The Malaysian Insider :: Sports
The Malaysian Insider :: Sports |
| Cavendish goes green before mountain climb Posted: 13 Jul 2011 10:22 AM PDT LAVAUR, France, July 13 — Mark Cavendish beat hail, rain and rival sprinters today to snatch the 11th stage of the Tour de France and seize the green jersey in the last flat stage before the Pyrenees.  Mark Cavendish (left) is congratulated by HTC-Highroad German teammate Bernhard Eisel. — Reuters pic Ideally set up in the final stretch in Blaye-les-Mines by his faithful lead-out teammate Mark Renshaw, Cavendish surged ahead 200 metres from the line in Lavaur. Germany's Andre Greipel, who beat his former team leader the previous day in Carmaux, had to be content with second place this time ahead of American Tyler Farrar — winner of the third stage in Redon. "Yesterday I feel I made a small mistake, Andre rode one of the most technically sound sprints I've ever had to sprint against," Cavendish told reporters. "What gets me down is to see these eight guys ride themselves to the ground for me and I can't finish the job for them. I told them I'll win tomorrow. "And I had to win after the work those eight guys did today. There was no other option really," he said about his HTC Highroad teammates. Cavendish's victory was all the more impressive as his foot hit the front wheel of Frenchman Romain Feillu with 500 metres to go so that the buckle of his shoe came off and he had to put it back on. "I was lucky there were no swerves in the peloton. It could have been quite dangerous," he said. But there was no denying the Manxman even though the heavy storm that poured on the riders in the finale did not help the chase behind the day's early escapees, who were reined in 2km from the line. One of the hardest parts of the Tour now starts for the British sprinter, who struggles in the mountains, with three days up in the Pyrenees. However, he will almost certainly keep the points classification green jersey until the beginning of the third week in Montpellier. 'Most beautiful jersey' Cavendish, who has made the green jersey one of his main goals on this Tour, now leads the points standings on 251 points followed by Spain's Jose Joaquin Rojas on 235 and Belgium's Philippe Gilbert on 231. "For me it's incredibly important. It's the most beautiful jersey in the world, it's what I came for and it took me half the Tour to get it," said the 26-year-old, who kissed the garment when he received it on the podium. "There's two more bunch sprints, one in Montpellier and the one in Paris. It will be difficult because I tire out little by little. But I'll just keep fighting, give it my best shot and see what happens." Voeckler retained his overall lead with a 1:49 advantage over Spain's Luis Leon Sanchez and 2:26 over Australia's Cadel Evans. "It was a wet and stressful day, but one more day in the yellow jersey is great," Voeckler said. "To be honest I expect to lose it tomorrow but it doesn't mean I'm not going to fight to keep it." His Europcar team director Jean-Rene Bernaudeau was not so defeatist. "Thomas will never admit it but I think he can keep it unless the favourites attack as early as the first climb," he said. "If they wait for the last climb, I don't see Thomas losing 2:30 on it." In spite of the dreadful weather and recent crashes, none of the favourites found themselves in trouble in the short ride to Lavaur — Evans, three-times champion Alberto Contador and the Schleck brothers all finished inside the main pack. They will have 211km and three classic climbs to the finale of the stage in Luz Ardiden tomorrow to battle it out. — Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| Sandwich will take a big bite out of Kaymer’s energy levels Posted: 13 Jul 2011 09:19 AM PDT SANDWICH, England, July 13 — Martin Kaymer is preparing for an energy-sapping mental and physical examination at this week's British Open, the world No. 3 said today. "The British Open is so different to all the other tournaments," the German told reporters at the Royal St George's links. "You have to be very creative and you have to think a lot — it's a very tiring week. It's a big challenge but we are the best players in the world so it should be tough."  Martin Kaymer practising on his energy intake at Royal St George's in Sandwich. — Reuters pic "Some days you get some good breaks, some days you get some bad breaks, but that is what the golf course and the tournament is about," he said. "That is what I like about it, it's not normal. You have to play different golf sometimes." Kaymer, who broke through for his first major victory at the US PGA Championship last year, said Sandwich demanded accuracy. "Sometimes you don't even see the fairway, you just see rough and some bunkers and the landscaping and the background," said the 26-year-old. "You need to be very precise with targets. That makes you have to think a lot and it takes up more energy. "You have to concentrate more and focus more and you have to be like this probably on every single shot. Every single shot is difficult, even the short putts." Kaymer topped last year's European money list but he said Ryder Cup teammate Rory McIlroy's stunning eight-shot victory at the US Open last month had spurred him on to work even harder. "The way Rory played made me feel like I need to practise more," said the German. "I need to go back to the driving range and hit more balls to become a better player because he played that course at Congressional in almost a perfect way. "It motivates you and inspires you." — Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
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