Cavendish has shown again that he is simply the fastest man on two wheels over the last 500 meters. Quickstep, Milram, and Credit Agricole all set up their sprinters with every advantage, and Cavendish simply rode by them all.
Transition Stage
Stage Twelve was a flattish, high-speed stage favoring what are called rolleurs—riders who are strong, steady and fast over a long distance. The 168.5 km route actually sloped downhill—despite a few climbs (one a Category Four, the rest just hills) the overall route drops 350 meters from start to finish. The last four km start with a steep dip then a gentle downward slope, with a little lump at the 1-kn mark, then a gentle sloe down to the line.
The stage could certainly be a great opportunity for sprinters—if and only if the field isn’t shredded by breakaways. It is the breakaways that could be the story of the day—a stage like this could favors attacks, but with the tremendous pace the peloton has set in every stage this race, it was possible the big teams would keep all attacks in check so their sprinters could contest the finish.
