In the first sprint opportunity at this year's Tour de France, Mark Cavendish went from being on the cusp of history, to being thankful to finish the stage.
The Brit placed 113th on the flat run-in to Turin – won by Intermarché-Wanty's Biniam Girmay – rolling over the line at a canter after he was caught behind a crash inside 4km to go.
At his Astana-Qazaqstan team bus afterwards, throngs of fans gathered to collect Cavendish's autograph. "If you push it closer, I can't sign it," he politely warned one, clutching a Sharpie in his right hand. He then turned to the media to recount his view of the finish.
"I wasn't the only one just lucky to stay upright," Cavendish said, a sense of relief in his voice. "I had too little to see what was going on, so I hear it, and hear people closer, in front of me going [to crash], and you're fully on [the brakes].
"It's not about thinking you're going to hit someone, it's waiting for someone to hit you from behind. So I'm just skidding and waiting to get hit from behind. Luckily we didn't, and we kind of got through."
'Getting through' has been the theme of Cavendish's Tour so far. On the opening day in Florence, he was pictured vomiting in the heat, and ended the stage 39 minutes down. Another hilly day followed, with gradients reaching up to 20% on the San Luca climb in Bologna.
How was Cavendish feeling going into the first sprint day? "I didn't feel bad," he said. "I don't think anybody's legs are feeling good, to be fair. [Tadej] Pogačar, maybe his legs feel good. Everybody else is a little bit tired.
"It was a long day," he continued. "It wasn't easy enough that you could recover, it wasn't hard enough [either]. It was just a little bit uncomfortable all day, but it's ok. I've kept something in the legs, and I'm ready to hit the Alps tomorrow."
"I don't think anyone's seriously hurt [from the crash], which is very, very good news. We didn't sprint, but we're safe. That's the main thing."
Cavendish's fortunes appeared against him earlier in the stage when, inside 90km to go, he stopped at the side of the road to change both of his bike's wheels. "Double puncture," Astana-Qazaqstan DS Stefano Zanini told Cycling Weekly at the finish. Cavendish himself said he has "always been fidgety".
Ahead of this year's Tour, the Brit identified "five or six chances" for the sprinters, as he went in search of a record-breaking 35th stage win.
An Isle of Man flag lay draped over the hoardings with 100m to go in Turin, property of two roadside fans, anxious to witness their fellow islander make history. Would it be first time lucky? Not quite, but optimism rung out in the sprinter's final words. "We keep going," Cavendish said. Stages five and six are likely to be his next chances.
