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| Belgian Wins a Day After a Bus Blunder | Belgian Wins a Day After a Bus Blunder |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| AJACCIO, Corsica — Near the start line in Bastia, Corsica, on Sunday morning, fans and journalists milled about in the bright sun as they waited for the team buses to arrive. Typically, they would have been hoping to catch a glimpse of their favorite riders or chat with a team manager for the latest scoop. | AJACCIO, Corsica — Near the start line in Bastia, Corsica, on Sunday morning, fans and journalists milled about in the bright sun as they waited for the team buses to arrive. Typically, they would have been hoping to catch a glimpse of their favorite riders or chat with a team manager for the latest scoop. |
| But after a chaotic opening day at the Tour de France, when the Orica-GreenEdge team bus became stuck at the finish line with the riders quickly approaching, it was the bus drivers who were in the spotlight before the second stage, won by Jan Bakelants of RadioShack-Leopard. | But after a chaotic opening day at the Tour de France, when the Orica-GreenEdge team bus became stuck at the finish line with the riders quickly approaching, it was the bus drivers who were in the spotlight before the second stage, won by Jan Bakelants of RadioShack-Leopard. |
| Gary Atxa, the driver for Orica-GreenEdge, an Australian team, was in particularly high demand. Arriving late to the finish in Bastia on Saturday, he wedged the team’s bus beneath a metal frame hanging over the finish line. He eventually worked the bus free, but not before triggering a series of race-altering events that resulted in a major crash involving overall contenders like Alberto Contador. After the stage, Orica-GreenEdge was fined 2,000 Swiss francs, or $2,116, for “not respecting the scheduled time” for arriving to the finish. | Gary Atxa, the driver for Orica-GreenEdge, an Australian team, was in particularly high demand. Arriving late to the finish in Bastia on Saturday, he wedged the team’s bus beneath a metal frame hanging over the finish line. He eventually worked the bus free, but not before triggering a series of race-altering events that resulted in a major crash involving overall contenders like Alberto Contador. After the stage, Orica-GreenEdge was fined 2,000 Swiss francs, or $2,116, for “not respecting the scheduled time” for arriving to the finish. |
| “This was my first day driving the bus, so it’s not a good start,” Atxa told the European sports network Eurosport on Sunday. “I tried to sleep, but I had a lot on my mind.” | “This was my first day driving the bus, so it’s not a good start,” Atxa told the European sports network Eurosport on Sunday. “I tried to sleep, but I had a lot on my mind.” |
| He received support from colleagues like David Deroo, the Argos-Shimano driver, whose team’s young German sprinter, Marcel Kittel, started Stage 2 in the yellow jersey after escaping the large pileup in the final miles of Saturday’s stage. | He received support from colleagues like David Deroo, the Argos-Shimano driver, whose team’s young German sprinter, Marcel Kittel, started Stage 2 in the yellow jersey after escaping the large pileup in the final miles of Saturday’s stage. |
| “Every bus driver makes a mistake,” Deroo said as he set up barriers around his bus to protect riders from the anticipated crowd. “Every day it’s a stressful job for everyone here on the race. For the mechanic, for the soigneur. But you see how big our vehicle is and how expensive it is. It’s a big responsibility we have.” | “Every bus driver makes a mistake,” Deroo said as he set up barriers around his bus to protect riders from the anticipated crowd. “Every day it’s a stressful job for everyone here on the race. For the mechanic, for the soigneur. But you see how big our vehicle is and how expensive it is. It’s a big responsibility we have.” |
| But had Deroo ever experienced anything like what Atxa did Saturday? | But had Deroo ever experienced anything like what Atxa did Saturday? |
| “No, but this race, I’ve broken a mirror, I’ve touched the back of the bus to a wall one time, but nothing crazy,” Deroo said. “Believe me, even these small things are really difficult to accept in the end.” | “No, but this race, I’ve broken a mirror, I’ve touched the back of the bus to a wall one time, but nothing crazy,” Deroo said. “Believe me, even these small things are really difficult to accept in the end.” |
| Deroo, 28, has been driving the Argos-Shimano bus for a year and a half. There is little need to ask him what his profession was before this. He is as thin as the riders he will ferry throughout the three-week Tour, which ends July 21 in Paris. | Deroo, 28, has been driving the Argos-Shimano bus for a year and a half. There is little need to ask him what his profession was before this. He is as thin as the riders he will ferry throughout the three-week Tour, which ends July 21 in Paris. |
| Deroo rode for the team’s previous iteration, Skil-Shimano, until he fractured a femur in 2011. Wanting to stay in cycling, he studied for three months near his home in Roubaix, France, to obtain his bus license. | Deroo rode for the team’s previous iteration, Skil-Shimano, until he fractured a femur in 2011. Wanting to stay in cycling, he studied for three months near his home in Roubaix, France, to obtain his bus license. |
| Atxa is a former racer, too. Most bus drivers in this Tour are, Deroo said, except for those who are former mechanics. Drivers have responsibilities other than driving: preparing poststage recovery drinks and having fresh towels ready are also part of the job. | Atxa is a former racer, too. Most bus drivers in this Tour are, Deroo said, except for those who are former mechanics. Drivers have responsibilities other than driving: preparing poststage recovery drinks and having fresh towels ready are also part of the job. |
| “Not everyone is coming to work here just because they have a bus license,” he said. If you do not have an understanding of cycling, he continued, “it won’t work.” | “Not everyone is coming to work here just because they have a bus license,” he said. If you do not have an understanding of cycling, he continued, “it won’t work.” |
| For professional cyclists, their buses are beacons in the throng of fans, journalists and organizers at the beginning and end of each stage — a refuge from the chaos of the Tour de France, a place to recharge and recover. | For professional cyclists, their buses are beacons in the throng of fans, journalists and organizers at the beginning and end of each stage — a refuge from the chaos of the Tour de France, a place to recharge and recover. |
| On Sunday, Kittel was one rider who was not ready to get back to the bus. Although Kittel, 25, lost more than 17 minutes — and the yellow jersey — on a medium-mountain stage, he relished every minute of the 96.9-mile ride from Bastia to Ajaccio. | |
| “I had goose bumps; there were so many people screaming my name,” he said. “Unfortunately, we lost the yellow jersey, but that’s what we had expected.” | “I had goose bumps; there were so many people screaming my name,” he said. “Unfortunately, we lost the yellow jersey, but that’s what we had expected.” |
| Kittel still wears the green jersey as the race’s best sprinter, but barely. The stage winner, Bakelants, was yards from being caught at the finish line by a charging peloton, including Peter Sagan, second in the sprint points competition, who would have taken the green jersey if he had won the stage. | |
| “At 500 meters, I said to myself, ‘Hold on; this is going to be a nice day of your life,’ ” Bakelants said. “When I crossed the finish line, I was overwhelmed by joy.” | “At 500 meters, I said to myself, ‘Hold on; this is going to be a nice day of your life,’ ” Bakelants said. “When I crossed the finish line, I was overwhelmed by joy.” |
| Though Bakelants, a 27-year-old Belgian, showed promise by winning the 2008 Tour de l’Avenir, an amateur race that often features eventual Tour de France contenders, this was his first professional victory. Troubled by bad luck and serious injuries, including a fractured kneecap in the 2010 Giro di Lombardia, he was so overlooked that France Television initially announced that his RadioShack-Leopard teammate Markel Irizar had won the stage. | Though Bakelants, a 27-year-old Belgian, showed promise by winning the 2008 Tour de l’Avenir, an amateur race that often features eventual Tour de France contenders, this was his first professional victory. Troubled by bad luck and serious injuries, including a fractured kneecap in the 2010 Giro di Lombardia, he was so overlooked that France Television initially announced that his RadioShack-Leopard teammate Markel Irizar had won the stage. |
| For most of the stage, it was a comfortable day in the saddle. Wearing a bandage on his left elbow, a reminder of Saturday’s spill, Contador rode smoothly on the day’s four climbs. So did other yellow jersey contenders like Chris Froome, Richie Porte and Cadel Evans, all one second behind Bakelants in the overall classification. Even Tony Martin, taken to a hospital Saturday with a concussion and a bruised lung, managed to finish. But disaster almost struck for a second day when a small white dog ran across the road as riders approached the finish west of Ajaccio. | For most of the stage, it was a comfortable day in the saddle. Wearing a bandage on his left elbow, a reminder of Saturday’s spill, Contador rode smoothly on the day’s four climbs. So did other yellow jersey contenders like Chris Froome, Richie Porte and Cadel Evans, all one second behind Bakelants in the overall classification. Even Tony Martin, taken to a hospital Saturday with a concussion and a bruised lung, managed to finish. But disaster almost struck for a second day when a small white dog ran across the road as riders approached the finish west of Ajaccio. |
| There is one day left in Corsica. A 90.4-mile stage will start here and end in Calvi, on the island’s northwest coast. | There is one day left in Corsica. A 90.4-mile stage will start here and end in Calvi, on the island’s northwest coast. |
| Though the scenery has been beautiful and the weather warm on the Tour’s first visit to Corsica, many, including Deroo, the bus driver, are looking forward to being back on the mainland. | Though the scenery has been beautiful and the weather warm on the Tour’s first visit to Corsica, many, including Deroo, the bus driver, are looking forward to being back on the mainland. |
| “The time trial in Nice, that’s going to be easy,” he said, referring to the fourth stage, which will take place Tuesday. “We don’t really have too many problems right now; it’s just that for the driving in Corsica, it’s really hard.” | “The time trial in Nice, that’s going to be easy,” he said, referring to the fourth stage, which will take place Tuesday. “We don’t really have too many problems right now; it’s just that for the driving in Corsica, it’s really hard.” |