IF Mark Cavendish doesn’t grab victory in today (Monday’s) 160km stage between Samatan and Pau, he will probably have to wait until the final day of the 2012 Tour de France to go for a second stage win.
Even then, the Manxman’s regular Champs-Elysees celebrations may not be the nailed-on certainty it has become in recent years.
In a Tour in which four of the GB Olympic road race team have each won a stage, Cav’s hopes of a sprint victory on stage 13 into Le Cap d’Agde on Saturday failed to materialise when he lost time on a sharp climb 20km from the end.
He eventually rolled in 67th, more than eight minutes back on Andre Greipel and Peter Sagan who could well upset Mark’s ambitions in Paris.