Yellow Jacket for Chavanel following gentleman's agreement
Sylvain Chavanel, cycling professionally since 2000, won two stages of the Tour de France, once in 2008 and again today. Prior to this victory, the mention of Chavanel's name at the 2010 Tour de France was tainted with bad luck due to an injury after a crash on the Liege-Bastogne-Liege classic two months ago that left him with a fractured skull.
The same stretch of terrain from Brussels to the Wallone region of Belgium that fractured Chavanel's skull also brought him victory today. Slippery roads due to rainy weather and oil spills propelled the Peloton—the pack of riders partaking in the tour—to agree on a slow-down on the second stage of the Tour.
The agreement did not save all the cyclists from falling down. American favourite Lance Armstrong and Team Saxo-Bank contender Frank Schleck both took spills on the slippery path. Most cyclists were able to rejoin the peloton, but between the agreement to slow down and the numerous tumbles, Chavanel was able to turn his own bad luck and the bad luck of the other cyclists into a victory for himself by finishing the second stage of the race in first place-almost a full four minutes ahead of the pack.
Chavanel now happily and proudly sports the coveted yellow jacket, worn to signal the rider currently in first place, and he told the Toronto Star that although his win is being overshadowed by the crashes, he "owes nothing to the crash. If the peloton decided to relax, it's good for me."
Chavanel also boasted to the Toronoto Star that his win simply demonstrates that "the wheel can turn quickly in cycling." While the quick turn of the wheel meant a quick turn of luck for Chavanel, it meant disaster for many other riders. Many humbly related their own bad luck and loss to poor weather conditions, while other riders-like Thor Hushovd, a Norwegian competitor in the Tour de France, are protesting Chavanel's wheel of fortune.
Hushovd said that he felt frustrated and ripped-off, stating that the gentleman's agreement not to sprint held many competitors back.
Veteran German rider Jens Voigt of Saxo-Bank was equally affected by the agreement not to sprint but held a different perspective on his loss. Although Hushovd might feel that a slow-down cost him the jacket, Voigt siad that he was happy to sacrifice what he calls “your own little 10 minutes of fame,” for his fallen teammates.
Cancellera, in second place behind Chavanel, brought the protests and controversy to an end by not contesting the last leg of the race. Being the cyclist with the most to gain from protests, he called the agreement to wait for the rest of his team before crossing the finish line “the right thing to do,” according to an interview with Velo News.
Tomorrow will see the anticipated third stage of the race as the riders will enter French soil through Porte du Hainaut. Slippery conditions are expected once again and many viewers anxiously await Cancellera’s reaction to the next leg of the race if it turns out to be as brutal as stage two was.
Will he have the same brotherly spirit, or will he start to mimic Hushovd’s feelings if he once again misses out on his chance to score points or even to win? Either way, it is clear that the Tour de France is not just a race to the finish line, it is a fight for survival. Chavanel told Cycling News that he not only had a good chance of surviving Tuesday’s 213 kilometer, cobblestoned section of the race, but also of holding onto his jacket.
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