Boulder, CO based Garmin-Cervelo showed their depth by winning a brilliantly executed Team TT that put world road racing champion Thor Hushovd in the yellow jersey. Though this is a relatively new team which formed last August through a merger, they have amazing talent and strength in all areas. It will be fun to watch them over the next few week. Plus cool new kits.
George Hincapie, who just turned 38 and is riding in his 16th Tour de France, captained BMC racing into 2nd (:05) and keep GC hopeful Cadel Evans in the strongest possible position going into stage 3. Hincapie is also now the highest ranking American (#13) rider in the overall standings.
HTC-Highroad, though disappointed in yesterday’s Team TT, sits at #5 in team rankings with five riders in the top 20 (Tony Martin, #14; Peter Velits, #15; Tejay Van Garderen, #16; Lars Bak, #17; Mark Cavendish, #18). Look for Mark Cavendish to push very hard for a stage win today. His hopes for a stage 1 win were dashed as a result of a crash and bent wheel.
Team Radio Shack rode in at 6th place as a result of a slow start but a late surge put them in the top 10 to keep their GC riders in strong contention.
Also of note in the big picture: Leopard-Trek led by Fabian Cancellara dug very deep to capture 5th place and put Andy Schleck at #10 in the GC. (Contador is currently standing at #75)
Today is a sprint stage. The strongest contenders will be Cavendish, Gilbert, Hushovd. I am calling for a Mark Cavendish stage win today.
Did you know Dave Zabriskie is riding the Tour as a Vegan? (with an occasional piece of salmon) http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304314404576414124184873028.html
No comments:
Post a Comment