Feeling Better -Slipstream keeps Pate?
Today’s stage will feature two Herbalife Sprints and three California Travel and Tourism King of the Mountains climbs on a route that is hilly and technical down the picturesque Pacific Coast Highway that will pedal through Big Sur and past the Hearst Castle before arriving in San Luis Obispo. Leipheimer’s GC lead over CSC’s Fabian Cancellara is 13 seconds, which could be reversed in tomorrow’s time trial. Astana will likely set the pace today with CSC nearby.
Team Slipstream told us this morning that they were afraid that their hopes of a successful Tour of California slip away to an old fashioned stomach virus. After losing their team leader Tyler Farrar yesterday, the team was set to rally around Danny Pate and push him to success in the remaining stages. Our reporter was told by Slipstream rider Steven Cozza that Danny Pate has a stomach virus and is out of the race.
How will Slipstream recover? Just makes you sick. At the race start, Danny Pate isn’t on the list of riders staying home so perhaps there is still hope.
Team Kelly Benefits also lost a rider - Keven Lacombe of Canada when he crashed into a Team CSC car. He’s okay, just out of the race.
VeloGuy is in a media car driven by two time Olympic Medalist Steven Hegg. They are rolling along in the midst of the riders today, so we hope to bring you updates from the middle of the peleton today.
Non-starters this morning are a pair of sprinters: High Road’s Mark Cavendish and Saunier Suval-Scott’s Luciano Pagliarini.
The Herbalife Sprint leader Heinrich Haussler of Gerolsteiner did not take the start this morning either so the green jersey is back up for grabs.
But it looks like Danny Pate of Slipstream is in.
Categories: Breaking News, Features, News, Rider Shuffle, Tour of California
Tags:
Leave a Reply