Tour de France: The Sprinter’s trust in the last man

Jonathan Milan wins the 8th stage of the Tour de France, even if not everything works as planned in the sprint. Sometimes the sprinters have to judge themselves without their drivers, to whom they maintain a special relationship.

Mass sprints at the Tour de France rarely run as planned. That was no different in Laval, the destination of the 8th stage. With Jonathan Milan there was a not so surprising day winner – the Italian is one of the best sprinters in the world – but in order to fulfill the dream of a stage victory in his first tour participation, Milan had to make his own way on the last kilometer.

Milan had no longer had a teammate around the last 1,000 meters who could have prepared the sprint. “It was difficult to set up a good train”said the man from Tolmezzo, who was clad with the green jersey of the pointed point: “I had to do more over the last 1,500 meters than I thought.”

Sprinter should usually save their energy up to the last 150 meters. To do this, you usually have an arrival, a last teammate who brings you into the ideal position there and to which the Sprinter maintain a special relationship.

It’s about trust

Trust – that is what everyone calls the first thing to do when it comes to her last husband. The man who has to deliver the sprinter in the right place for the final acceleration. Anyone who is at the back wheel of a team -mate at km / h 70 and more in a mass sprint who is supposed to put you in position must not doubt their in front.

The sprinter must be sure that his driver navigates him safely through the turmoil and brings him to where he wants to go. “He has to bring you so far that you weren’t a meter in the wind”describes the German Sprinter Pascal Ackermann, who became fourth in Laval, the requirement profile of the approach: “You just have to be fresh on the last 150 meters and you have to be able to keep your speed. And if you have driven a small sprint twice beforehand, then you no longer have your legs.”

Ackermann, 31, trusts the 25 -year -old British Jake Stewart. “I trust him because I noticed that he actually always drives in the race where I drive. I also know that he drives through gaps where I would also drive through, simply because you have to be a sprinter”says Ackermann, who, however, lost sight of his driver in Laval. But that is also part of it.

More than one Employment relationship

It is a functional relationship that Ackermann has received with Stewart. He had given the British trust, says the German Sprinter. This is rather unusual. As a rule, sprinter and drivers combine more than just an employment relationship. “It is often a very special, an intimate, a friendly relationship. That goes beyond the collegial”says the former German world -class printer Marcel Kittel.

Kittel, with 14 stage wins at the Tour de France, the most successful German cyclist after the number of daily victories, confidants over long distances during his career to the Dutch during his career Tom Veelers As a last man. The two are still close friends today: they live in the same place in the Netherlands, the two families are closely connected, the children learn to swim together.

In the current Peloton of the Tour de France, there are also several examples of a close relationship between sprinters and their starters. European champion Tim Merlier, who won the third stage in Dunkirk, relies on the services of Bert Vanlerberghe. “He is my best friend outside of cycling”says van Lerberghe in an interview with the sports show: “We have known each other since we have been eleven or twelve, for 20 years.”

Merlier and his driver alone

Merlier has only van Lerberghe at his side on the tour for the sprint preparation. The Soudal-Quick Step team is otherwise completely geared towards the ambitions of Remco Evenepoel, which should end the tour in Paris at least on the podium. “It is amazing how Bert and Tim usually solve it alone. This is impressive”says Maximilian Schachmann, who also drives for the Belgian racing team.

In Laval, however, this worked less well, also because Melier was stopped by a defect shortly before the final. Merlier and his driver had already lost themselves on the 3rd stage characterized by numerous falls – Merlier still won.

Of course, this made it easier to make the Annayse. Because that is also important for the relationship of a sprinter to his driver: openness in communication. “You have to bring this openness with yourself that you can analyze again after the race, okay, where did we go wrong, where would we have had to react differently, what did we do well”says Kittel.

Merlier never actually gives instructions on how to drive a sprint, says van Lerberghe: “He leaves the decisions to me.” It is important to keep calm in the hectic finale of a sprint stage, no matter what happens. “You have to give the sprinter peace. Even if you are a little too far back”says van Lerberghe: “You have to believe in yourself and the sprinter that there will always be the moment when you have space and come forward. You just can’t make too fast decisions, you have to be sure that the sprinter can follow.” An aer driver must be able to read the race at the last 1,000 meters, says Kittel.

If the result is right, it is perfect

The Italian Jonathan Milan also has a particularly close relationship with his driver Simone Consonniwith which he became gold in Tokyo at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo in the team tracking on the track. Unlike Merlier, however, Milan has a four -person sprint train, which usually prepares the sprint to him.

It is important that everyone works that they know what the other is doing. This allows you to exchange the positions if necessary. In Laval, Jasper Stuyven was the last man ahead of Milan, Consonni in the position before. “I think that’s one of the most important points in our train. In the end it makes the difference”said Milan in Laval. And even if everything did not go perfectly, as the “step -in” aer from Stuyven admitted: “If you win, everything doesn’t matter.”