Team Time Trial
Stage Four of the 2009 Tour de France was a Team Time Trial, where the whole team would race as a unit and the time of the fifth fastest rider would determine the overall winner. Individual times were added to the riders’ overall times to determine GC (General Classification) position.
The 39 km course circles northwest out of the city of Montpelier, and returns to finish in the city’s Yves du Manoir rugby stadium. The route climbs gradually over the first half, with one short, steep descent, and trends generally downhill. The final thirteen kilometers are completely flat.
The corners, not the hills, proved to be the toughest part of the stage. Time trials bikes are built for speed, not handling, and the route twisted through tight corners on narrow roads.
Team Astana started out poised to win the yellow jersey with two riders: Lance Armstrong, and Alberto Contador, in the top four and under a minute behind, and Andreas Klöden in sixth, 1:03 off the pace.
If Astana rode well, the overall lead could well shift.
In the Giro d’Italia team time trial, Team Columbia dominated, followed by Garmin-Slipsteam and Team Astana. Saxo Bank, Cancellara’s team , managed only thirteenth. Columbia, however, had done two days of hard work, pulling the peloton and leading the breaks.
The implications for the Tour overall freighted the stage with excitement
Team Astana: Is Lance the Leader?
Team Astana rider Levi Leipheimer spoke to the press before the stage, saying that the team’s internal dynamic had not changed: “The internal dynamic has stayed the same from the beginning of the year. We have two riders who have won the Tour before and two riders who are capable of winning again.” When asked which rider was more capable, he replied, “We have to keep our options open and as the race unfolds we will be able to see.”
However, a few days earlier, Leipheimer had told reporters that the team’s leader was and always had been Alberto Contador.
Lance Armstrong echoed Leipheimer’s view: “I my view there were always multiple leaders of the team.
“You have a guy who’s been riding very good in the last eighteen months you have a guy who’s won the Tour seven times, you have a guy in Levi [Leipheimer] that’s ridden great all year, you have [Andreas] Klöden who’s ridden good tours in the past. It’s not the simplest arrangement but it's reality.”
When asked how long it would be until a leader had to emerge, Armstrong replied, “I think we’ll know in the mountains. There you’ll really see the race develop. In the mountains and the TTs [time trials] you’ll know.”
American Teams Favored
Team time trials were dropped from most major events after the 2005 season. This year, many major events decided to include this type of stage.
Garmin-Slipstream decided to focus on team time trial stages, realizing that a bad performance could really hurt a team, and a good performance could really help the team’s leader. Top speed of the fastest rider does not matter because the time is decided by the fifth fastest—the faster riders have to wait for the slow riders.
Despite Garmin’s preparation, Team Columbia won the team time trial at the Giro d’Italia, with Garmin second and Astana third. Saxo Bank, team of Tour leader Fabain Cancelllara, finished thirteenth.
Columbia has won 53 cycling events so far this year, more than any other team.
Attrition and Effort
Every team dropped at least one or two riders on the way to the finish line. Those who couldn't keep the pace, were abandoned.
Even with only five riders, Garmin took the lead at the second time check. The five left were the team’s best time trialers, Ryder Hesjedal, Christian Vande Velde, David Zabriskie, David Millar and Bradley Wiggins
This was not Garmin’s planned strategy, but apparently it worked; when they finished, they had the fastest time, with Astana, Columbia and Saxo Bank still riding.
At the second time check, Saxo Bank was fourth. Cancellara made a Herculean effort to inspire his team, and over the final section of the course, he managed to gain time, bringing his team into second place, but Astana was still on the course.
Team Columbia also seemed to have been exhausted by the past two days’ efforts; they were able to muster only a fifth-place finish. Their pace improved with each section, but they simply didn’t have the legs.
Astana Rides to a Tie
Astana was riding with a will. Armstrong, pushing hard, was closing in on the yellow jersey. He kept taking stints in the lead, driving his team harder than they thought they could pedal. Alberto Contador rode a strong stint coming up the slight incline towards the finishing line, giving his all for the team and for Armstrong’s chance to lead.
Team Astana crossed the line exactly forty seconds ahead of Team Saxo Bank, exactly the gap between Armstrong and Cancellara. After much discussion and calculation, Cancellara was awarded the yellow jersey by fractions of a second.
Fittingly, it was Lance Armstrong who was last across the line for Team Astana; had he been able to turn two pedal strokes a bit harder, he might have won the yellow jersey. But he spent his energy out on the course, driving the team into first place.
Astana now dominates the standings with five riders in the top ten. With Stage Five most likely ending in another sprint, it is likely that tomorrow’s winner will not be in contention for the yellow jersey.
Armstrong, Contador, and Cancellara will be fighting for the lead in what promises to be some very exciting racing.
| Stage Four Results |
| General Classification After Stage Four | |||||||
| Team | Time | Gaps |
| Rider | Team | Time | Gaps | ||
| 1 | Astana | 46' 29" |
|
| 1 | Fabian Cancellara | Team Saxo Bank | 10h 38' 07" |
|
| 2 | Garmin-Slipstream | 46' 47" | + 00' 18" |
| 2 | Lance Armstrong | Astana | 10h 38' 07" | + 00' 00" |
| 3 | Team Saxo Bank | 47' 09" | + 00' 40" | 3 | Alberto Contador | Astana | 10h 38' 26" | + 00' 19" | |
| 4 | Liquigas | 47' 27" | + 00' 58" | 4 | Andréas Klöden | Astana | 10h 38' 30" | + 00' 23" | |
| 5 | Team Columbia-HTC | 47' 28" | + 00' 59" | 5 | Levi Leipheimer | Astana | 10h 38' 38" | + 00' 31" | |
| 6 | Team Katusha | 47' 52" | + 01' 23" | 6 | Bradley Wiggins | Garmin-Slipstream | 10h 38' 45" | + 00' 38" | |
| 7 | Caisse D’epargne | 47' 58" | + 01' 29" | 7 | Haimar Zubeldia | Astana | 10h 38' 58" | + 00' 51" | |
| 8 | Cervelo Test Team | 48' 06" | + 01' 37" | 8 | Tony Martin | Team Columbia-HTC | 10h 38' 59" | + 00' 52" | |
| 9 | Ag2r-La Mondiale | 48' 17" | + 01' 48" | 9 | David Zabriskie | Garmin-Slipstream | 10h 39' 13" | + 01' 06" | |
| 10 | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 48' 38" | + 02' 09" | 10 | David Millar | Garmin-Slipstream | 10h 39' 14" | + 01' 07" | |
