Friday, April 26, 2024

Close Run Thing (TdF 2012 Stage 5)

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Close Run Thing – The “Guaranteed” Bunchie that I mentioned yesterday did indeed eventuate on stage 5 today, but it was looking touch-and-go as to whether they’d be sprinting for the win, or lower placings! Toby Watson.

Close Run Thing
Tyler Farrar.

People always ask why teams get into a break if they know they’re only going to be caught in the lead-up to the bunch sprint, and today’s stage was a great example of the answer: you never know.

Despite this, the break was caught (admittedly, in the final km, which is leaving it a little late) and the sprint contested.

There were a couple of big names caught in crashes again – Sagan and Farrar being the main two, and clearly Tyler is getting frustrated as he wanted to enter the team bus of the bloke who clipped him! Unheard of!

[vsw id=”lMeMr1pzGcA” source=”youtube” width=”615″ height=”400″ autoplay=”no”]

Once again the immense power of Andre Greipel won through.

The race for the final corner eventuated as predicted, but sadly for Orica Greenedge, their man Matt Goss was solo at that point, and maybe 50m too far out to win the sprint with no wheels to follow.

Greipel came off Gossy’s wheel, and bopped the win.

Great bike racing, Close Run Thing, and another one to come tomorrow! Sweet.

Toby Watson
Toby Watsonhttps://www.veloveritas.co.uk
Ex-Garmin Transitions physiotherapist and soigneur Toby Watson brings you inside the squad, and shows you what it's like to be working with a top team on the biggest races in the world. Through his regular blog updates, Toby shares his sense of drama and fun that were essential parts of his job. Toby is Australian, and currently lives in Girona with his fiancee Amanda. If he has any time, he enjoys reading and running, and occasionally skiing too, when he can.

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