Another nervous stage for the leaders to get through, and surprisingly, another interesting finish from the organizers. The early part was fairly predictable, with the break getting away from the get go, gaining a solid, but not substantial lead, and then getting caught near the end. I found it interesting that Thomas Voekler was able to stay away again, just as he did yesterday, all in the name of solidifying his hold on the mountains jersey. Of course, he will never hold it until the end, but it is some guaranteed publicity for him and his team for the next few days, and hey….he almost made it to the end. Seeing four Frenchmen out together seemed wierd too….even Paul Sherwen noted that they were all alone, with no riders from other nations. In the grand scheme of things, I was a bit surprised to see such a small breakaway stay away…normally, I would have though more teams would have gotten in on the action, but that was okay.
Back in the pack, Caisse d’Epargne did a good job of protecting Valverde and monitoring the pack. I will be interested to see how well they control things in the long run. The overall picture will be telling after Monday’s time trial. I would be concerned for the team if Valverde stays in yellow, in terms of how much energy they will have to expend, but it is very probably he will wear it until then, because I am sure that the sprinters’ teams will want to control the action for men like Hushovd, Cavendish, Zabel, and maybe McEwen or Pozatto. I thought that Caisse d’Epargne got a bit lucky with Francaise de Jeux taking up a bit of the chasing at the later stages, so they did not have to do all of the work to bring the break back, but they still kept Valverde out of danger.
In terms of the finish, Hushovd is probably the best sprinter in the world right now, and on a slightly uphill finish like today, his power was evident. I may be eating my green jersey prediction soon enough, as Thor looks really good, but maybe after the flat stage tomorrow, Cavendish will be able to come through for some major points. Seeing Valverde fighting on the front line at the finish was a bit strange, but given the possibility for time gaps on the up hill finish, it probably was not as dangerous as sitting in the back, where the crashes were. I don’t really think that he cares as much about winning additional stages, but if this is the best way to keep himself safe, it is working. It is a long 3 weeks, and whatever protection the favorites can get from the other teams with different ambitions, so much the better.
Speaking of predictions, it is clear that Mauricio Soler is hurting pretty bad from his crash yesterday. I may be changing my mountains jersey prediction tomorrow if he doesn’t get through. I will admit that I was wrong….but hey, that is the nature of the race, right. Crashes can happen to anyone, at any time….and this is only the second day.
Tomorrow will probably be a classic rolling rest day for the favorites. There will be a long breakaway, and the sprinters teams will stand guard, and bring them back just in time. It will be a flat stage, and fast, where the favorites will save themselves for Monday’s time trial, and just hoping to stay on their bikes and avoid the crashes. At the end, we should see the first real field sprint of the race, and see the sprinters come to the for.
Until tomorrow….
