Bradley Wiggins has warned Mark Cavendish (Deceuninck – QuickStep) that he could still be caught in the green jersey after the Briton was “shaken” by a skinsuit suit.
Wiggins revealed that the jumpsuit confusion had “shocked” Cavendish even before hopping on the bike and he was not surprised when the British rider chose to stay behind.
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“Mark, he was a little stressed this morning. He didn’t have a wetsuit to begin with.
I thought maybe it was a race issue but it’s actually his own team. From what I understand, they make his suits for him, the team has them made by Vermarc – who is a clothing sponsor.
“He obviously won two stages, both with combinations. He gave one with numbers as a thank you after winning and obviously I don’t know where the other is.
“I think he keeps a lot of his shirts with the numbers when he wins. He was expecting another skinsuit this morning initially and they didn’t have one.
“The reason apparently is that Sam Bennett only used two wetsuits last year, so they only did two this year. Mark was really aggravated and stressed by this from the start.
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“We saw him ride to the start, [he] wore the usual blue shorts with the green jersey.
I think it rocked him this morning because Mark is a bit of a perfectionist and loves having everything in place. It was quite stressful for him.
Despite the start, Cavendish maintained his grip on the green jersey and continues to be in pole position for the Tour de France top sprinter.
Consistency was key to Cavendish’s surprise push for the green jersey and Wiggins was asked if he thinks the 36-year-old could be caught at this point in the race.
“Yes I can. It’s by no means over,” Wiggins said.
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“As long as he continues to rack up the points like he does, keep that nice 50 point cushion, I think he will be fine.
“But it’s just consistency with the green jersey. Mark can’t have a bad day, which he hasn’t had so far.
“He’s been through the mountains better than most. Let’s not forget that Luke Rowe was knocked out and a few other guys and Mark was way ahead of these guys.
“It shows he’s in good shape. I think he’s on the right track halfway through the race for something that wasn’t his goal, the green jersey.
“I’m sure that will come naturally with his attempt to win stages.”
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