Perhaps it was the argyle. The more likely difference: the human engines under the Garmin-Cervelo hood.
Team Garmin-Cervelo went back to its roots, donning its now-famous argyle pattern that had been dormant most of the year. It was like Notre Dame bringing out the green jerseys. And, it paid off with a bit of magic.
In one of the most dramatic team time trials in Tour de France history, the Denver-based Garmin-Cervelo team broke the event's record-speed for a team time trail averaging 59.4 kph (or almost 38 mph). (If you've never rode a bike, stick your head out the window in your next car ride, look at the ground, than look up and feel the wind through your hair and compare. Now imagine pedaling a bike that fast.)
A couple of quick facts: time trial bikes are a little under 14 pounds, the international limit, and athletes work on aerodynamics, including stints in the off season in wind tunnels, to shave seconds off their time. That's exactly what many of the Garmin-Cervelo riders did in the off season, including testing new helmet technology by their helmet sponsor Giro. With the extra motivation to win the club's first-ever Tour de France stage and deliver world-champion Thor Hushovd into the leader's jersey, Garmin-Cervelo provided an impressive and measured pace throughout the course. Only Team Sky of Great Britain could maintain or surpass the time posted at time checks by the American squad. And, it was Hushovd, not the suspected six-time U.S. National Time Trial Champion David Zabriskie, who cranked up the pace in the final kilometer to lead his team to the finish line. It yielded 'the God of Thunder' the leader's jersey for the third time in his career. It was a far cry from the day he dropped out of the Amgen Tour of California after the stage into Paso Robles. On that day, I ran into Thor with his suitcase in hand looking for ride back to a location where he'd be picked up and carted to LAX airport. At that time, he said: "I'm empty, especially after the Classics season. I need to rest and get back on track for the Tour."
The rest has worked for Hushovd.
For the Garmin-Cervelo team, the day was theirs, winning the stage and the yellow leader's jersey.
"It was really a team effort," said an emotional Jonathan Vaughters, a Denver resident and Garmin's general manager, after the race. "I mean a real team effort, from mechanics to soigneurs to the guys in the wind tunnel. This is something we dreamed about."
This year's team time trial of the Tour de France was a sign of the times. Four of the top teams finishing Sunday's team time trial were American-based squads. Another was from Luxembourg (Leopard-Trek) and another from Great Britain (Sky), a big difference from a generation ago that was dominated by Dutch, French, Belgian and Italian teams. A time trial is usually a sign of not only good athletes but the strength of the overall organization.
For example, BMC has built its team behind leadership baked in the old 7-Eleven and Motorola teams of the 1980s and 1990s with legendary American pioneer Jim Ochowicz. The somewhat surprise showing of BMC spoke volumes of the elevation of the American team based in Santa Rosa, Calif. Team HTC-Highroad, which rode almost the entire race without Austrian strongman Bernhard Eisel, was a top 5 finisher and Team Radioshack was sixth with veterans Chris Horner and Levi Leipheimer.
Hushovd will have a chance to keep his leader's jersey Monday, but the Garmin-Cervelo team will have to calculate their energy in defense of the jersey. With several G.C. contenders, as well as top sprinters, Vaughter's biggest dilemma is which cards to play on a day that will be mostly flat.
Stage 3 prediction: With a ton of energy expounded by top sprinters Tyler Farrar and Mark Cavendish in Sunday's Team Time Trial, it will be interesting to see how their legs respond in one of the Tour's longer stages, a 198 kilometer (123 mi.) mostly flat stage to Redon. The race should start with a tailwind and produce an immediate breakaway. Expect the French teams to offer themselves up to the camera gods while Garmin measures its effort on when and where to chase. Their motivation is two fold, a stage win for Farrar and another day in yellow for Hushovd. If they do chase, expect Cavendish to be led out by a very motivated team behind Mark Renshaw and Bernhard Eisel for the win. But, look for a Hushovd lead out for Farrar not far behind. The fast, mostly straight run-in gives credence to an HTC win. No team cues it up better. Movistar's J.J. Rojas, with a bit more fresh legs, could be a sleeper.
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