Garmin-Transitions team fights on after losing three in Tour de France
Controversy erupted late in the week commencing 16 July when the Stage 11 sprint in Bourg-les-Valence was marred by the unsportsman-like behaviour and disqualification of HTC-Columbia cyclist Mark Renshaw for head-butting Garmin-Transitions cyclist New Zealander Julian Dean during the dash to the finish line. Over the weekend, the race returned to the high mountain climbs of the Pyrenées and Team Garmin- Transitions cyclists Ryder Hesjedal and David Zabriskie put in gutsy performances to be part of breakaways in stages 12 and 14 respectively. Hesjedal maintains his ranking in the top 15 individual standings, a placing he has enjoyed since being awarded ‘Most Aggressive Rider’ for initiating a remarkable breakaway 13km into Stage 3 along the cobblestones.
After sustaining a broken left wrist and sprained elbow in Stage 2, team sprinter for Team Garmin- Transitons Tyler Farrar tenaciously continued throughout 10 stages, securing a second-place finish in Stage 6 and third-place finish in Stage 11, but his injuries forced him to abandon the Tour mid-way through Stage 12.
Farrar is the third Garmin-Transitions cyclist forced to withdraw from the 2010 Tour; Robbie Hunter abandoned the race after breaking his arm in Stage 10 and Christian Vande Velde abandoned after breaking two ribs in Stage 2. Although their injuries forced them to pull out of the race, both Hunter and Vande Velde proved their mettle by finishing the stages in which their injuries were sustained.
Conditions during this year’s Tour have been varied and have included rain, wet roads and blistering heat.
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