Manx Missile Victorious with F-Bomb...

If you were fortunate to see the first stage of this years Giro d'Italia on Eurosport, and stuck around for Mark Cavendish's first interview immediately following his win, may have seen (or is it heard) a little frustration with an uncooperative earpiece and connecting wire. Growing weary of trying to adjust it, the "f*** it" was perfectly timed and not unexpected. I could see my self doing the same. His expression changed almost as quickly as his sprint to the line when he realized that the answer to the question, oops, "is this live" was indeed an affirmative. Yes, it may not make the replays, but no covering it up in the live feed.

Cavendish's Omega Pharma Quick Step team was controlling the race after bringing Cameron Wurf back into the fold. Wurf had gone solo away from an earlier break, rode strong, but could not withstand the determined mass of the peloton. The OPQS riders then seemed to loose control as other teams surged to the front in the final few kilometers. One final crash of many during the race, this one taking place near the front of the bunch, isolated Cav from all but one teammate who, in his turn, appeared to have a mechanical, meaning that if Cavendish was going to win, he was going to do it on his own. And that is what he did - out-kicking Matt Goss, who had opened up the charge, Elia Viviana, and Nacer Bouhanni to earn the first Maglia Rosa of the race. A well deserved victory to start the Giro; and I won't hold that little gaff afterword against him.