Edvald Boasson Hagen wins 6th stage of the Tour de France
Edvald Boasson Hagen and the Normandy town of Lisieux will take their places alongside the name of Jason Queally in British cycling history after Team Sky celebrated their first Tour de France stage victory.
A surge to the line by the talented young Norwegian fol lowing a brilliantly judged lead-out ride by his Sky room-mate Geraint Thomas means a tiny portion of the £25million investment in the first British road cycling team has been repaid.
Sky’s the limit: Norway’s Edvald Boasson Hagen raises his arms in triumph after securing victory in stage six of the Tour de France
Delight fused with relief to leave team principal Dave Brailsford promising a night of celebration in moderation as the team emphasis now switches to working for Bradley Wiggins in the general classification (GC). Brailsford said: ‘It’s very significant, a huge moment for the team and its development.
Sightseeing: The peloton passes by Le Mont-Saint-Michel during Stage Six of the 2011 Tour de France
‘We’re not even a year-and-a half old and we’ve won a stage in the Tour de France. We were jumping up and down and shouting so much when Edvald crossed the line that the team bus nearly turned over.
‘We’re going to stop and enjoy this. I’ve always been one to look forward to the next challenge and not take in the moment, but in this game, when something like this happens, you’ve got to stop and enjoy it.
Leader of the pack: Boasson Hagen lead the way to record Team Sky’s maiden win on the Tour
‘We’ll have a glass of champagne tonight and then focus on the rest of the race.’
Unlike Chris Boardman, who won Olympic gold in Barcelona in 1992 in spite of the system, not because of it, Queally’s Olympic gold in the 1km time-trial in Sydney in 2000 was the first gained by a British cycling regime which came to rule the track world eight years later. It heralded an era of dominance.
Whether Boasson Hagen’s triumph in the land of calvados will see Team Sky squeezing the pips out of their road racing rivals in the years to come remains to be seen. It is at least a start.
The moneyed upstarts now belong, having earned a stage win on Le Tour.
They do not require it and their huge budget does not mean it will necessarily be forthcoming, but a little respect may also begin to drift in their direction.
Brailsford added: ‘We get criticised, and I’ve been criticised for being over-ambitious, but if you don’t aim high in life you won’t achieve anything.
‘We always felt we could win an early stage but it doesn’t matter how good your planning or your set-up is, it’s all about momentum, energy and confidence.
‘There is no better lead-out man in the world than Geraint Thomas. This is just exciting for British cycling and it’s perfect for Brad.
‘It takes the pressure off the team and now we can focus on getting down to the mountains unscathed and plotting the GC campaign.’
Yesterday’s victory for 24-year-old Boasson Hagen sprang from panic on the start line when he had to hurriedly change his bike before the flag dropped in Dinan.
The Norwegian, who has long been viewed as one of cycling’s future superstars, suffered with an achilles problem during last year’s Tour and he endured a bout of shingles prior to this year’s event.
There was universal joy for him among the team.
Wiggins said: ‘It’s great for Edvald that he got a win because he’s the first to sacrifice his chances for me.
‘Now, when he’s working in the next days, he’ll know he’s already got something.
‘We haven’t dedicated a lot of riders to him to help him. Up until now, it’s been Swifty (Ben Swift) and G (Thomas), so to still do that is fantastic. He’s more than a sprinter. He can do anything.’
SOURCE: Daily Mail
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