In its debut last year it ranked as the least-loved Pro Cycling Tour event, but nonetheless the 20 PCT teams are obligated by contract to contest the Eindhoven Team Time Trial. This year it sounds like teams got word that they should send more than the token squads which showed up last year, and at least some teams have obliged. Discovery are sending Hincapie and Popovych, Phonak are sending Landis and his top lieutenants, CSC are sending Basso, DaveZ, Julich and other luminaries. Game on!
Personally, I thought it sounded like a fair concept, a contested TTT leading up to the Tour. Maybe traveling to Holland doesn't work for a lot of riders, who're mostly in France if not Switzerland warming up. Worse, this year's Tour dropped the TTT. But the Tour could be won in the individual time trials, and while that's not the same as riding a TTT, it's still a good chance to work on positioning and handling.
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Anyway...
- Odd note from yesterday's Suisse epic (2nd story) -- apparently the Chicken bonked, which explains his sudden inability to climb any faster than me on the Albulapass. And the reason he bonked was that the race jury wouldn't let the team car approach and pass on some food, with other riders too close by. Weird way for a distinguished rider to lose a race.
- Good for Damiano Cunego!
- Speaking of taking part in the Grand Boucle, I've been ignoring the roster announcements but there's actually plenty of news in them. Today Gerolsteiner announced, though don't ask me where the news is. No Rebellin to help in the climbs, though Levi still has Totschnig, Seb Lang and others, plus a cast of stage hunters in Fothen, Wegmann, et al.
- Saul Raisin letter to BiciRace Is this stale? Worth repeating even so.
- Quick word from the other Mags.