Surprise guest in Dax: Cipo is here!

By Brecht Decaluwé in Dax

Former world champion and master of the sprint, Mario Cipollini, was also present at the stage in Dax. The Italian of course gave his analysis of the sprint. "To me, it's strange to see that the sprints are very badly organised by the teams. There's no team controlling the bunch in the last 500 metres, not even in the last kilometre. I think Boonen needs a good train, as he is favoured by a sprint at higher speeds. McEwen and Freire have the same capabilities; they're both fast but also very agile in the sprint."

Laurent Jalabert, former winner of the green jersey, gave his opinion on Boonen's failures. "Quick.Step wants the green jersey with Boonen, but they also want a good GC with Garate and Rujano. The team might not be strong enough to chase those two objectives," he analysed.