More than 20 minutes after Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) claimed the victory on stage 6 of the Giro d’Italia, the sight of Mark Cavendish pedalling a solitary path towards the Astana Qazaqstan team bus made it clear that this had been a second successive, tough day at the office for the British sprint champion.
Following stage 5’s dramatic late, high-speed crash, Cavendish had already made it clear at the stage 6 start that although he was not badly injured, he was uncertain how the day would play out.
Cavendish was dropped on the first category 2 climb of the day, the Valico di Chiunzi, after - as he had predicted could happen - other teams had laid down a ferocious pace on the ascent.
However, the worst moment of the day for the Astana Qazaqstan rider came at the foot of the descent off the Colle de San Pietro, the unclassified climb which followed Valico di Chiunzi. Although yet to be definitively confirmed, the Briton was reportedly thrown off balance by a freakishly-strong gust of wind as the race reached the coast at Amalfi, according to the race organiser, and crashed, again.
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Images showed Cavendish lying hunched up in the middle of the road, his bike beside him, as other riders dodged past the fallen rider.
The same descent had already been made infamous in Giro history in 1997, when Marco Pantani returned to the race after a lengthy recovery from a crash in Milan-Turin in 1995, only to crash out after a cat crossed his path.
Fortunately, Cavendish was able to continue after his latest spill, but the Briton ended up crossing the line 18 minutes down.
He then had to spend more time in the stage 6 finish area before heading for the team bus as he had been selected for a routine anti-doping control.
An Astana team press release said afterwards that Cavendish had fallen but that he had managed to complete the course with strong support from his teammates.
“Mark Cavendish crashed earlier in Stage 6 in the end of the longest descent of the day from Colle San Pietro,” the press release stated. “He finished the stage surrounded by teammates, Samuele Battistella, Gianni Moscon and Christian Scaroni. Later in the evening, he will be checked carefully by team medical staff.”
Just the day before Cavendish hit the deck at the finish line in Salerno. During the reduced bunch sprint in the rain that made roads treacherous, he first bobbled on the painted white line, but stayed upright. But then DSM sprinter Alberto Dainese veered across his path causing the Briton to collide with another rider and hit the deck. Despite going flat on the ground, his forward motion carried across the finish, counted as fourth place.
Cavendish, like the rest of the peloton, now faces a much more difficult stage on Friday, a 218km high-mountain trek from Capua to the Gran Sasso. The next clear opportunity for a bunch sprint will come on stage 11 at Tortona.
