Been following the Tour Down Under everyday this year. As my interest of expanding cycling into a U.S. household name in our sports grows, I find myself gravitating towards all things cycling worldwide all year round. Makes it feel more and more like a global community as you get more informed about the sport in all its disciplines and competitions. Thanks to awesome sites like Cyclingfans.com we in the U.S. can get a bit of the coverage the rest of the world enjoys. I will share whatever I find to be the most interesting and relevant cycling events and competitions as I sift through my sources that our mainstream media does not cover.
I always love it when a young blood gets a big win and this is the second in a row in the Tour Down Under. Maybe it is because I can relate a bit right now and am looking for a similar breakthrough…what is even better is it was a breakaway upset along with an Overall Jersey too, so now the kid gets to see what he can pull out of himself as the tour progresses for the overall. This is the kind of stuff that causes the status quo to shake up in the field and causes more aggressive riding and unexpected tactics as the expected “big names” of the race need to make up ground and the newwbies get a chance to show their stuff wit the support of a team around them.
Some may chalk it up to early season Pro Tour and the “big guns” not being in top shape. I think they are all in the same boat and may have little different focus for the year and this tour, but each team has those they want to win and are fighting for it.
1 comment:
Each of the first four stages was won by a rider under 25, so it's been a good race for the next generation.
The successful break yesterday means Meyer will probably win the overall tomorrow. Goss will need to pick up sprint bonuses, but Meyer has two two sprinters in his team (Farrar and Dean) who will work as spoilers to deny Goss the big bonuses.
The "Not in shape" argument is a reasonable one for the big guns, who do not want to peak this early in the season when their focus is on the Giro or the Tour. For smaller riders or smaller teams, however, early season races are their best chance to get personal exposure or to make the sponsors happy - especially when a team has a new sponsor, like Movistar. Winning today's stage takes a huge amount of pressure off the team. Riders/teams like that will have managed their pre-season training accordingly, looking o bring stronger form into January than the likes of, say, Cavendish, Greipel or Farrar.
http://thearmchairsportsfan.com/2011/01/22/tour-down-under-stage-5-goss-misses-out-after-uphill-struggle/
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