Stage 7, Tour de France
Time trials are notorious for making or marring reputations. The individual team trial on Saturday from St.-Grégoire to Rennes in Brittany turned out to be a dream come true for Serhiy Honchar. He won the stage by just over a minute (61sec) from second placed Floyd Landis, and earned the distinction of riding in the yellow jersey for the next stage. Honchar couldn't have scripted this better if given the choice on Friday.
Bobby Julich of CSC and Denmark, though relived a nightmare. He had dropped out of the tour in 1999 after crashing in a time trial. A similar fate befell him this time when he crashed and injured his wrist. He is out of the tour.
Honchar will revel in his moment of glory, at 37 he wouldn't expect too many more. He is a not an accomplished climber and is certain to loose his position at the head of the table as the pack heads into the daunting Pyrenees. Sebastian Lang finished third, three seconds behind Landis. Landis was graceful in defeat, he was asked if the officials intervention in lowering his handle position cost him the race - "I got beat fair and square" he said despite having to change bicycles as the handle loosened during the race.
Seasoned riders like Levi Leipheimer, who were expected to come to the fore alongside names such as George Hincapie failed to impress as they finished outside the top ten. Meanwhile, Tom Boonen who had custody of the yellow jersey till yesterday fell out of the top twenty.
No comments:
Post a Comment