MARK’S PUSH FOR VICTORY IS DENIED BY ‘RENEGADES’

MARK CAVENDISH came close to rekindling former glories in the stage seven sprint to the line, finishing tenth on the stage to Chartres, after showing his best form since the Tour began in the Vendee a week ago. Sprinting among the front ten riders, the Manxman looked set to challenge for the win until his pace was checked, seemingly, by Peter Sagan in the final 100 metres, as Dutchman Dylan Groenewegen moved clear to take his first victory in this year’s Tour. ‘I was following quite good wheels, but it was choppy. There were a few renegades about,’ Cavendish (below) said. ‘I was picking wheels and seemed to be in a good position. ‘I was quite excited and when I kicked my power was pretty good but it wasn’t enough. I had a little coming together and it just stopped me dead. ‘I just keep trying, our backs are against the wall all the time here. It’s not going to be easy to win here but we keep trying. ‘Also, if cycling journalists talked about some really choppy riders rather than me, trying to get clicks, then we’d see who they really are.’ The finishing sprint was the only action in a stage that saw little action, or change in the standings, aside from race leader Greg Van Avermaet of Belgium snatching a three-second time bonus. The real intrigue came off the road when French cycling legend, Bernard Hinault, winner of five Tours, again criticised Chris Froome’s presence on the race. ‘The other day I was with a youth coach and before races parents have been giving Ventolin to children who aren’t sick,’ he said. ‘People copy what the stars do. ‘I wish Froome all the best as he’s up against a lot of people who don’t want him here. Mentally it must be tough to have all those people booing.’ Froome responded to Hinault’s comments by saying: ‘I don’t hold grudges. I’m not fazed by any of the background noise — I just get on with racing, it’s water off a duck’s back to me. ‘Over the years I’ve come up against one thing or another, it’s just something else to deal with out on the road — where it matters.’