Stage 2: The Wrong Guy Wins
Well, that’s one way to end up in Green. Tom Boonen finally beats McEwen in a sprint, only to lose to his own leadout man at the line. Steegmans might be the first guy in the history of the Tour to be slightly ticked he won the stage.
His goal was to get Boonen to the line first. Whoops. You don’t think those five points are going to come in handy later? Boonen has exactly one point over McEwen right now. McEwen has proven himself to be a stronger sprinter. Which means Boonen needs every point he can get. Leaving five on the table is not earth-shattering, but it’s a big deal. Boonen needs to gobble up every point he can.
I’m not sure why CSC is expending so much energy to defend the yellow, but they have such a track record of terrific tactics, I’m not going to criticize. They are keeping Cancellara in yellow, knowing he’s not a real contender. Sastre is their guy. Maybe this is just practice for Zabriskie and Voigt. But I do admire their respect for the maillot jaune. You have the jersey, you defend it.
His goal was to get Boonen to the line first. Whoops. You don’t think those five points are going to come in handy later? Boonen has exactly one point over McEwen right now. McEwen has proven himself to be a stronger sprinter. Which means Boonen needs every point he can get. Leaving five on the table is not earth-shattering, but it’s a big deal. Boonen needs to gobble up every point he can.
I’m not sure why CSC is expending so much energy to defend the yellow, but they have such a track record of terrific tactics, I’m not going to criticize. They are keeping Cancellara in yellow, knowing he’s not a real contender. Sastre is their guy. Maybe this is just practice for Zabriskie and Voigt. But I do admire their respect for the maillot jaune. You have the jersey, you defend it.
posted by Poseur at 1:51 PM
1 Comments:
About the sprint:
I agree about the 5 points. Boonen is probably lying to himself when he says it was great to give the stage win to a teammate.
Thor Hushovd was caught in the crash. He finished 86th: no points for Thor. He can't afford a goose egg. Remember the year he won, he did it without winning a stage--he did it because he was the only sprinter who didn't have any mishap that left him with 0 points on a bunch sprint.
I kept wondering why McEwen wasn't higher in the sprint. On the replay it looked like he was boxed in. Then I realized Erik Zabel was in third when Boonen & Steegmans attacked. Old & slow Zabel did them a huge favor by being in the way. By the time people got around him, it was too late.
I think CSC is defending Cancellara's jersey because they can. His lead after the prologue was pretty big. Kloden is a marked man, so he's not going to pick up time in a breakaway. The sprinters, who can pick up time bonuses are far enough away that they can't take the yellow without taking time bonuses for several days. All CSC has to do is keep the peloton close enough that the sprinters want to chase down all breakaways. If they do that, they win more yellow jerseys, more cash, and more advertisement for their sponsor.
Kudos to the three breakaway riders. They represent three teams that don't have much of a chance (Agritubel, Euskatel, & Milram). Today they got an A for effort.
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