contend in a bunch sprint. Cancellara though will contest nearly anything that is not a summit finish competantly and he showed that here. Unfortunately for him, all the best sprinters in the world were in this race and he was beaten for the bronze by Andre Griepel (Germany).
Sadly, Thor Hushovd (Norway) was unable to really contest the finish in his defense of the title. He was part of a group caught behind a crash early in the race and never made it back to the lead group to contest the victory. Time trial champion Tony Martin (Germany) was also in this group and failed in his bid to become the first double champion though he was unlikely to win this race given its sprint leanings.
Watching this race, it was evident we were headed to a sprint the entire race. The only question is who would be there to contest it. Once we got under four laps, it was evident everyone in the front group would be there. Despite the big crowds and entertaining racing, this course was not really a great course. Then again, what was anyone expecting? Denmark is flat as a pancake. Even the hills that are there aren't the kind of hills that really hurt.
The course didn't suit prolific winner Philippe Gilbert (Belgium). Gilbert can contest bunch sprints, but he doesn't have top end sprint speed. He needs a hillier course to really excel such as the ones he will see in the next few years. Gilbert will win his Rainbow Jersey at some point, this just wasn't his year despite his incredible form all season. I now expect him to repeat his annual fall rampage at the remaining races this season.
Final Top 10
1 Mark Cavendish (UK)
2 Matt Goss (Australia)
3 Andre Griepel (Germany)
4 Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland)
5 Jurgen Roelandts (Belgium)
6 Romain Feillu (France)
7 Borut Bozic (Slovenia)
8 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Norway)
9 Oscar Friere Gomez (Spain)
10 Tyler Farrar (USA)
No comments:
Post a Comment