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Every Second Counts
By spokesman | July 26, 2009
Every Second Counts is the title of one of Lance Armstrong’s books. Coincidently it is an appropriate description of how Lance wound up on the podium at 2009 Tour De France. Lance finished in 3rd place. Bradley Wiggins was in fourth place, 37 seconds behind Lance. Frank Schleck was in fifth place, 40 seconds behind Lance. The total margin that Lance had over these two can be traced to Stage 3, a flat stage that should not have made a difference in the standings. Lance’s smart riding that day led to him gaining 41 seconds over most of the peloton including Wiggins and Schleck.
During stage 3, Team Columbia took advantage of strong cross winds to create a break in the peloton. Columbia led the attack to position Mark Cavendish, their star sprinter, for a stage win. The result of the break was that 25 riders including Lance gained 41 seconds over the majority of the peloton and Cavendish got the stage win. Analysis of the stage that day credited Lance with smart riding based on his experience. Given the final results of the tour, the time that Lance gained that day was instrumental to his third place finish. If he didn’t make the break that day and his time margin was smaller in the final week of the tour, the Schleck brothers may have had a different strategy and Lance’s comeback tour could have worked out differently.
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Topics: Professional Racing |