Mark Cavendish went into Heistse Pijl on Saturday as one of the favourites and though he was in contention in the finale, and eventually finished 3rd, he said he was disappointed that his chain had slipped, and not for the first time.
It looked like the QuickStep Alpha Vinyl rider had lost ground, just before the sprint, to eventual winner and runner-up Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Soudal) and Giacomo Nizzolo (Israel-Premier Tech). And while he came from a long way back and still took 3rd, Cavendish said after the finish he had been hindered by a chain problem.
"It's a little disappointing after the guys worked so hard all day," Cavendish said of his team mates having ridden to bring back the breakaway and to position him. “You saw on the last lap that we were where we wanted to be before the cobblestone climb. My chain came off on the descent. It wasn't the first time this year that it happened. I lost positions trying to put him back on.”
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That final climb was crested just 1.8km before the finish, meaning the Manx rider did very well to get the chain back on and recover enough positions to get into the mix in the sprint and take 3rd.
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"I had to try, because you never know in the sprint. But with guys like De Lie, De Bie… What's his name? That guy was really fast," Cavendish added. "I had to come from far, it's a shame. I came through the last corner in the first five and that was really perfect. The gap I had to leave because of my chain problems was disappointing after what the guys did.”
Slipped chains are not a new issue in pro cycling, but they appear to be happening more frequently this year. At least some of the incidents earlier in the season seem to have been caused by teams continuing to use Shimano's Dura-Ace 11-speed groupset and pairing with the 12-speed chainset, or the opposite mismatch; new 12-speed groupset and old 11-speed chainset.
The mixing of new and old - despite a new Shimano Dura-Ace 12-speed groupset having been launched - has come about because of a shortage of stock available from Shimano, mainly 12-speeed chainsets.
Cavendish's team mate Kasper Asgreen also suffered a slipped chain at the Tour of Flanders, while using mismatched groupset and chainset, on the Koppenberg as the finale was just beginning. He was forced to stop and put his chain back on.
