Our second installment of #OPQS Best Moments 2013 once again involves the Giro d'Italia. This time, it involves a complete team effort despite treacherous conditions in order to set up the "Manx Missile," Mark Cavendish, for a historic 100th career win.
Cavendish already had two victories at the 2013 Giro, wore the maglia rosa, and was well placed for the red "points" jersey. However, this third victory was perhaps more special. OPQS had to put all their man power to the front, in torrential downpours, to bring back a five-rider breakaway that had as much as a minute gap with 10km remaining. If OPQS were to bring Cavendish to the line in victory, the whole team had to use up every bit of power left in their already exhausted legs in the final kilometers.
The escape group's gap in stormy weather was good enough to make the catch questionable until the final few hundred meters. However, young Julien Vermote and Matteo Trentin — roommate and close friend of Cavendish — went above and beyond their normal leadout train duties to set up final leadout man Gert Steegmans for his own crucial responsibility.
"It was incredible," Cavendish said after the stage in May. "We left it until right at the end. The break had a minute with 10km to go. That's hard to pull back on a circuit in the rain. Cannondale came to the front but it was more left to my men. Young Julien Vermote pulled and pulled until his legs couldn't come around anymore. Matteo Trentin normally would come to the front with about 1km to go, but with 2.5km to go he took over and just rode and rode. It wasn't easy as we were close to not catching the break. Gert Steegmans could have gone and left me in 'no man's land,' but he waited and waited. I was actually stressing a bit to be honest."
Thanks to the fantastic and grueling effort of OPQS, Cavendish had the opportunity to seal his 100th win. However, the late catch and the angle and power of the wind meant he still had his own battle to fight. He negotiated both the wind on the left side and the late launching of the sprint on the same side due to catching the break, anticipated the movements of the other sprinters, and finished off the extraordinary effort of his teammates with an overwhelming victory. The conditions of the storm, however, made it so Cavendish could only celebrate by lifting one hand. He also devoted the victory to his teammates for their outstanding work.
"I'm happy that I could do it here at the Giro d'Italia, but more than the fact I've won here, I'm proud of how we did it," Cavendish said, still gushing about the work of the team after his 100th win. "We came here with the intentions of trying to win every sprint. We haven't just won every sprint, we've won it quite convincingly. We controlled the peloton from start to finish today, in quite horrid conditions actually. The real experienced guys like Gert or Vermote, they just rode out of their skins. The guys went longer than what I thought was possible. From Brambilla and Serge riding on the front, to Golas, Keisse, and also Pineau bringing back a breakaway. It looks difficult to bring back when other teams don't want to do it. Vermote rode at the end for about 5km, and then there was Matteo Trentin and Gert Steegmans really controlling the final. It could have been easy to get carried away and leave me alone too soon, but they didn't do that today. They really rode with their heads, and also with their hearts, the whole team. They really did something special today, each and every one of them. So, that's what has made me proud of this Giro more than the actual wins."
Review a photo gallery of the historic 100th career win here!