Stage 2 was Thursday’s 80 mile Inner Loop Road Race and again saw some major climbing but even tougher on the riders were the steep and narrow descents. The BISSELL team was on the offensive today from the very start in an effort to force Levi’s hand and put all the pressure on his two man defense. However, every attempt that BISSELL made was closely watched by Astana’s eyes as they knew that BISSELL was a threat. Every move resulted in an increased tempo to make a tough day even tougher. On a very technical descent after the second categorized climb of the day, Floyd Landis (OUCH), Luis Amaran (Colavita), Sean Milne (Team Type 1) and Caleb Fairly (Felt-Garmin) got away. Once the hill bottomed out (40 miles in) Ben Jacques-Maynes did an incredible bridge effort to the Landis group. At one point, the Landis group was 4 minutes up on the field and Ben’s chase made it within 1 minute of the break. Astana was forced to push the chase as things were looking bleak for Levi's jersey defense. If Ben had bridged to the lead group, it would have made Ben the leader on the road and put him in the leader’s jersey. However with 20 miles to go, Astana received help from BMC, Planet Energy, and Kelly Benefits and brought what was left of the field to the line. It was a field sprint to the finish with Colavita’s Haedo taking the win. There were no changes in the GC.
Friday brings the very tough Tyrone Individual Time Trial. The out-and-back course is 16.15 miles and includes the Little Burro Pass which delivers 5% grades going out and close to 8% grades on the return. The added element of high altitude will require a huge effort tomorrow.
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Ben in a break for most of Stage 2
photo: veloimages/brian hodes |
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