The final sprint of the fourth stage of the Tour de France had a South African flavour as the race finally reached France. MTN-Qhubeka’s Norwegian champion, Edvald Boasson Hagen, finished fifth, while Tony Martin won with the logo of the a famous Cape Town wine estate on his jersey.
Martin, the three-time world time trial champion, rides for Etixx-Quickstep, a team that boasts Zdenek Bakala, the US-Czech businessman as their main sponsor and shareholder. He is a co-owner of Klein Constantia, and this year has put the wine estate’s name on the jersey of his World tour Team.
As Martin cruised home for the win in the final few hundred metres, Boasson Hagen led the sprint out of the final corner after a hard day on the cobbles heading to Cambrai, but was overtaken by John Degenkolb (Giant-Alpecin), Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo) and Greg Van Avermaet (BMC).
When MTN-Qhubeka powered by Samsung signed Boasson Hagen, there were suggestions by some that they had signed a rider at an uncertain time of his career.
The Norwegian had once been considered the golden child of professional cycling, nicknamed “Eddy” by his teammates at Team Highroad after Eddy Merckx, the greatest of his generation. No-one could emulate Merckx, but Boasson Hagen had the attributes to come as close as anyone. He won stages and helped two riders win the Tour de France, and taken a Belgian classic, but more was expected of him.
Just 28 years old, his best years are ahead of him and Brian Smith, MTN-Qhubeka’s general manger, believed that they were when he signed him for the South African Pro Continental team. He has been partly repaid for that faith with yesterday’s ride. Boasson Hagen slipped into the front group as the nervous peloton approached the cobbled sections and, save for a short spell when a break threatened to leave them behind, was always in contention. There is, said the team last night, more to come from him.
“It was a very good stage today,” said Boasson Hagen. “The team did well to keep me in front at all the important moments. I was feeling fine all stage and pretty good over all the cobble sectors. I was able to always stay in the first group and I thought in the end Giant would ride to have a sprint for Degenkolb but that didn’t happen. With Martin ahead I thought I would start the sprint early to have even the smallest chance of victory because my legs were still good, but we were not going to win the stage but I had to try. I am happy though and I am feeling really good at the moment.” - The Star