Stage 3 winner Thor Hushovd
The Tour launched on Saturday with a prologue in Holland, then moved into Belgium for Stage 1. It was a bit of a crash fest. Stage 2, Monday in Belgium, was ridden in the rain, with everything drying out in the later part of the stage. It was another crash fest, so much so that the peloton, having been bested by Sylvain Chavenal, who also took the yellow jersey for the next stage, rode en-masse across the finish line, in apparent protest of the route, the conditions, or both. This has been done only once before in the history of the Tour, and that time, in 1967, was in respect for a rider who died on the course. Paul Sherwin and Phil Liggett, who along with Bob Role are the voices of the tour, pointed out that the route was known for a year, the teams had scouted out and probably ridden most of the route, and it was, after all, a bike race. Fabian Cancellera, who was wearing the yellow jersey at the time, clearly was in control of the peloton and it was he who apparently lead the peloton to cross the finish as a group. It was an interesting day on the Tour.
Today’s Stage 3 also had a batch of crashes, one of which took out Frank Schleck, who along with his brother Andy, rides for Saxobank. He took a hard spill on the cobblestones, and broke his collar bone. It is a definite blow to the team. Other riders crashed on the cobblestones as well. One stretch of the cobbles is part of the same section that is ridden in the Paris-Roubaix race. Inherent in any road race are crashes, and one of the dangers of being in the peloton is being involved in one. When riders go down in front, those following have to scramble to stay upright. Sometimes it just doesn’t work. The Tour is now in France for the rest of the race.
As of now, Fabian Cancellara is back in yellow as the Tour leader. Lance Armstrong, stung by a flat tire as he chased the lead group down, dropped to 18th, with Alberto Contrador in 9th place. So far, the Tour has been very interesting to watch and follow. Tomorrow’s stage 4 starts in Cambrai and finishes in Reims, home to many of the great champagne houses. It is a relatively short stage and should prove to be a fast paced ride. The entire tour will consume 2, 235 miles before it is over.
The pageantry, the team strategies, the individual efforts and challenges always make the tour a great spectacle to watch. Stay tuned.