Stage 7 – Fun in Fougères

Racism’s Still Alive – They Just Be Concealin’ It

Teklehaimanot dons the Polka Dot jersey, but the MTN-Qhubeka team still suffers the brunt of racism in cycling.

Yesterday, I took a moment to comment on the accomplishments of Daniel Teklehaimanot from the MTN – Qhubeka team and what a historic moment it is for African riders in the peloton.  Unfortunately, progress comes slowly for race relations, and today, CyclingNews reported that another of Teklehaimanot’s teammates racing the the Tour of Austria, Natnael Berhane, also of Eritrea, was verbally attacked by Branislau Samoilau, who called Berhane a “f***ing n***er” during the race in Austria.  Racism and discrimination have very real impacts on people and the world, and the peloton has no place for this blatant bigotry and racist behavior.  I hope that CCC Sprandi Polkowice, whose roster looks a bit too dominated by white folks, both removes Samoilau from the squad immediately and makes a concerted effort in the future to promote diversity among its squad in particular and the peloton as a whole.  Those who are most responsible for discrimination have the most responsibility for combating its ill effects.

Racism and cycling have a history that has too long been ignored or papered over, including at last year’s Tour de France. Teams and organizers must work harder to address the blatant discrimination that occurs at all levels of cycling around the world.  The UCI has been behind the curve on this question and should take a note from (I gag even as I think this thought) FIFA.  That’s right!  FIFA.  Cycling needs to step up their anti-discrimination game and learn that we live in the 21st century, and literally EVERY OTHER SPORT has more progressive anti-discrimination policies across the board.  ASO and the UCI have a moral and social responsibility to combat racism and discrimination wherever it exists in the peloton, and riders who use racist language or behave in a discriminatory manner should be immediately suspended or banned from professional racing.

If you need any proof that racism acts in subversive and unseen ways in cycling, ask yourself: Do you know who Marshall Taylor is?  If not, read up on him.  He is the peloton’s Jackie Robinson, except The Black Cyclone was breaking records and proving racists wrong decades before Robinson swung a baseball bat.  Progress comes in fits and starts and we still have a long way to go folks.

Stage 7 Review – Livarot to Fougères

Today’s race into Fougères promised to be a big day for the sprinter’s teams.  Stage 7 is one of only a few stages to offer the maximum of 50 points in the Green Jersey competition, and look for all the big competitors to race to the finish in a bunch sprint.  A couple of key withdrawals occurred before the start this morning.  First, Tony Martin was unable to continue after yesterday’s crash. Martin underwent successful surgery on the broken collarbone and is doing well according to reports.  Gregory Henderson, André Greipel‘s key lead out man, also withdrew today, possibly hurting The Gorilla’s chance to win today’s stage.  Henderson broke three ribs and was unable to breathe deeply after his heart rate increased, and could not continue in the race.

Because Tony Martin withdrew from the race, the yellow falls on the shoulders of Team Sky‘s lead rider, Chris Froome.  Froome, however, did not have the opportunity to wear yellow or decline the opportunity, as Tony Martin was a DNS (Did Not Start), meaning that the yellow was not Froome’s to take.  and will wait until the end of the stage (perhaps?) to claim the leader’s jersey.  Perhaps Froome avoided the Based God Curse I talked about yesterday, and can avoid the Maillot Jaune as long as he can.  After yesterday’s crash, Froome was the target of much consternation on the part of Italian Champion Vincenzo Nibali, who thought that Froome had caused the crash.  After joining Nibali on the Team Astana Bus to watch the replay, the two resolved their differences.  

Today’s race started relatively calmly, with 5 riders jumping out early for a breakaway, including the new Polka Dot Jersey holder, Daniel Teklehaimanot, who took the first and only climb on the day to extend his lead over Joaquim Rodriguez by another point.  John Degenkolb took the intermediate sprint (6th overall after you count the 5 riders in the breakaway) with Peter Sagan in second and Greipel in third.  Teklehaimanot dropped out of the breakaway with about 30 km to go after completing his work for the day in the mountains category and shortly after the breakaway was reeled in by the peloton with about 11 km to go.  The sprint finish today occurred without incident and the result at the line was Cavendish, Greipel, Sagan.

Three Gears and Three Tears

Each day that I write about what is going on at the tour, I am going to acknowledge three efforts that were outstanding, reshaped the race outcome, or were just generally impressive given the conditions on the road.  The Gears in each day’s race drove the outcome, and the Tears are riders who missed key opportunities, crashed out at inopportune moments, or generally underperformed.

First Gear -Mark Cavendish

The Manx Missile finally gets his stage win today in the 2015 Tour.  Cavendish now has an impressive 26 stage wins over his career in the Tour, and look for him to add to that total over the next couple of weeks.  After a poor leadout on Stage 2 and some frustrating news yesterday with the injury to Tony Martin, Cavendish ends a 36 stage cold streak to take the line in Fougères.  Cavendish used Greipel’s own tactics against him, sitting on the wheel of The Gorilla until the final seconds, launching himself out from the slipstream of the rider from Lotto Soudal to cross the line by a wheel.

Second Gear – Peter Sagan

Sagan came in third today, and gained another time bonus on the finish line putting him only 11″ off the pace of the Maillot Jaune.  One more time bonus tomorrow on the Mur de Bretagne and Sagan could be donned in yellow for the TTT on Sunday.  The most impressive feat for the Slovak champion is operating as a free-agent on every one of these sprints.  Tinkoff-Saxo is built to support Alberto Contador, so cannot offer Sagan the leadout train that benefits all the other major sprinters.

Third Gear – Team Sky

Sky did a great job protecting Froome today on the race, ensuring that their race leader would wear the Maillot Jaune on the podium in Fougères.  Sky continues to dominate the peloton and look for them to put in an impressive effort on Sunday for the TTT from Vannes to Plumelec.  Sky may not win the TTT, but they should extend the lead for Froome.  The only real threat to the Maillot Jaune should come from Team BMC, who are in prime position to put the yellow on the shoulders of Tejay van Garderen.

First Tear – Branislau Samoilau and CCC Sprandi Polkowice

(Racist. See above.)

Second Tear -Giant-Alpecin and John Degenkolb

Degenkolb has not really shown up in the sprints this year and without their sprint leader Marcel Kittel, the Giant-Alpecin team has been frustrated time and time again on the sprints.  Look for Degenkolb to try and win on the Mur de Bretagne tomorrow.

Third Tear -André Greipel

Coming in second to Cavendish isn’t the worst result for the Green Jersey, as the Etixx-Quick Step rider is not really in close contention for the points lead just yet.  This may change over the next couple weeks, but Greipel did finish ahead of Peter Sagan by a handlebar, slightly extending his lead over the Tinkoff-Saxo rider.

Stage 8 Preview

Mur de Bretagne – another uphill kick to finish a mostly flat stage.  Look for Rodriguez, Froome, Contador, and Valverde to battle it out over the final km as they tackle this….