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
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
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 |
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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” |
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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” |
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