Grand tours are tests of endurance. Covering thousands of kilometres in hot weather over several weeks, the races are meant to punish all comers. Consequently, the focus sharpens on racers contesting the general classification. Within the peloton, there are many who fight for other titles.
Sprinters are often most unlike the prototypical road cyclist. Where endurance riders tend to be lean and light with the capacity to push out efforts over long distances day after day, sprinters are much like their track and field counterparts — muscular, with bodies developed for short spasms of intense effort.
Sprinters may often come from track cycling, where shorter sprint distances demand strength more than endurance. The transition to road racing can be a difficult challenge as power must be sacrificed for endurance.
Even the best sprinters in the world of road cycling must be able to ride the full distance of a stage or one-day race before then exerting all of their remaining power in the race to the line.
Finding that balance can be a massive challenge. Mark Cavendish, one of the best sprinters in the world, has been cut from the British team for the 2014 road cycling World Championships because the course is expected to demand too much of the Manx rider. The power and speed that earned Cavendish the nickname “the Manx Missile” cut against his endurance to even make it to a sprint at the end of a hard course.
Thursday’s stage at the Vuelta a España was expected to be a sprinter’s affair. A flat circuit race around the city of Logroño totaling just 166.4kms makes for an easy ride for professionals.
The only rider with a lead out rider, John Degenkolb won the stage in a sprint from a small selection. The German won this same stage in 2012, and was among the favoured riders to win the 2014 stage. The Giant-Shimano rider already won two stages in the 2014 Vuelta, and wears the green jersey that signifies the leader of the points competition. The victory in Logroño completes a hat trick for Degenkolb with only one remaining chance for sprinters over the final 10 days of the race.
A cycling sprint is a wild experience. Unlike track and field, where athletes must stay in their own lane, no such boundaries exist in cycling. If a sprinter cannot win on speed alone, tactics come into play.
A lead out train is a string of riders racing for the same team as the sprinter. They ride in line in front of the sprinter, each one taking a short lead at the front while pushing the pace harder. The train gets shorter as each rider drops out of the lead to let the next person in line push the pace up further. Finally, the sprinter is left alone when the last of the train pulls away, and must power to the line, head down and back level for aerodynamic advantage. Speeds at the end of a sprint can reach upwards of 70km/h, even on flat roads.
If a rider is alone, or with a smaller lead out team, they may try to take advantage of traffic in an effort to drop their rivals.
With no rules to create order in a sprint, and the head down posture of a racer going flat out, spectacular crashes can happen. Cavendish was knocked down — and out — of the Tour de France on the opening stage this year during the sprint. His injuries were so severe he was unable to continue.
Perhaps the most amazing facet of a sprinter’s career is that often in the complexity of a stage race such as a Grand Tour, their achievements can be overlooked or quickly forgotten thanks to the emphasis on the general classification. Yet sprinters are some of the most powerful riders in the peloton, brought out to do battle in a special set of circumstances, and otherwise left to suffer as the route charges over mountainous terrain.
Sprinters will once again be the highlight of the Vuelta on Stage 17, next Wednesday. The 190km run to A Coruña is mostly flat, and follows a rest day. Degenkolb is likely to be heavily favoured. He may have mathematically sewn up the green jersey points competition by that point, but pride at winning four stages in one grand tour is a strong motivator.
Until that time, Degenkolb must pace himself over terrain unsuited to his specialization as the Vuelta continues through the mountains.