Haedo a Hero, Cavendish Burns Out and Boonen Gets the Podium for Stage 2
What a fantastic end to an excellent race. The day was slowed down by about 25 minutes due to the rain but the finish was fast, wild and totally excellent. Coming into the final laps, yesterday’s winner JJ Haedo got a flat and should have been out of the race. His teammate instantly rolled up to him, stripped off his own tire, yanked off Haedo’s tire, snapped on the replacement and gave JJ a push. 30 seconds behind while the peleton wa
s flying at 30 miles per hour with only a few miles left, Haedo was clearly done for the day, and out of contention for the Tour. But Haedo pulled it out from somewhere deep, and not only caught up with the peleton, he caught up with the leaders and finished right at the front.
(Back on his bike, here’s Haedo drafting on a team car. His own private Peleton.)
Cavendish from team HighRoad took his shot coming into the final lap, breaking away and flying, but didn’t have the strength to hold on, and at the last minute Boonen swung left, passed him by and left him in a puddle.
It was hard to tell whether Tom Boonen or his teammate had more pure joy in the victory. Bettini had his arms raised high even before Boonen crossed the line. Stay tuned for exclusive finish line photos.
Here are a few more random images from the day (check out our gallery tonite for high definition images from our foto team on the ground.)
BMC’s Nydam spent most of the day riding alone 10 to 15 minutes in front of his friends. This clown tried to chase him down at the top of the mountain.
Here’s Turgot riding alone 25 seconds ahead of the pack in stage two.
Here’s a CSC train hunting down Turgot and his one man breakaway. They’ll pull him back as they enter Sacramento city center.
Turgot got here first, but here comes the Peleton
Turgot is still in the lead coming up to the State Capitol. But not for much longer.
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The Lion King Roars in California:
All eyes were not on Tom Boonen at the finish. They were on third place, Mario “The Lion King” Cipollini. So happy to see the return of Mario from his retirement in 2005. Tom should start thinking twice about his position in the field for the sprints again.
See the Lion at http://www.poursuivants.com