Desert winds
When the last of the peloton return to Europe on Monday, it’s fair to say they will be as sick of cross winds as cyclists in the UK are of rain. Qatar saw their number shredded on stage after stage, and frantically scrambling for a place in the echelon. Only Tom Boonen and his Omega Pharma-Quickstep troops appeared to relish the experience. It’s been a similar experience for the riders contesting the Tour of Oman, with the more varied parcours perhaps offering a little more shelter.
It was the same story on stage four, with eventual stage winner, Peter Sagan, highlighting the influence of the winds on his victory and on his failed attack the previous day. Cross winds are rarely a feature of European racing and the peloton, with the possible exception of Mark Cavendish, who brilliantly described the scramble for an echelon as like walking on breaking ice, likely to prefer it that way.
