Garmin-Cervelo Wins Tour de France Stage Two Team Time Trial, Thor Hushovd in Yellow

Garmin-Cervelo, led by World Champion Thor Hushovd, won the Stage Two Team Time Trial of the Tour de France.
Garmin-Cervelo Wins Tour de France Stage Two Team Time Trial, Thor Hushovd in Yellow
Garmin-Cervelo riders, led by Thor Hushovd in the polka-dot jersey, ride to victory in Stage Two of the 2011 Tour de France, the Team Time Trial. (Pascal Pavani/AFP/Getty Images)
7/3/2011
Updated:
8/26/2011

<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/GarminLead118065557WEB_medium.jpg"><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/GarminLead118065557WEB_medium.jpg" alt="Garmin-Cervelo riders, led by Thor Hushovd in the polka-dot jersey, ride to victory in Stage Two of the 2011 Tour de France, the Team Time Trial. (Pascal Pavani/AFP/Getty Images)" title="Garmin-Cervelo riders, led by Thor Hushovd in the polka-dot jersey, ride to victory in Stage Two of the 2011 Tour de France, the Team Time Trial. (Pascal Pavani/AFP/Getty Images)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-128509"/></a>
Garmin-Cervelo riders, led by Thor Hushovd in the polka-dot jersey, ride to victory in Stage Two of the 2011 Tour de France, the Team Time Trial. (Pascal Pavani/AFP/Getty Images)
With its General Classifications contenders well back in the order, U.S. cycling team Garmin-Cervelo had nothing better to do than spend all its energy to win the team’s first Tour de France stage, and also for the first time, the race leader’s yellow jersey to boot.

Stage Two of the Tour offered the perfect opportunity; the event favors tactics and teamwork. Teams with one star and a bunch of domestiques—riders who work to support the team leader—might win the Tour, but in a team time trial, the clock doesn’t stop until the fifth rider crosses the line. The best result comes when everyone works together—and the Garmin-Cervelo team did just that.

Led by World Champion Thor Hushovd, the eight riders (Tom Danielson sat out) rode the 23-kilometer Team Time Trial at 60 kph (37.28 mph) to finish in 24:48, four seconds ahead of the BMC Racing team. Hushovd, who started the stage three seconds behind BMC leader Cadel Evans, won the yellow jersey by a single second.

“This was great—we did a really good team effort today,’ Hushovd told letour.com. “Everything just worked perfect. All the riders offered 100 percent for the team this is just incredible.

“When I look back ten years ago I won the same Team Time Trial—It’s crazy. It’s an incredible day for me and for the whole team.” (Hushovd was part of the AG2R team which won the TTT in 2001.)

Another result of note: Saxo Bank-Sungard, led by Alberto Contador, finished 8th, 28 seconds arrears. This means the three-time Tour winner is 1:48 behind after only two stages.

U.S. Teams to the Top

<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/ShackRadio118071770CUT_medium.jpg"><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/ShackRadio118071770CUT_medium.jpg" alt="RadioShack finished sixth, keeping its GC contenders in good shape. (Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)" title="RadioShack finished sixth, keeping its GC contenders in good shape. (Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-128510"/></a>
RadioShack finished sixth, keeping its GC contenders in good shape. (Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)
Four of the top six teams in Stage Two came from America: Garmin-Cervelo and BMC, plus fifth and sixth-placed squads HTC-Highroad and RadioShack.

As few as five years ago, professional cycling was entirely a European sport. American teams weren’t taken seriously, and the few successful American riders like Greg LeMond and Lance Armstrong, were considered anomalies.

This year, four of the top six teams (and ten of those 36 riders) in Stage Two are American teams. HTC has more wins in more races in the past few years than any other teams in cycling.

None of these teams are likely to put a rider on the top step of the podium this year, but half-a-dozen of these riders have a real chance to end up in the top three.

Good Ride by BMC, Bad Luck for HTC


<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/CadelTTT118061322_medium.jpg"><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/CadelTTT118061322_medium.jpg" alt="Cadel Evans (L) of BMC missed out on the yellow jersey by a single second. (Pascal Pavani/AFP/Getty Images)" title="Cadel Evans (L) of BMC missed out on the yellow jersey by a single second. (Pascal Pavani/AFP/Getty Images)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-128511"/></a>
Cadel Evans (L) of BMC missed out on the yellow jersey by a single second. (Pascal Pavani/AFP/Getty Images)
BMC turned in a great ride. They were third at both intermediate time checks, then made an extra push in the final third, equally Garmin’s time in that segment. While the team tried its best to get the yellow for Australian Cadel Evans, it wasn’t to be. Still, the ride shows the strength of the team as a whole, and Cadel Evans’ final stint showed him to be in good form this year.

<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/HTC118066107_medium.jpg"><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/HTC118066107_medium.jpg" alt="Mark Renshaw leads the HTC-Highroad team during Stage Two of the 2011 Tour de France, the Team Time Trial. (Michael Steele/Getty Images)" title="Mark Renshaw leads the HTC-Highroad team during Stage Two of the 2011 Tour de France, the Team Time Trial. (Michael Steele/Getty Images)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-128512"/></a>
Mark Renshaw leads the HTC-Highroad team during Stage Two of the 2011 Tour de France, the Team Time Trial. (Michael Steele/Getty Images)
HTC-Highroad also rode well, finishing only five seconds off the pace, but they were hit by bad luck in the first few hundred yards. Bernhard Eisel, one of the team’s strongest riders, touched wheels with a teammate and crashed in the first corner.

The team couldn’t wait. They had to leave him behind to finish the course alone. Had Eisel been there to take a couple of powerful pulls along the way, HTC might well have won the yellow.

RadioShack finished ten seconds back—good enough to keep the teams GC contenders viable. The team has many riders who might finish on the podium, including two Americans, Chris Horner and Levi Leipheimer. 

Good Home for the Maillot Jaune


In a lot of ways Garmin’s win is the perfect outcome for the all the teams. None of the top GC contenders would want to have to defend the yellow jersey this early in the race, but all of Garmin’s GC contenders are two or three minutes off the pace. They might make that up, but more likely, they will be happy to win a stage or two.

Garmin will probably hold the maillot jaune for another few days. Stage Three is a pure sprinter’s stage, and Stage Four ends in a nasty 2-kilometer, seven-percent climb. It is doubtful Thor Hushovd, strong as he is could beat a puncheur in this stage, but possibly teammates Christian Vande Velde or Ryder Hesjdal might take a stab at this stage. 

2011 Tour de France Stage Two Result

1

Garmin-Cervelo

24:48

 

2

BMC

24:53

+ 00:04

3

Sky

24:53

+ 00:04

4

Leopard-Trek

24:53

+ 00:05

5

HTC-Highroad

24:54

+ 00:05

6

RadioShack

24:59

+ 00:10

7

Rabobank

25:00

+ 00:12

8

Saxo Bank

25:16

+ 00:28

9

Astana

25:20

+ 00:32

10

Omega Pharma-Lotto

25:28

+ 00:39

11

FDJ

25:34

+ 00:46

12

Europcar

25:38

+ 00:50

13

AG2R

25:42

+ 00:53

14

Quick Step

25:45

+ 00:56

15

Liquigas-Cannondale

25:46

+ 00:57

16

Saur-Sojasun

25:50

+ 01:02

17

Lampre

25:53

+ 01:04

18

Katusha

25:53

+ 01:04

19

Movistar

25:58

+ 01:09

20

Vacansoleil

26:03

+ 01:15

21

Cofidis

26:08

+ 01:20

22

Euskaltel-Euskadi

26:10

+ 01:22

General Classification after Stage Two

1

Hushovd Thor

Garmin-Cervelo

5h 06' 25”

 

2

Millar David

Garmin-Cervelo

5h 06' 25”

+ 00' 00”

3

Evans Cadel

BMC

5h 06' 26”

+ 00' 01”

4

Thomas Geraint

Sky

5h 06' 29”

+ 00' 04”

5

Gerdemann Linus

Leopard-Trek

5h 06' 29”

+ 00' 04”

6

Schleck Frank

Leopard-Trek

5h 06' 29”

+ 00' 04”

7

Cancellara Fabian

Leopard-Trek

5h 06' 29”

+ 00' 04”

8

Hagen Edvald Boasson

Sky

5h 06' 29”

+ 00' 04”

9

Quinziato Manuel

BMC

5h 06' 29”

+ 00' 04”

10

Schleck Andy

Leopard-Trek

5h 06' 29”

+ 00' 04”