pelotonplanet: Stage 2: Victorious Garmin

Zabriskie

American team Garmin-Cervelo triumphed at the team time trial, securing the squad’s first ever Tour de France victory. Attacking the course at nearly 40 miles per hour, the team bested all of its rivals and finished the 23 kilometer course in 24 minutes, 48 seconds. Time trial specialist David Zabriskie took the longest pulls at the front and was supported by fellow Americans Christian Vande Velde, Tyler Farrar, and Tom Danielson, among other teammates.

Hesjedal

Since its debut at the 2008 race, the team had impressed with great performances in individual stages and the overall but had not yet captured a stage win until today. Farrar and his teammates have often finished in the top ten on sprint stages, and Garmin riders have also ridden to high overall standings. Vande Velde finished fourth at the Tour de France in 2008, and Canadian Ryder Hesjedal finished seventh last year. This team time trial victory is a great relief, finally delivering that elusive stage win. It is also a confidence booster for future stages, such as tomorrow’s expected sprint where Farrar has the opportunity to bring home back-to-back wins.

The teams of the general classification contenders performed well on the day in Les Essarts. Cadel Evans and BMC finished second, and Andy Schleck’s Leopard-Trek team finished fourth, thanks to hard driving at the front by Fabian Cancellara. Team Sky made a good show with Bradley Wiggins and Geraint Thomas, who took the longest pulls and showed strong form for the rest of the race. Just 10 seconds behind Garmin, RadioShack finished in sixth place, though that American team honored its illustrious history of team time trials with perhaps the most precise and visually beautiful team performance of the day.

Contador’s Saxo Bank squad was the weakest of the leaders, finishing eighth and 28 seconds behind Garmin. This means that Contador has lost more precious seconds on his rivals—not a disaster for the defending champion, but nevertheless a setback. The team was at a disadvantage, as they were the first to ride the course against nothing but the clock. The order of the teams was determined by the results from Stage 1, where the worst placed team was Saxo Bank. The worst placed team started first, and the best placed team—Omega Pharma-Lotto, the team of Stage 1 winner Philippe Gilbert—started last. Later teams benefitted from knowing the results of earlier finishers and could adjust their efforts with updates radioed to them on course. While starting first was a disadvantage for Saxo Bank and an unusual role for a defending champion, the team is heavy on mountain specialists, so their time trial result was a good one.

Eisel

The big disappointment came for HTC-Highroad, another American team considered a pre-race favorite for the stage. The relatively short course favored the squad’s fast legs, but Bernard Eisel crashed at one of the first turns out of the gate. It looked like a simple case of miscalculated bike handling by the Austrian. He failed to catch up to the team, which appeared shaken by the crash. While Eisel was not expected to be a top driver for the day, HTC could not overcome the early loss of one man and finished in fifth place, 5 seconds behind Garmin.

Tomorrow’s stage in western France will see the peloton on flat roads, except for a mild climb about 143 kilometers into the 198 kilometer route. The challenge in the last hour of racing will be strong crosswinds common to the region. Highlights will include the intermediate sprint for points, midway through the race at 104K. Stage 1 revealed the enthusiasm that the green jersey contenders will bring to those intermediate sprints, and we can expect a full-on sprint halfway through. Of course, the big guns will be blazing in the last 10K to the finish. The last kilometer should be a gorgeous display of power and strategy, a fast-paced chess match best watched from a helicopter, or at home on TV.

Garmin-Cervelo team site: http://www.slipstreamsports.com/

Stage 2: Top 10 Teams:

1. Garmin-Cervelo

2. BMC Racing+ 00’ 04”

3. Sky Procycling+ 00’ 04”

4. Leopard-Trek+ 00’ 04”

5. HTC-Highroad+ 00’ 05”

6. RadioShack+ 00’ 10”

7. Raboback Cycling+ 00’ 12”

8. Saxo Bank Sungard + 00’ 28”

9. Astana+ 00’ 32”

10. Omega Pharma-Lotto+ 00’ 39”