Stage 12, nice flat stage before the big mountains. Easy day, right? Sprinter stage, right? No, today's stage turned in to an opportunity for several major riders to gain time on Froome because ECHELON. A nasty side wind allows for opportunistic attacks, and as Jens Voigt spurned the attack in the Tour of California earlier this year, Contador and SaxoBank timed it just right to drop Froome by forming the allmighty echelon. Making the cut of the small lead group were Sagan and Cavendish, and Cav made up for his miss yesterday, taking the stage and pushing Sagan to
another 2nd place.
 |
| I don't even see another rider in the shot |
Also making the cut were Bauke Mollema and Laurens Tem Dam, both making up just over a minute on Froome. Missing the move, and even further back after some poor timing with a flat, was Valverde. He dropped WAY out of 2nd place. And my prediction which I was oh so proud of a few days ago is toast.
Not to beat a dead horse here, but one of the reasons Froome missed the move and couldn't catch back up was that he only had 2 Sky riders along side. Contador was riding with 4 or 5 teammates for the last 30km.
Week 3 preview coming tomorrow, stay tuned!
Parting Thought: ech·e·lon (
sh
-l
n
)
n.
1.
a. A formation of troops in which each unit is positioned successively to the left or right of the rear unit to form an oblique or steplike line.
b. A flight formation or arrangement of craft in this manner.
c. A similar formation of groups, units, or individuals.
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