The Badger's view.
Every morning, before the start, Bernard Hinault gives his views about the day’s stage and the riders to keep an eye on:
I was impressed by Haussler finishing power. When he surged, he left everybody else ten metres behind and he kept his lead until the finish line. It was a beautiful move. But I would have loved to see an attack in the final kilometre, an attempt by a puncher. What Pierre Rolland tried to do, 15 kms from the finish, was useless. He did not have a chance from so far. If you have to take that sort of risks, you have to do it in the finale, without looking back. That’s what Willy Teirkinck used to do in my time.
Had I been with Astana, I would have gambled a little bit. Of course they did not work for the whole stage, but if they keep working the way they do, they will have to do it everyday. And if they do, they will spend a lot of energy. The best thing to do would be to have a rider in the break.
