Stage 5 Report
July 4th, Stage 5: Washington, D.C. TTT, 23.91 kms
"Captain America" Leads Garmin to 4th of July Victory!
Schlecks Tag Along as Determined Cancellara Keeps Yellow
It seemed like too good a story to have an American team win the 4th of July Team Time Trial in Washington D.C., but
Garmin-Cervelo squad pulled it off.
Jonathan Vaughters' team, specifically designed to win this time trial, set the best time midway through the day and watched as other teams could not match it.
Dave Zabriskie, allowed by the organizers to wear his American TT Champion's Jersey instead of the Polka-Dot Jersey for the Independence Day celebration, led the team onto the podium to claim their coveted prize.
Although Garmin-Cervelo's time was not dominant enough to put Zabriskie in yellow, the battle for the Yellow Jersey was nevertheless exciting.
Team Sky sought to put
Bradley Wiggins back into the leader's jersey, and finished only 3 seconds behind Team Garmin. Once Sky finished, the race was on for
Leopard Trek.
Fabian Cancellara entered the day with duel objectives - to keep yellow whilst getting
Frank and
Andy Schleck the best time as possible. The Schlecks were only able to take small turns at the front due to their poor time trial skills, and Cancellara was forced to do the majority of the pace-making. "Spartacus" was up to the task however, as the World TT Champion powered towards the finish line to secure his Yellow Jersey by a mere 2 seconds, the Schlecks helplessly in tow behind.
The time gaps, in the end, were not large, but the GC orders did change.
BMC Racing Team came home in third place for
Cadel Evans, just 5 seconds behind Garmin-Cervelo.
Rabobank came home in a very impressive fourth place, 1 second further back.
Alberto Contador and
Andreas Kloden managed respectable times with their teams, as
Saxo Bank Sungard and
Team Radioshack both finished 17 seconds behind Garmin-Cervelo.
The biggest disappointment was by far
HTC-Highroad. The team of
Tony Martin and
Mark Cavendish failed to produce the scintillating pace most were expecting, and finished 23 seconds behind Team Garmin. Cavendish still has yet to win a stage in this Tour, this time losing out with the whole team.
In the end, Garmin-Cervelo was all smiles atop the podium. Vaughters said afterward, "This is what we aimed for at the start and we got it. I'm proud of the boys. The course was ideal, and THE CROWDS! The crowds were immense, and D.C. really outdid itself today. What a great way to celebrate Independence Day, and we're not done celebrating by any means!"
Stage 5 Standings:
1. Team Garmin-Cervelo
2. Sky Procycling +3"
3. BMC Racing Team +5"
4. Rabobank Cycling Team +6"
5. Leopard Trek +11"
6. Saxo Bank Sungard +17"
7. Team Radioshack +17"
8. HTC-Highroad +23"
9. Omega Pharma-Lotto +32"
10. Pro Team Astana +39"
11. Liquigas-Cannondale +43"
12. GEOX-TMC +47"
13. AG2R La Mondiale +49"
14. Quick Step Cycling Team +57"
15. Androni-Giocattoli +59"
16. Lampre-ISD +1'03"
17. Euskaltel-Euskadi +1'07"
18. United Healtcare Pro Cycling +1'13"
19. Movistar Team +1'15"
20. Katusha Team +1'20"
21. Cofidis +1'23"
22. Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team +1'28"
Top 3 GC (Full Standings to Come):
1. Fabian Cancellara
2. Bradley Wiggins +2"
3. Dave Zabriskie +9"