Today’s stage was a prologue so I will keep the report short. We brought some great time trialers with Wiggins, Zabriskie, and Tuft. They all set great times and with only Wiggins and I to go, we held two top 5 positions. I began and was immediately off my saddle trying to build up as much speed as possible.



I felt very good throughout the race and I managed to put in a decent performance and I manage to be close enough to possibly contend for a top 5 in the general classification.



Wiggins came behind me and set the best time, taking the stage and the leader’s jersey going into the next stage.


Stage Rankings
1 Bradley Wiggins Garmin - Slipstream 9'16
2 Sebastian Lang Silence - Lotto + 3
3 David Zabriskie Garmin - Slipstream + 7
4 Svein Tuft Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
5 Kai Reus Rabobank + 8
6 Vasil Kiryienka Caisse d'Epargne + 11
7 Ryder Hesjedal Garmin - Slipstream + 13
8 Danny Pate Garmin - Slipstream + 14
9 Markel Irizar Euskaltel - Euskadi + 15
10 Laurens Ten Dam Rabobank s.t.
11 José Iván Gutiérrez Caisse d'Epargne + 16
12 Tanel Kangert AG2R La Mondiale + 17
13 Lieuwe Westra Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
14 Frantisek Rabon Team Columbia - High Road s.t.
15 Ronny Scholz Team Milram s.t.
16 Jurgen Van Goolen Team Saxo Bank + 18
17 Brett Lancaster Cervélo Test Team + 19
18 Fran Pérez Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
19 Marco Pinotti Team Columbia - High Road + 20
20 Mikhail Ignatiev Team Katusha s.t.
21 Johann Tschopp Bbox Bouygues Télécom + 22
22 Simon Spilak Lampre - N.G.C + 23
23 Sandy Casar Française des Jeux + 24
24 Christopher Baldwin Rock Racing + 26
25 Alexander Serov Team Katusha + 27
26 Rémi Pauriol Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
27 Cameron Meyer Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
28 Matteo Carrara Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team + 28
29 Charles Wegelius Silence - Lotto s.t.
30 Maxime Monfort Team Columbia - High Road s.t.
31 Daniel Martin Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
32 David Moncoutié Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
33 Evgeni Petrov Team Katusha + 29
34 Alexandre Blain Cofidis, le crédit en ligne + 31
35 Olivier Kaisen Silence - Lotto s.t.
36 Dani Navarro Astana Cycling Team + 32
37 Xavi Tondo Andalucía Cajasur + 33
38 Alberto Losada Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
39 Steve Morabito Astana Cycling Team s.t.
40 Koos Moerenhout Rabobank s.t.
41 Pietro Caucchioli Lampre - N.G.C s.t.
42 Lasse Bøchman Team Saxo Bank + 34
43 Víctor Hugo Peña Rock Racing + 35
44 Wesley Sulzberger Française des Jeux s.t.
45 Wladimir Miholjevic Liquigas s.t.
46 José Rubiera Astana Cycling Team s.t.
47 Jakob Fuglsang Team Saxo Bank s.t.
48 Luca Barla Team Milram s.t.
49 Fredrik Kessiakoff Fuji - Servetto s.t.
50 Francesco Reda Quick·Step + 36

Go go Martin!!!

stage 2 coming up. Brits will be disappointed and Americans will be excited.

so Zabriskie took the lead from Wiggins

Sorry for the lack of screen shots. Some of them didn’t save.




Stage 2

This is supposedly the only flat stage of the whole race, but the stage has a few tough climbs including two category 1 climbs. The first climb came very early in the race and I attacked looking for the KOM the mountain points. Unfortunately I went too early and didn’t pick up any points. There were 2 groups of riders that had broken away from the pack.



Unfortunately I found out on the climbs that my form still wasn’t good enough to contend for the race. Wiggins fell off the back during the climb; therefore he could no longer hold on to the leader’s jersey. At the finish Manuele Mori survived through the breakaway and took the win, barely holding off the sprinters from the peloton.



Wiggins finished way back and will lose his jersey but on the bright side Zabriskie takes over the lead.





Stage
1 Manuele Mori Lampre - N.G.C 4h40'27
2 Ricardo Serrano Fuji - Servetto s.t.
3 Nico Sijmens Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
4 Matteo Carrara Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
5 Assan Bazayev Astana Cycling Team s.t.
6 Maxim Iglinskiy Astana Cycling Team s.t.
7 Mikhail Ignatiev Team Katusha s.t.
8 Wesley Sulzberger Française des Jeux s.t.
9 John Gadret AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
10 René Mandri AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
11 Tom Leezer Rabobank s.t.
12 Vicente Reynès Team Columbia - High Road s.t.
13 Marco Marcato Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
14 Alessandro Vanotti Liquigas s.t.
15 Alexandre Pichot Bbox Bouygues Télécom s.t.
16 Yuri Trofimov Bbox Bouygues Télécom s.t.
17 Boris Shpilevski Fuji - Servetto s.t.
18 Denis Galimzyanov Team Katusha s.t.
19 Javier Moreno Andalucía Cajasur s.t.
20 Jérémy Roy Française des Jeux s.t.
21 Cyril Dessel AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
22 Simon Spilak Lampre - N.G.C s.t.
23 Matteo Tosatto Quick·Step s.t.
24 Carlos Barredo Quick·Step s.t.
25 Addy Engels Quick·Step s.t.
94 Daniel Martin Garmin - Slipstream s.t.


General Classification
1 David Zabriskie Garmin - Slipstream 4h49'50
2 Kai Reus Rabobank + 1
3 Vasil Kiryienka Caisse d'Epargne + 4
4 Ryder Hesjedal Garmin - Slipstream + 6
5 Laurens Ten Dam Rabobank + 8
6 José Iván Gutiérrez Caisse d'Epargne + 9
7 Tanel Kangert AG2R La Mondiale + 10
8 Ronny Scholz Team Milram s.t.
9 Jurgen Van Goolen Team Saxo Bank + 11
10 Fran Pérez Caisse d'Epargne + 12
11 Mikhail Ignatiev Team Katusha + 13
12 Marco Pinotti Team Columbia - High Road s.t.
13 Johann Tschopp Bbox Bouygues Télécom + 15
14 Simon Spilak Lampre - N.G.C + 16
15 Sandy Casar Française des Jeux + 17
16 Rémi Pauriol Cofidis, le crédit en ligne + 20
17 Matteo Carrara Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team + 21
18 Maxime Monfort Team Columbia - High Road s.t.
19 Charles Wegelius Silence - Lotto s.t.
20 David Moncoutié Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
21 Daniel Martin Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
22 Evgeni Petrov Team Katusha + 22
23 Pietro Caucchioli Lampre - N.G.C + 26
24 Xavi Tondo Andalucía Cajasur s.t.
25 Koos Moerenhout Rabobank s.t.

I should get a prize or something

you should. I'll give you a cookie.

I don't think I will be getting any good placings in this race. I noticed on a climb that I was almost falling off the back and on the next climb fell to A1. The way my fitness schedule is I should be a lot better for possibly the Tour de France

GO Garmin! Go MARTIN!

Go Garmin, go Martin! (and go Hesjedal )

Hesjedal is our only hope. Stage 3 will clarify the previous comment.

Zabriskie will lose the lead... damn another cookie

Stage 3

Today is a hilly stage where the favorites will first try to gain time on the other riders. The weather was great again and my legs felt good. A lot of the riders tried to get away but the peloton wouldn’t let anyone get away for the beginning of the stage. Eventually a group of riders finally got away and picked up a lead of about 4 minutes.



Quickstep controlled the peloton and chased down the break in order to set up there leader Carlos Barredo.



In the last 30 kilometers, the hills began and the favorites began to attack. One of the first riders to attack was Barredo.



I tried to counter but my legs weren’t behind me. Despite doing no work during the stage and being under the protection of Danny Pate, I couldn’t keep up. I fell back and lost too much time to be a contender anymore.



At the finish Maxime Monfort won the stage ahead of Pavel Brut.



Despite me losing a lot of time, Hesjedal and Zabriskie lost no time at all. Zabriskie and Hesjedal are in the top 3 going in to the TTT.




Stage
1 Maxime Monfort Team Columbia - High Road 4h01'58
2 Pavel Brutt Team Katusha s.t.
3 Dario Cataldo Quick·Step s.t.
4 Marco Marcato Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
5 Nico Sijmens Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
6 Mikhail Ignatiev Team Katusha s.t.
7 Ricardo Serrano Fuji - Servetto s.t.
8 Tanel Kangert AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
9 Maxim Iglinskiy Astana Cycling Team s.t.
10 Björn Schröder Team Milram s.t.
11 Matteo Carrara Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
12 Egoi Martínez Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
13 Jakob Fuglsang Team Saxo Bank s.t.
14 Sergei Lagutin Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
15 John Gadret AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
16 Vasil Kiryienka Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
17 Boris Shpilevski Fuji - Servetto s.t.
18 Carlos Barredo Quick·Step s.t.
19 Peter Velits Team Milram s.t.
20 Julien El Fares Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
21 Wesley Sulzberger Française des Jeux s.t.
22 Cyril Dessel AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
23 Olivier Kaisen Silence - Lotto s.t.
24 Kanstantsin Siutsou Team Columbia - High Road s.t.
25 Javier Moreno Andalucía Cajasur s.t.
26 Sandy Casar Française des Jeux s.t.
27 Assan Bazayev Astana Cycling Team s.t.
28 Vicente Reynès Team Columbia - High Road s.t.
29 David Moncoutié Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
30 Juanma Gárate Rabobank s.t.
31 Simon Spilak Lampre - N.G.C s.t.
32 Mauricio Soler Barloworld s.t.
33 José Rubiera Astana Cycling Team s.t.
34 Iñigo Landaluze Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
35 Charles Wegelius Silence - Lotto s.t.
36 Ronny Scholz Team Milram s.t.
37 Addy Engels Quick·Step s.t.
38 Mathieu Sprick Bbox Bouygues Télécom s.t.
39 Ryder Hesjedal Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
40 Evgeni Petrov Team Katusha s.t.
41 Pietro Caucchioli Lampre - N.G.C s.t.
42 Fran Pérez Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
43 Alberto Losada Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
44 Matthew Lloyd Silence - Lotto s.t.
45 René Mandri AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
46 Angel 'Litu' Gómez Fuji - Servetto s.t.
47 Johann Tschopp Bbox Bouygues Télécom s.t.
48 Fredrik Kessiakoff Fuji - Servetto s.t.
49 Manuele Mori Lampre - N.G.C s.t.
50 Marco Pinotti Team Columbia - High Road s.t.
101 Xavi Tondo Andalucía Cajasur + 3'06
102 Lasse Bøchman Team Saxo Bank s.t.
103 Thomas Rohregger Team Milram s.t.
104 Anders Lund Team Saxo Bank s.t.
105 Sylvester Szmyd Liquigas s.t.
106 Michael Mørkøv Team Saxo Bank s.t.
107 Daniel Martin Garmin - Slipstream s.t.


General Classification
1 David Zabriskie Garmin - Slipstream 8h51'48
2 Vasil Kiryienka Caisse d'Epargne + 4
3 Ryder Hesjedal Garmin - Slipstream + 6
4 Laurens Ten Dam Rabobank + 8
5 José Iván Gutiérrez Caisse d'Epargne + 9
6 Tanel Kangert AG2R La Mondiale + 10
7 Ronny Scholz Team Milram s.t.
8 Maxime Monfort Team Columbia - High Road + 11
9 Jurgen Van Goolen Team Saxo Bank s.t.
10 Fran Pérez Caisse d'Epargne + 12
11 Mikhail Ignatiev Team Katusha + 13
12 Marco Pinotti Team Columbia - High Road s.t.
13 Johann Tschopp Bbox Bouygues Télécom + 15
14 Simon Spilak Lampre - N.G.C + 16
15 Sandy Casar Française des Jeux + 17
16 Rémi Pauriol Cofidis, le crédit en ligne + 20
17 Matteo Carrara Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team + 21
18 Charles Wegelius Silence - Lotto s.t.
19 David Moncoutié Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
20 Evgeni Petrov Team Katusha + 22
21 Pietro Caucchioli Lampre - N.G.C + 26
22 Alberto Losada Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
23 Koos Moerenhout Rabobank s.t.
24 Pavel Brutt Team Katusha + 27
25 Marcel Wyss Cervélo Test Team s.t.
93 Daniel Martin Garmin - Slipstream + 3'27

sorry no 2nd cookie for you. Ill give you a cookie if you can guess who will win the TTT. (Our team includes:Zabriskie,Tuft,Wiggins,Pate,Meyer,and me) I haven't raced it yet but I think I probably know who will win.

Easy for you

Stage 4

Today’s Team Time Trial is slightly hilly which probably favors some of the other teams but we are still the favorites with 3 elite time trailers. Quickstep was looking to set a good time to help Barredo win the race. They came in 12th 49 seconds behind the 1st place team.



One of the favorites of the stage was Team Columbia – High Road who brought two TT champions. Surprisingly they came in 6th 21 seconds behind 1st place.



We were the last to go and Rabobank was in the lead with a great time of 16'25. Thanks to the time trialing abilities of Wiggins, Zabriskie, and Tuft, we managed to put up a great time of 16’23, beating Rabobank by 2 seconds.



We now the hold the top 2 spots in the GC heading into the Mountain stage.




Stage
1 Garmin - Slipstream 16'23
2 Rabobank + 2
3 Team Katusha + 14
4 Silence - Lotto s.t.
5 Team Saxo Bank + 19
6 Team Columbia - High Road + 21
7 Astana Cycling Team s.t.
8 Team Milram + 37
9 Française des Jeux + 41
10 Cervélo Test Team s.t.
11 Bbox Bouygues Télécom + 49
12 Quick·Step s.t.
13 Lampre - N.G.C s.t.
14 Euskaltel - Euskadi + 59
15 AG2R La Mondiale + 1'06
16 Rock Racing s.t.
17 Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team + 1'19
18 Caisse d'Epargne + 1'29
19 Barloworld s.t.
20 Liquigas s.t.
21 Fuji - Servetto + 1'38
22 Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
23 Andalucía Cajasur + 1'41


General Classification
1 David Zabriskie Garmin - Slipstream 9h08'10
2 Ryder Hesjedal Garmin - Slipstream + 6
3 Laurens Ten Dam Rabobank + 10
4 Mikhail Ignatiev Team Katusha + 28
5 Koos Moerenhout Rabobank s.t.
6 Jurgen Van Goolen Team Saxo Bank + 31
7 Maxime Monfort Team Columbia - High Road + 32
8 Marco Pinotti Team Columbia - High Road + 34
9 Charles Wegelius Silence - Lotto + 36
10 Evgeni Petrov Team Katusha + 37
11 Pavel Brutt Team Katusha + 42
12 Juanma Gárate Rabobank + 46
13 Ronny Scholz Team Milram + 47
14 Jakob Fuglsang Team Saxo Bank + 48
15 José Rubiera Astana Cycling Team + 49
16 Mauricio Ardila Rabobank + 50
17 Matthew Lloyd Silence - Lotto + 51
18 Dimitry Kozontchuk Rabobank s.t.
19 Sandy Casar Française des Jeux + 58
20 Denis Galimzyanov Team Katusha + 1'01
21 Vicente Reynès Team Columbia - High Road + 1'03
22 Johann Tschopp Bbox Bouygues Télécom + 1'05
23 Assan Bazayev Astana Cycling Team s.t.
24 Maxim Iglinskiy Astana Cycling Team + 1'06
25 Simon Spilak Lampre - N.G.C s.t.
92 Daniel Martin Garmin - Slipstream + 3'27

Great stage wins I can't see anyone that will really knock you out in the mountains either, so maybe either Hesjedal or Dave Z can win it

I hope so. It might be close though.

good win

Good job so far

would you mind posting your training schedule?