Garmin Sharp

[perico]

I don't think one rider in top10 would satisfy them. They always managed to do that (apart from 2012, when everyone crashed) even in times when they had just 2 proper climbers in the team and one of them crashed (2010).

Two riders in top10 or one in top5 is what I rate as a good result for them. Hopefully they will keep their promise about being aggresive and this will pay off with some stage wins and maybe a team-classifiacation win.

And Bauer is there, because he is better time-trial rider than Van Summeren, better climber than Rasmussen and is in better shape than Zabriskie.

In 2009, the placed both Wiggo and Vande Velde in the Top 10, and Vande Velde likely would've been Top 3 or 4 had his form not been iffy from the broken vertebrae in his back after his Giro fall.

Zabriskie isn't surprising as he had a pretty bad fall that took him out of California.

 

[Anderis]

Will they ever learn not to keep their GC contenders so far back in the peloton? Hesjedal will be very lucky if he escapes any time loss today.

 

[perico]

Hesjedal is the new Vande Velde. Contender who can't stay off the pavement.

 

[movingtarget]

Will they ever learn not to keep their GC contenders so far back in the peloton? Hesjedal will be very lucky if he escapes any time lose today.

Seems like he has. Everyone gets same time. Did he make it back to the bunch before the crash ?

 

[Anderis]

Glad to see 6 Garmin's riders surviving without time loses today.

It's perhaps the first time in the team's history, that so many riders have not been dropped on a quite selective stage of GT.

 

[Anderis]

Another decent day for the team: all of possible GC contenders have comfortably prevented themselves from any time loses today.

I wonder what tomorrow will be like. The biggest concern I can see is when Dan struggles a bit, then what will the team do. Go for a best possible stage result or protect Dan from losing much time? I hope this doesn't happen and Martin keeps with the rest of the team comfortably.

Top TTT teams are now all placed very differently in team classification, so they will not start one after another. I hope conditions will be pretty much the same for everyone tomorrow.

 

[Ruudz0r]

Another decent day for the team: all of possible GC contenders have comfortably prevented themselves from any time loses today.

I wonder what tomorrow will be like. The biggest concern I can see is when Dan struggles a bit, then what will the team do. Go for a best possible stage result or protect Dan from losing much time? I hope this doesn't happen and Martin keeps with the rest of the team comfortably.

Top TTT teams are now all placed very differently in team classification, so they will not start one after another. I hope conditions will be pretty much the same for everyone tomorrow.

Martin wont struggle he can do fine in a TTT. His itt also improved.

 

[Anderis]

Slightly disappointing result today. Expected more but I think the team lacked some sprinters in the team. Looking at the result, I can say that the best way today was to mix some TT specialists with sprinters, like Omega and Orica have done. Even Lotto was surprisingly good, without TT specialists, but just with good lead-out team. It would have been better if Garmin had someone like Rasmussen and Farrar in the team, I guess.

Anyway, Dan proved to be really strong, he was the one who brought the team around at the finish line. 6 Garmin's riders in top20 GC. Not bad.

 

[TheBean]

I think JV summed it all up in his interview prior to the TTT today.

Something to the extent of (paraphrasing) "We have no clear leader and no clear objectives, but we have five wild-cards who can do something great."

It seems as though we can expect to se a LOT of attacking into breaks by various riders from Garmin. Stage-hunting by committee, in other words.

They should do much to animate the second and third weeks and then hope for a lucky break to maybe crack into a high GC spot. Sounds a lot like Europecar's approach to this Tour.

Should be fun to see how it all pans out. No pressure on the riders or staff is an enviable place to be I would think.

A last hurrah for the elders while JV seeks to redefine the team for next year, maybe?

 

[perico]

I think JV summed it all up in his interview prior to the TTT today.

Something to the extent of (paraphrasing) "We have no clear leader and no clear objectives, but we have five wild-cards who can do something great."

It seems as though we can expect to se a LOT of attacking into breaks by various riders from Garmin. Stage-hunting by committee, in other words.

They should do much to animate the second and third weeks and then hope for a lucky break to maybe crack into a high GC spot. Sounds a lot like Europecar's approach to this Tour.

Should be fun to see how it all pans out. No pressure on the riders or staff is an enviable place to be I would think.

A last hurrah for the elders while JV seeks to redefine the team for next year, maybe?

I'm sure it is. Vande Velde is set to retire at the end of the year, and Millar can't be far behind him. Danielson is no spring chicken (though he may last longer due to his later start) and neither is the absent Zabriskie.

 

[Catwhoorg]

Don't forget Millar was a 1 second gap away from Yellow.

That would have been awesome for the team.

 

[TheBean]

Today, Millar finished over 10 minutes down. So did three other Garmin guys.

Smart moves by them today. They were able to rest and take it easy in the final hour while avoiding any possible crashes and falling so far behind on GC that they will be allowed to attack in the upcoming weeks without raising an eyebrow from the overall contenders.

They are setting the stage perfectly for some good stage hunting.

A good plan when there is no hope what-so-ever of a top GC spot.

The next best thing to GC is standing on the top step for a day.

 

[Afrank]

Today, Millar finished over 10 minutes down. So did three other Garmin guys.

Smart moves by them today. They were able to rest and take it easy in the final hour while avoiding any possible crashes and falling so far behind on GC that they will be allowed to attack in the upcoming weeks without raising an eyebrow from the overall contenders.

They are setting the stage perfectly for some good stage hunting.

A good plan when there is no hope what-so-ever of a top GC spot.

The next best thing to GC is standing on the top step for a day.

Vande Velde went down today in the first crash.

 

[TheBean]

Don't forget Millar was a 1 second gap away from Yellow.

That would have been awesome for the team.

Not to take anything away from Millar, but there were about 50 riders within one second of yellow right there with him. The absence of a prologue combined with a couple sprint finishes and a neutralized first stage kept things tight right up to the TTT.

 

[Catwhoorg]

There was a lot of them, but due to his placings in the first couple of stages, he was the guy in 2nd.

I was wondering wtf he was doing up there in stage 1, then it all fell into place.

 

[Anderis]

I've read that Hesjedal has a broken rib (crash on finish line). Is it true? That would be terrible news!

 

[crassh]

Jonathan Vaughters ‏@Vaughters
To clarify,Ryder has a very small fracture in 1 rib from the 1st day's crash. He's fine. Just got it x-rayed today to help optimize taping

 

[Ruudz0r]

Vande Velde did not look to good when he was down. Hoping for the best.

Danielson also went down at the finish, but he seems to be okay.

tom danielson‏@tomdanielson3u
@nealrogers think I'm ok. Landed hard on my right shoulder but seems ok. Can't believe there was a crash in that finish!!!

 

[Afrank]

Vande Velde has suffered a blood clot in the neck muscle and a loosened screw in his clavical plate.

“Christian has plates in his collarbone from previous injuries,” explained team doctor Prentice Steffen. “After today's crash, an ultrasound and x-ray show a blood clot in a neck muscle, the left sternocleidomastoid, and a loosened screw in his clavicle plate. From what we can tell, it is possible that the screw may have jabbed a muscle.

“Preliminary x-rays do not show a fracture but it probably flexed a bit in the crash and disrupted a screw. Its an unusual injury and we will monitor him overnight and make a determination in the morning as to whether or not he will start the stage.”

Hopefully the injuries aren't serious enough to force him to leave the race. Garmins Tour this year is going in a similar fashion to last years thus far. At least 2 of their most important guys (Martin and Talansky) haven't gone down.

http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/1...d-Tour-de-France-participation-uncertain.aspx

 

[MacRoadie]

Or, as Phil and Paul would say, his "clavicule"...

 

[TheBean]

There was a lot of them, but due to his placings in the first couple of stages, he was the guy in 2nd.

I was wondering wtf he was doing up there in stage 1, then it all fell into place.

I was equally surprised by his placing on Stage 1. I didn't know he had that kind of pure speedand was impressed.

Had they done better in the TTT he would have been in Yellow for a few days and Garmin would have been able to count it as a successful trip to France.

Now, to plan B...

Sandbag for a bit to make themselves irrelevent to the GC and go stage hunting. I don't see anything wrong with that. Give the sponsors and fans something to be happy with. It would be similar to his stage win a few years back.

I also wish a speedy recovery for the injured riders and would be happy to see them on the attack in the latter stages. With the race appearing to be between a Brit and a Spaniard, I can only hope the Americans are able to animate the stages and maybe grab a win in one or two. On that note...GO TEJAY!

 

[TheBean]

It's good for both sides but I do find it a bit disappointing that Sharp have gone with Garmin. I was hoping they'd increase their sponsorship of the Rapha team. I wonder what will happen to them. Can you sponsor more then one team?

Yes, a company can sponsor more than one team.

Specialized bicycles are ridden by three ProTour teams. Omega Pharma, Saxo, and Astana are all on Specialized.

All are on either Shimano, Campagnolo, or SRAM.

As for top corporate sponsorship, it seems unlikely that it would be a wise investment. Many teams are having to go with two lead sponsors in order to generate the money needed to meet their budget. Hency, all the hyphens. Eleven of the ProTour squads split top billing between two corporate lead sponsors while only Eight can make ends meet with only one.

 

[Pippo_San]

Vande Velde did not look to good when he was down. Hoping for the best.

Danielson also went down at the finish, but he seems to be okay.

I was wondering what's up with VDV? It seems to me in almost every single GT he entered in the last years he ended up crashing and ultimately abandoning.
Seriously something's wrong with him, worse than that Farrar-quake.

 

[ElChingon]

Garmin is crashing more than Euskatel now, there needs to be a tally.

 

[Ruudz0r]

I was wondering what's up with VDV? It seems to me in almost every single GT he entered in the last years he ended up crashing and ultimately abandoning.
Seriously something's wrong with him, worse than that Farrar-quake.

Farrar often is the first to fall (or others fall because of him), VDV falls over others quite a big difference.