Mark Cavendish stuck his fingers up at his critics as he crossed the line for only his second win of the season on the Tour de Romandie on Thursday.
Set for the finale by his Team Columbia train, the Briton surged with 200m to go to easily upstage Germany’s Danilo Hondo and South Africa’s Robbie Hunter.
It was Cavendish’s 58th career win and the second this year after a Tour of Catalunya stage, but his difficult beginning to the season had raised doubts about his form and involvement.
PHOTO: AFP
The world’s best sprinter made it clear he thought the criticism unfair and unfounded by making an unequivocal gesture at the finish.
“I did it really to say I’m back. Today I showed I had not lost it, that my team had not lost it. It was not only me who was written down, but also my team,” he said.
Cavendish said he had spent three weeks in bed with a dental infection at the start of the season and had only been able to ride competitively for 20 days.
“We sat down with my team and decided that to neglect wins and concentrate on me getting fit was the best way to prepare for my goal of the season, which is the Tour de France green jersey,” he said.
Last year, Cavendish lost the Tour’s points classification to Norwegian Thor Hushovd after the Briton was docked points for dangerous sprinting at the end of a stage.
The Tour de Romandie, with its climbs and mountains, is one of the preparation races for the Manxman ahead of July’s Tour de France, along with the Tour of California and Tour of Switzerland.
“I’m never going to win a mountain stage, but it’s not a problem for me. As my form gets better throughout the season, I’m always going to suffer in the mountains, but I’ll be ready to suffer longer,” he said.
■TOUR OF THE GILA
AFP and AP, LOS ANGELES
and SILVER CITY, New Mexico
Lance Armstrong finished in third place in a windy second stage of the Tour of the Gila on Thursday, helping teammate Levi Leipheimer preserve his overall lead.
Luis Amaran beat out Leipheimer in the final sprint to win the 96km loop that started and ended in Fort Bayard. Seven-time Tour de France champion Armstrong finished in a group of about 20 riders.
Powerful wind gusts hampered the field, with riders protecting teammates being the major focus of the teams. That’s just what Armstrong and RadioShack teammate Jason McCartney did, protecting Leipheimer for much of the race, as the course became more hectic and windy down the stretch.
“You could tell that the riders were trying not to get wind blown,” race co-director Jack Brennan said. “By the time the racers came out of Bayard toward Fort Bayard, Lance was sitting in third position and then fragments of riders fell off the pace, as the riders sprinted toward the finish line.”
Meanwhile, Armstrong announced that he and his girlfriend are expecting their second child in a year.
He made the announcement using the social networking site Twitter, indicating that the new born could arrive in October.
It would be the fifth child for Armstrong.
“Getting ?’s today about someone I’m following, a certain @Cincoarmstrong. What to say? Yet another blessing in our lives. I cannot wait!” he wrote on his Twitter page.
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