The best thing about cycling is the unpredictability of the sport. Just when you think you know the riders, know the teams, know the conditions, someone will unexpectedly pull out a breathtaking performance, or suddenly crash, or Mother Nature and Lady Luck will intervene just to keep things fresh. Today was one of those days.
The team time trial is not a stage where you expect the unexpected. On such a flat stage under good conditions like today, without wind or rain to mix things up, you expect to see the best performance that you know the teams can do. This assumes, of course, that you know the best the teams can do. Before today, we clearly didn't.
After yesterday's crash that put him 1:20 behind the Tour leader, Alberto Contador's Saxobank-Sungard team went out first. Without any knowledge of the other teams' times, the Danish-registered team simply went like hell for the finish line in the hopes that the speed would be enough for a good time. The brutal tactic saw them drop several riders along the way, but the requisite five riders crossed the line in just over 25 minutes.
It didn't work as well as they'd hoped, though. When Team Rabobank went out as one of the teams touted to do well, they smashed Saxobank's time at the first checkpoint and finished 15 seconds ahead of Saxobank's final time. This wasn't the end to Contador's bad day. The other good time trial teams, Radioshack, HTC Highroad and Sky, also came in around 20 seconds faster than Saxobank, until Garmin-Cervelo stormed over the line in 24 minutes, 48 seconds, a time that was to win them the stage and put sprinter Thor Hushovd in the yellow jersey. Even Leopard Trek, the Luxembourg team of Contador's rival Andy Schleck, came in only 4 seconds off the pace, hauled over the line by Fabian Cancellara, the big time trial world champion known as 'Spartacus'. Already 1:14 behind Andy, Contador can't have been happy at losing another 24 seconds.
But it was BMC, the team of Aussie GC hopeful Cadel Evans, that took the day's spotlight. Boasting only Cadel and American George Hincapie as its big names, the team of solid but otherwise unremarkable riders pulled off a near-perfect ride, right from their smooth, well-rehearsed dismount down the start ramp. Likely thanks to Cadel taking more and longer turns at the front of the train than any other rider, all nine riders stayed together right through the first checkpoint to throw up a time of 9:04, third-best of the 22 teams. Their second checkpoint wasn't as promising, having had two riders go off the back of the train, but with Cadel's dogged perseverance the team kept up the high pace to come in second - a mere four seconds behind Garmin, leaving Cadel only one second away from cycling's biggest prize, after Hushovd and Tour co-leader, Garmin teammate David Millar.
BMC also had seven riders cross the finish line within one second of each other, more than any of the other five top teams. It seems the US-registered, Swiss-trained team has been quietly working on their team time trial skills, an effort that has clearly paid off today in making them the second-fastest time trial team in the world. Pretty damn good for a team where you can't name half the riders (Cadel, Hincapie, Marcus Burghardt, Ivan Santaromita, Michael Schar...no, I can actually name half).
BMC also had seven riders cross the finish line within one second of each other, more than any of the other five top teams. It seems the US-registered, Swiss-trained team has been quietly working on their team time trial skills, an effort that has clearly paid off today in making them the second-fastest time trial team in the world. Pretty damn good for a team where you can't name half the riders (Cadel, Hincapie, Marcus Burghardt, Ivan Santaromita, Michael Schar...no, I can actually name half).
Today's result cannot leave Alberto Contador a happy man, but if past experience is anything to go by, it will certainly leave him a determined one. But will his determination match up to that of Andy Schleck and Cadel Evans?
No comments:
Post a Comment