FTDF Stage 5 - Cav Wins the Hard Way

While today was probably a good day for this guy.

It didn't go so well for a lot of these guys.

We'd been doing pretty well up till now, with relatively few casualties for the first week of the Tour, which is traditionally a nervous time. We had to wait till yesterday for the first retirement, from Jurgen Van De Walle, who had soldiered on after a stage one crash. That all changed today though, as riders were hitting the ground like nobody's business.

It might be quicker to tell you who didn't fall off today. Luckily Cycling News has already done a comprehensive crash report. So it's goodbye to Jani Brajkovic and Ivan Velasco, and not looking good for Tom Boonen. Rabobank/Bile Beans rider Robert Gesink also came down pretty hard, and is reportedly short on skin in several areas. It'll be painful night's sleep for him.

The remains of the bunch did eventually make it to the finish line. And when it approached, it was the usual suspects of Hushovd, Rojas and Gilbert who were up front. Mark Cavendish's HTC train didn't drop him off at the front like they normally do, but he put on an impressive turn of speed in a last minute burst for the line.

I'm sure Cav's result put a smile on the faces of those of you who shelled-out 20 Velocredits on him this year. He'll have to bag a few more wins to justify the investment though, and his opportunities are running out. I've updated the spreadsheet with today's results. And I'm afraid I've taken another pile of points today, to put the Bile Beans even further in the lead.

Stage 6 is the longest of this year's race at 226.5km. The way the race has been going so far, I don't expect the early break to be given too much leeway, so it'll most likely come together again for the finish. The last few km are uphill again. I'd be surprised if Gilbert didn't give it a go.