Etixx-QuickStep DS says he should have told sprinter to conserve energy on the cobbles
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Mark Cavendish gets a wheel change during stage 5 of the 2015 Tour de France.(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Mark Cavendish rides alongside the team car during stage 5.(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Mark Cavendish (Team Etixx - Quick Step) raced without teammates(Image credit: SWpixcyclingphotos.com)
Andre Greipel surges past Mark Cavendish to win stage 5 of the 2015 Tour de France.(Image credit: Getty Images)
Zdenek Stybar and Mark Cavendish (Etixx-Quickstep)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Etixx-QuickStep directeur sportif Brian Holm blamed himself in part for Mark Cavendish losing out in Wednesday’s bunch sprint to Amiens. Cavendish faded to third in the latter part of the sprint as he saw both André Greipel and Peter Sagan storm past him. Cavendish finished just outside the top 10 on the previous day’s pavé stage, and Holm said he believes that had he told the Manxman to hold back and conserve his energy, he may have stood a better chance of defeating his former teammate.
“We should have let Cav drop yesterday,” Holm said after stage 5. “I should have asked him to drop before the cobblestones and ride piano with the last group so he could be fresh for today. He probably had yesterday in the legs a bit. I saw Greipel drop off yesterday and maybe he was more fresh. Unfortunately that’s how it happens.”
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Born in Ireland to a cycling family and later moved to the Isle of Man, so there was no surprise when I got into the sport. Studied sports journalism at university before going on to do a Masters in sports broadcast. After university I spent three months interning at Eurosport, where I covered the Tour de France. In 2012 I started at Procycling Magazine, before becoming the deputy editor of Procycling Week. I then joined Cyclingnews, in December 2013.
