FDTF Stage 2 - Thor Helps Bile Beans Score

I don't know if you've noticed, but the bikes they ride in the Tour de France are pretty expensive. A regular road bike is pricey, but if you really want to spend some coin you need to get a time trial rig with some fancy wheels. Multiply all that money by nine and you've spent enough to kit-out a squad for a team time trial. At  Tour de France level you can't take any chances and you've got to have the latest aerodynamic toys - or do you? Here's an aero machine that came into the shop the other day, that I'm pretty sure cost less than a tyre on most of the bikes in the race today.........I'm not sure if it's UCI legal though.

The team time trial is the stage where the individual glory of crossing the line first, is replaced with the collective glory of sticking it to the other teams. Or depending on which team you're on, getting shafted by the other teams. Today it was Garmin Cervelo who did the shafting, as they scorched their way around the 23km circuit in 24:48.

Only 4 seconds back were BMC and Sky, with Leopard-Trek and HTC not far behind. Contador's Saxo Bank squad did a respectable enough ride, but the Spaniard ended up losing another 20 odd seconds to some of his main rivals. Garmin's efforts put Thor Hushovd into the race lead just ahead of Cadel Evans. Hushovd will now start tomorrow in Yellow, which will make it the third different jersey he's worn in as many days. On Saturday it was World Champion Thor.

Today it was King of the Mountains Thor.

And tomorrow it will be Yellow Thor (I'm hoping for Green Thor by the end of the race)

Highest score of the day went to Keep 'em Gesink, but the Bile Beans are still riding the wave of that Stage 1 success, and hanging on at the top of the mini league. If you're having trouble keeping track of it all, here's a spreadsheet I've knocked-up so we can see who-scored-what and who-picked-who. My boys are now down to third in the overall table, and I predict the downward slide will continue.

Stage 3 tomorrow should be one of the few opportunities for the big bunch sprinters to show their stuff this year. A stage like this would normally go Cav's way, and I see no reason why this one won't. I'll be hoping for good finishes from Hushovd, Rojas and Galimzyanov to keep the Beans on top.