With the cancellation of Paris-Roubaix this weekend, I thought I’d be struggling for a big story. But NO! It was as if we all stepped into Dr Peabody’s Wayback Machine and arrived at the peak of Mark Cavendish’s pomp. He took the day in Monday’s stage of the Tour of Turkey and it looked like he went so fast he turned the clock back. Plus we have the return of Fabio Jakobsen, a generous Primoz Roglic and some pavé.
Rockets ablaze
Everyone had their hopes high when it was announced that Mark Cavendish would be returning to QuickStep for the 2021 season. With each race, he was getting closer and closer until in Monday’s Tour of Turkey stage, he brought that turn of speed that we remember and took his first blazing (and emotional) win of the season.
A video that will make your day 😃 pic.twitter.com/Js9xgNZo5n
— Deceuninck-QuickStep (@deceuninck_qst) April 12, 2021
💙💙💙 pic.twitter.com/Nv9OVsnOtO
— Deceuninck-QuickStep (@deceuninck_qst) April 12, 2021
— Amy E White (@AmyEWhite3) April 12, 2021
And what a popular win that was on our Twitterstream.
Can't remember seeing happier Cavendish after taking 147th pro win. It was literally a stage win that was won. Nothing based on luck. Greipel fulfilled partly retro top trio by crossing finish line in 3rd place. Hadn't bet on Cav but as tweeted yday, 🏆 not a surprise. #TUR2021 pic.twitter.com/6lLYWOBEP8
— ammattipyöräily (@ammattipyoraily) April 12, 2021
Not a dry eye anywhere surely!? 😅 I’d seen Cav had won, then watched the replay, still screaming at my telly C’MON CAV! & the way he appeared like The Phantom 💥
— 🅾️𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 (@OttilieQ) April 12, 2021
This has made my day! https://t.co/4oh86p1bLA
— Jacky 3.5%.😷🕷️💙 Please wear a mask/keep your space (@alswifejacky) April 12, 2021
Even the guy he beat!
I preferred to win after a great lead out by my teammates. But it’s an honour to stand on the podium with these two legends. Up to the Turkish Riveira tomorrow ☀️🏖 pic.twitter.com/uceq1IwpHT
— Jasper Philipsen (@JasperPhilipsen) April 12, 2021
A small part of me wishes I could be in the mix during sprints like this. 2 of the best the sport has seen @MarkCavendish @AndreGreipel
Hats off to the whole @TeamIsraelSUN sprint train. Happy I can still pass on my sprint preparation experience on paper if not on the road. https://t.co/g5Kb62rSvV— Greg Henderson (@Greghenderson1) April 12, 2021
I’m personally looking forward to Andre Greipel taking a win soon.
Last time Mark Cavendish and Andre Greipel finished together on the podium of a race was 1506 days ago.
— CafeRoubaix (@CafeRoubaix) April 12, 2021
And there was a very special rider helping Cav make his win a reality.
Tour of Turkey: Victory for Cav!
Mark Cavendish: "It’s incredible, it’s super nice and I never get tired of this feeling! What made me super proud was that Fabio was involved in this, working at the front in the finale"
More: https://t.co/qwgFWIhN2H pic.twitter.com/Gsle2t7q8q— VeloUK Cycling Mag (@AussieLarry) April 12, 2021
After that horrific crash last year, Fabio Jakobsen is back and in the lead out train.
Pic of the day 💙@MarkCavendish @FabioJakobsen @deceuninck_qst pic.twitter.com/Ed28qXXUva
— Brian Smith (@BriSmithy) April 12, 2021
This was what Fabio posted the other day – his first day back
Fabio Jakobsen: It was good for me to make my return with a short stage and get used again to being in a peloton. I must admit that in the beginning, when they went right and left and the bunch had to brake a couple of times, I got a bit scared, but afterwards everything was fine pic.twitter.com/qCF03CCh2G
— VeloUK Cycling Mag (@AussieLarry) April 11, 2021
👏🥰💪🔥 welcome back, champion!! Best of lucks with the season ahead, so happy to see you in the peloton again!
— Volta a Catalunya (@VoltaCatalunya) April 11, 2021
Giving gifts
After all the brouhaha of Paris-Nice and Primoz Roglic giving no gifts to Gino Mäder, we see that it wasn’t because Roglic was a vicious man. It was because it was the penultimate stage and he needed to take as many seconds (including bonuses). How do we know this. Because on Saturday, he fought back to win the overall by working with David Gaudu and Hugh Carthy in an audacious break. They let him take all the bonus seconds on offer during their time out front, then, under the flamme rouge, when he knew he had the overall clinched, he gave Gaudu a fist bump and the stage was the Frenchman’s. Because Roglic really is a good guy.
When your son scores his first goal in Sunday league.#Itzulia pic.twitter.com/HYfWwWTfjO
— Will Newton (@InsidePeloton96) April 10, 2021
Love the little fist bump between them as they went under the flamme rouge
What a finale to the Itzulia Basque Country yesterday! Gaudu and Roglič work together brilliantly for Gaudu to take the stage and Roglič the overall.
Relive the action with GCN+ 👇https://t.co/dLJWtRs0ym pic.twitter.com/jrvusmKZyN
— GlobalCyclingNetwork (@gcntweet) April 11, 2021
Rog always seems to be balanced, stable and focussed on the bike. Like the anti Alaphilippe
— Pursuit Books (@Pursuitbooks) April 10, 2021
Jumbo rider Jonas Vingegaard was in the chasing group with Rog’s arch-rival Tadej Pogacar, making sure that he was always on his wheel and making sure the chase group didn’t get organised. And he got himself second step on the final podium.
Vingegaard doing a great job disrupting the chase group. At the moment, the three-man Roglic group is stronger than the six-man Pogacar group, with Roglic doing basically all the work up front while Pogacar and Valverde wave their arms all over the place. #Itzulia2021
— Neal Rogers (@nealrogers) April 10, 2021
🇪🇸 #Itzulia2021
This is the meaning of #samenwinnen pic.twitter.com/KsbL7qRuGl
— Team Jumbo-Visma cycling (@JumboVismaRoad) April 10, 2021
Vingegaard doing a sterling job in this chase group.#Itzulia pic.twitter.com/SBaCdQVmm0
— Will Newton (@InsidePeloton96) April 10, 2021
Vingegaard #Itzulia2021 pic.twitter.com/mz9Ir2VJeg
— cyclingmagazine (@radsportmagazin) April 10, 2021
Hello I wrote about one of the most beautiful and exciting bike races of the whole season https://t.co/tV0ivMZC0B
— kate wagner (@mcmansionhell) April 12, 2021
It's not a hot take – because I pondered on it for a while – but here are my thoughts on Roglic and his giving of gifts in the peloton. https://t.co/ZI3sAQ2Pef
— Sadhbh O'Shea (@SadhbhOS) April 12, 2021
This is how Roglic celebrated his victory. He’s got his eye on that top step on the Champs.
Primoz Roglic put his rivals on notice as he reconrd both Tour TT stages the day after winning Basque Country. https://t.co/w5uHZ95dbS
— CyclingTips (@cyclingtips) April 12, 2021
The last word
Were Niagara but a cataract of sand, would you travel your thousand miles to see it?
— Moby Dick (@MobyDickatSea) April 12, 2021