Thor Scores Podium Position
A 120.7 km circuit race around St. Louis saw Mark Cavendish better Juan Jose Haedo (Saxo Bank) and Cervélo TestTeam's
Thor Hushovd at the first stage of the 2009 Tour of Missouri.

"It worked out well, actually perfectly. We wanted to do the lead out, first of all to control the race where necessary. The team did a great job there and worked together with some other teams to keep the breakaway close to us," said Jean-Paul Van Poppel, Sports Director. "We caught them in the last lap and then it was up to the sprinters to organize themselves and come in for the last 1.5 km. They went full gas and everyone was in line and in order just how we wanted it. After the last corner it was Heinrich who swung off Brett and Brett goes full gas to the finish line with 150 metres to go then it was Thor's turn to go to the leading position, unfortunately he had a slow puncture so the tire didn't have the pressure it required and he gets out of balance and that's why he couldn't make it to the finish line, two people pass him Cavendish and Haedo, nothing to be ashamed of though. It's silly that this happened, there were a lot of punctures today with other teams and unfortunately it happened to Thor in the last few metres. The other thing was we were unlucky in the last corner. Andreas Klier who had done his work came into a crash. Heinrich swung out and he got clipped by a rider who wasn't looking where he was going. The boys are not real happy with the end result but they have to realize they did a good job. We have another six days to go, and we looking for a stage win."

"We were pulling together with Columbia and then with 1.5 km to go, we just went off Columbia," said Thor Hushovd after the race. "Heinrich Haussler did a good job, unfortunately he crashed in the end. Then Brett Daniel Lancaster did an awesome job in the last corner and pulled me to just before the finish. I started my sprint and then Cavendish passed me but I'm happy - I haven't sprinted in a long time and I feel good. And yes, I'd like to have a stage win this week."



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Haussler in Missouri to set-up sprints for Hushovd

Mauduit announced as Sports Director
Cervélo TestTeam is pleased to announce that Philippe Mauduit (FRA) is joining the men's team as a Sports Director.

As a former cyclist and with his experience, over the past few years as a Sports Director for the pro cycling team Bbox Bouygues Telecom, Mauduit will be a valuable addition to the team, collaborating with Jean-Paul van Poppel (NED), Alex Sans Vega (ESP),
Jens Zemke (DEU) and Marcello Albasini (CHE).

"I will spend the rest of this year learning about every aspect of the team - riders, staff and sponsors. They have a good team spirit and everyone seems very motivated. My goal, in the coming years, is that I will be able to make a positive contribution to help the riders on the team improve their performance. I look forward to being a part of the team’s further development and improvement.”

“Philippe Mauduit comes from a professional background” said Thomas Campana, Team Manager. "He just finished his university studies in Besancon to become a coach, and he has already participated in two Tours de France and many other races as a Sports Director. Philippe brings to the team a solid knowledge of tactics, strong technical skills, and an ability to coach the young riders.”



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Carlos visits Eurobike
Cervélo TestTeam rider Carlos Sastre Candil visited yesterday the Eurobike Show the most important international trade fair in the bike world in Friedrichshafen (Germany) held from the 2^nd to 6^th September.

“My visit to Eurobike forms part of Cervélo’s philosophy, in that riders are in continuous contact with companies from the sector which sponsor or collaborate with the team", said the winner of the 2008 Tour.

Sastre visited all the Cervélo partners and suppliers and joined in the evening together with Claudia Häusler the Cervélo Party.

Q&A Ignatas Konovalovas
One of the promising talents in the peloton, Ignatas Konovalovas is making his second grand tour start of the 2009 season with Cervélo TestTeam at the Vuelta a España.

A winner of a stage at the Giro d’Italia back in May, Konovalovas is racing the Vuelta to prepare for the upcoming world championships. Here’s what “Ignas” had to say about the Vuelta:

Cervélo TestTeam: What are your expectations for the Vuelta?
Ignatas Konovalovas: “I came here more or less to make preparation for the world championships. I am not going to do all the Vuelta, maybe two weeks, we’ll see how I am feeling. I don’t expect much from me, I will just try to help the team, try to help
José Ángel Gómez Marchante or Philip Deignan in the harder stages. In Holland, I have no pressure, just like yesterday, all the time very nervous, all the time looking at front, braking, accelerating, turning. These races here are harder here for the head than the muscles.

CTT: How do you rate your performance in the prologue?
IK: “I think I did OK, it’s what I can do. I prefer longer time trials than short prologues. I don’t have the explosive power like these guys who can really fast in the shorter prologue. To finish 18, it’s OK. It’s not that I am satisfied, but it’s OK.”

CTT: And in Saturday’s time trial at Valencia?
IK: “It was one of the most dangerous parcours for me. I could feel the wheels slipping in the corners. I didn’t take any risks on the corners. I was going very slow, I don’t know if I could have gone slower. I tried to do my best on the straight lines. I wouldn’t say I was good, but I could say the form is coming for the worlds. My heart-rate wasn’t as high as I would have liked, perhaps it’s because of the change of weather. It was cool in Holland, then it was hot in Spain, and then cool again today with rain, so maybe that was why my heart-rate didn’t go as I would have liked.”

CTT: Looking back at the Giro victory, how important was that stage win for you?
IK: “That was an amazing day, the biggest victory of my career. I couldn’t believe it for four or five days, only after I started to believe. I was so happy. I was really great. We had a nice team party in the center of Rome. We had sponsors, friends, that was really nice.

CTT: What do you say to critics who say you won because you raced in dry conditions and the others raced in rain”
IK: “They are right. Of course, they are right. If it wasn’t raining and it was dry for everybody, I am not sure I would win. I knew I would do a good time trial, because I was feeling strong. Anyway I would be satisfied. When I crossed that finish line, I felt I went 100 percent and I wouldn’t change anything. Sometimes you cross the finish line, you think, oh, I should have done better here or made better there, but not in Rome. I was very satisfied.”

CTT: Do you consider yourself a time trial specialist?
IK: “I would like to progress more in the mountains. I want to try as well in the classics. If you do classics, then you cannot progress so much in the mountains. I am still trying to find myself. This year, I discovered that I am better in the time trial than last year. Now I must choose if I am going to be the cobblestones or try to improve in the mountains. I am still thinking what I can do. I am only 24 at the end of the year.”

CTT: What are your expectations for the future?
IK: “I hope little by little, I can find myself. This at the team meeting at the beginning of the season, they said, ‘OK, Ignas, what are your goals this year?’ I told them, I want to find myself as a rider. I am halfway, now I will have the same progression for next year. Next year at the meeting, I will say, I want to find my other half!”

CTT: Is cycling a big sport in Lithuania?
IK: “No, it’s not a big sport at all. It’s not growing. It’s always at a very small level. We have only two pro riders. Me and Tomas Vaitkus and one from Flaminia, it’s not really big.”

CTT: How did you get into cycling?
IK: “Through my family. My father is a coach and my mom was a cyclist before. She was third in the Olympics and world champion on road in 1988.”

CTT: Is there a big cycling culture in Lithuania like we’ve seen in Holland and Belgium, where people use the bike to move around town?
IK: “There’s no cycling culture at all. It’s too cold and raining. It rains in Holland as well, it’s just too cold. In winter, we have -25C in the winter. It snows!”

CTT: What kind of hobbies do you enjoy when you’re not racing and training?
IK: “If I am at home, I see old friends from school in Lithuania. After traveling so much, I like to stay calm, I like to cook, watch TV, just take it easy.”

Thor 2nd in Stage 2
Thor Hushovd and his Cervélo TestTeam team mates used their considerable power today to help control the attacks and a three man break away that lasted for much of the stages 180.9 km from Ste. Genevieve to Cape Girardeau. But race leader Mark Cavendish (Columbia-HTC) had other plans and took his second stage in as many days. Second and third place was also similar to yesterday's stage, except today Cervélo's Thor Hushovd took 2^nd, JJ Haedo (Saxo Bank) third and Cervélo's superb lead out man
Brett Daniel Lancaster finished fourth.

"Yesterday everything went wrong that could go wrong we had 2 man down in the last few metres after they did the lead out," said Jean-Paul Van Poppel, Sports Director. "Brett did a fantastic job but unfortunately Thor had a slow puncture in the his front tire he couldn't go to the max and ended up in third place."

"So lots went wrong yesterday and we hoped today things would stay OK. We spoke this morning and said OK let's stay cool, let's do our thing we've got a better lead out team here than Columbia's and lets just go for it. And that's what they did. They did a perfect job in the final, we had four men in the last kilometre, they did an excellent job but what can you do, Cavendish is like a cat. To be brought to the last 150 metres by Brett Lancaster, Thor came up and they told me Cavendish passed him like the guy didn't exist and so it's second spot today. The team shouldn't be worried we did whatever we had to do. Compliments to the team especially
Heinrich Haussler who has bruised ribs. Any rider who has had that knows it's very hard to breath normally. He's in a lot of pain, but today he showed he could deal with it. He was in a breakaway and did a fantastic lead out with Brett again. If you look at the YouTube video of yesterday's crash, it is incredible he's performing as well as he is today. We're up for the 3^rd stage tomorrow and perhaps we'll find the weakness and win a stage. That's what we want one stage."

"It was really fast today again and my team did a really fantastic job," said Thor Hushovd, "Brett gave me a very good lead off with 150 metres to go he was pulling me to the front with Haussler and I started to sprint but you can't beat Canvendish he's too strong at the moment. But we don't give up we'll see over the next few days."

Promoters are calling tomorrow's stage 3 from Farmington to Rolla (183.9 km) the most challenging stage in the three-year history of Tour of Missouri. The start in Farmingtons quaint downtown belies the challenges to come in the Ozark Mountains. With over 6,000 feet of total climbing on hill after hill, this day will begin to shape the race for the overall champion.



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DeepCover:

I will go out on a limb and speculate that management/ownership gave Sastre what he wanted because they "owed him one" - Sastre's signing was the endorsement that gave the CTT concept credibility. It was a gamble, just like including a rider who could quite possibly win a single stage (I think you are making it sound simpler than it is!). I suspect they weighed the odds and elected to give Carlos his "dues" and put Simon (who had signed for 2 years) in the Vuelta.

mudrock:

Agree, CTT was kind of painted into a corner with Carlos. Sastre's pride seems to be getting in the way of him making realistic goals for himself. Like Oscar Pereiro in 2006, Sastre won under conditions that won't be repeated. A new generation is gaining Grand Tour experience and it will be hard for any of the older riders - Armstrong, Leipheimer, Evans - to get on the final podium. And Sastre isn't even in the class of those three. CTT has to face facts and start grooming a new leader.

I never assume Gerrans would have won a stage but it will never happen if he doesn't make the team.

Sastre can still be top 5, top 10 in the Tour, and that is a big deal!
For a little team like Cervélo TestTeam it's a very big deal.

Btw.
Yesterday's stage win makes Cervélo TestTeam only the second team to have won stages in all three Grand Tours this year (Columbia-HTC is the other one)!

Thor WON!!

Three, Two, Won - Hushovd defeats Cav to don leader's jersey
In a spectacular sprint finale with strong support from Cervélo TestTeam, Thor Hushovd was victorious today winning the third stage of the Tour of Missouri. As the breakaway of the day with William Frischkorn (Garmin-Slipstream) and Matthew Wilson (Team Type 1) was brought back within the final 10 km, Cervélo stayed patient and in the last kilometre on a tough hill, Cervélo's Heinrich Haussler launched an attack followed by teammate Brett Daniel Lancaster's attack. When Columbia-HTC brought him back, Cervélo took it over and Thor was able to sprint to a first place finish. The 183.9 km stage from Farmington to Rolla was the third time lucky for Hushovd who finished third in Monday's first stage and second yesterday. Juan Jose Haedo (Saxo Bank) and Quick Step's Dario Cataldo finished 2^nd and 3^rd consecutively with Cavendish managing a fifth place result.

The win puts Hushovd in the race leader's jersey* although he is now equal on time with Cavendish.

"It's gets a bit boring because we've done everything the same for two days in a row with an excellent lead out team in the last kilometre," said Jean-Paul Van Poppel, Sports Director. "The first day it was unfortunate with a puncture for Thor and a crash for Heinrich. The second day we actually did a perfect leadout but Cavendish was too strong and had too much speed in the last 200 metres.

"We discussed this last night and again this morning and we knew we had to do something different then we did before. So, no more lead outs and we also wanted try to get the train out of balance. The boys did a great job today starting to ride at full speed in the last 2 km. Then with 1.2 km to go Brett Lancaster launched an attack and the train from Columbia and Cavendish had to react to that and that killed them completely, to have to come back it took 700 metres and then they were only 500 metres to the finish line. They came back on his wheel and from then on they were exhausted. Then other teams came in and Thor was still there in a good position and he was able to sprint to the win.

"As for Mark Cavendish I don't know - he didn't want anymore and let it out and got fifth. With that he lost the general leader's jersey to Thor, because they are even on time but Thor is better on points, So we ended up with the green and on top of that the yellow leader jersey for the Tour of Missouri. So I am a happy and a proud Sports Director of a good team that works well together and it's actually unbelievable that this team can make happen what we plan in our heads. The thing we had in our head was to win a stage at the Tour of Missouri.

Actually we didn't know how to beat him last night but we made it happen. Compliments for the whole team, fantastic teamwork, this was really a team win and it's a victory for the whole team and of course Thor's great form."

"The team did a good job, they were pulling all day," remarked Thor Hushovd after today's victory. "Lancaster attacked in the finale and put pressure on Columbia's Hincapie and Cavendish so I followed him and sat on his wheel and had a great sprint the last 15 meters. Cavendish is the fastest sprinter in the world at the moment so it always feels good to beat him. I'm really happy for myself and also the team."

*The rules, as explained by Cyclingnews.com: If there had already been a time trial, fractions of a second would decide the race leader; however, there has been no time trial yet, so the sum of the stage placings decides it. The lowest total is the tie break winner. Hushovd adds up to six, Cavendish has seven, so Hushovd is the GC leader.



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VeloNews.tv - Tour of Missouri Stage 3

VeloNews.tv - Thor the victor

Team Race Preview – September 12 - 19, 2009 - Men
While the Vuelta and Tour of Missouri are underway, a team of our riders will also be participating in the Tour of Britain. The eight stage race begins on Saturday, September 12 in Yorkshire finishing in London on Saturday, September 19. The Tour of Britain, like many of the other races the teams are involved in currently, serve as excellent competitive preparation for the upcoming World Championships in Mendrisio (CHE).

“Our main focus will be to build up the shape for our qualified riders for the World Championships. These include
Martin Reimer (DEU, U23), Serge Pauwels (BEL), Hayden Roulston (NZL) and probably Daniel Lloyd (GBR) as well,” said
Jens Zemke, Sport Director. “But our goal, as always, is to perform to the best of our capabilities and fight for a good result. We have, in Daniel Lloyd and Daniel Fleeman (8th place in the last year), two home favorites who are always good for surprises.”


Tour of Britain 2.1, Cervélo TestTeam line-up:
Serge Pauwels
Daniel Fleeman
Daniel Lloyd
Martin Reimer
Oscar Pujol Muñoz
Davide Appollonio

Q&A Philip Deignan
Cervélo TestTeam’s Philip Deignan has quietly made it through the first half of the Vuelta a España in good shape. After 11 hard stages of racing, the 26-year-old is close to the top 20, sitting 22nd overall at 6:12 back.

The promising Irish talent has avoided major crashes and illnesses that have already taken their toll on the pack midway through the three-week Spanish tour.

Deignan will enjoy Thursday’s rest day at the Vuelta, knowing that the hardest part of the race is still in front of him. Deignan – who celebrated his 26^th birthday on Sept. 7 – is one of those young pros who’ve been knocking around quite a few years already. He turned pro in 2005 with French team Ag2r and joined Cervélo with hopes of stepping up.

So far this season with Cervélo, Deignan helped support Carlos Sastre Candil at the Giro d’Italia in May and notched promising top-10 results at the Vuelta a Castilla y León and the Vuelta a Burgos, two important week-long stage races in Spain.

This year’s Vuelta is an important milestone for Deignan and he’s riding as Cervélo’s second option in the overall classification, behind Spanish climber José Ángel Gómez Marchante.

Cervélo TestTeam: So far, so good in the Vuelta?
Philip Deignan: I’m feeling pretty good. I did the Giro earlier in the year and I had a good break. I’ve been building up at the Tour of Burgos and Tour of Ireland, and I’ve been getting stronger and stronger. The first days were pretty hectic, with some nasty weather. I got through it pretty well.

CTT: What are your expectations for the Vuelta?
PD: I think this Vuelta is going to be interesting, to try to go flat out for three weeks and see what happens. I’ve done three grand tours so far in my career. I’ve always seem to have a really bad day or two, so I am not sure if I am up to that standard. I think it’s a learning curve. It takes a few tours to see what your body can withstand.

CTT: What have you learned most in your previous grand tours that can help you here?
PD: Every year you learn something new, about how your body reacts. You get to the stage when you wake up in the morning, and you know how you’re going to ride that day. I’ve always seemed to have had some really bad days. I haven’t had one yet. So far, so good.

CTT: What did you take out of the Giro in May in your first grand tour riding for Cervélo?
PD: I can read the race a lot better. I know when a breakaway is going to succeed. I am a lot better at getting into breakaways, and I am getting better about staying with the leaders, or listening to your body and knowing that you have to let that front group go sometimes. If you feel bad and you dig too deep, then you really kill yourself for a few days. The most important thing is to really listen to your body.

CTT: How would you characterize yourself as a rider?
PD: I’m still trying to figure that out. I have really good days in the mountains when I can climb with the best guys. I am not sure if I can do it for three weeks. So far, my best results have been in week-long, five-day stage races. I am still trying to find out where my strength is.

CTT: Do you think you could become a rider for the grand tours?
PD: I’d really like to become a GC rider. So many things can happen in three weeks. You can have a bad day, you can get unlucky, you get sick, you crash. I’ve done two Giros and one Vuelta, so this my fourth grand tour.

CTT: How did you first get into cycling in Ireland?
PD: I am from northwest Ireland and I did a charity cycle for cancer research back in 1998. It was 100km, I just did it and met a few guys from the local club. And it all started to snowball from there. My first race was 15, with some local teams, then I got on some Irish teams. After that, I went to France and rode on VC La Pomme. They’ve had three or four riders turn pro every year. It’s a great program.

CTT: Where do you live in Europe?
PD: I’m in Girona (Spain) most of the time. There are plenty of English-speaking riders. Most of the Garmin team, some of the Columbia guys, it’s a really good base. It’s home away from home for a lot of the American and Australian guys. I love the tapas and the Spanish style food.

Hushovd second in stage and GC
The foruth stage of Tour of Missouri from St. James to Jefferson City was a deceptive one. The easy rolling start from St. James, morphed into a challenging finish circuit 109.2 km down the road in Jefferson City. A four rider breakaway with Bernard Van Ulden (Jelly Belly), Jeff Louder (BMC Racing Team), Bradley White (OUCH p/b Maxxis) and Michael Creed (Team Type 1) managed a lead of just over three minutes. Cervélo with help from Liquigas and Garmin kept them in check and controlled the race until the leaders were brought back just inside the final 15 km. Especially daunting for the sprinters was the “capitol wall”, a steep 300-meter climb, to the finish line adjacent to the states' Capitol.

Today's daunting finish up the steep 30 metre "capitol wall" once again became a sprinters challenge between J.J. Haedo (Saxo Bank), who won the stage, Cervélo's Thor Hushovd in second and Dario Cataldo (Quick Step) in third. Cavendish left the race this morning due to illness.

"We had a fantastic day yesterday with the win and the leaders jersey, also the points, green jersey so we were pretty happy and it also gives us the obligation to work in the bunch," said Jean-Paul Van Poppel, Sports Director. "What we hoped for happened - four riders in a break, not to many, so we could control them. We also knew that other people had some interest because of the time trial tomorrow so more teams were there, Liquigas for one. We came to the final with two laps to go and in the final lap we got into a crash in one of the last corners. It actually was - I shall not mention his name but he did some real suicide positioning work and they pulled two of our riders out Andreas Klier and Brett Daniel Lancaster. Brett, as we know, is the last man for Thor. So now he's got his feet on the ground because he has lost his speed. Thor is by himself and he didn't have his leadout that he looks for and he's waiting, waiting and then he started on the front, probably too early. Then in the final metres he got passed by Haedo from Saxo Bank. It's difficult to finish when you see that the last couple of hundred metres are steep uphill and if you go too early and people sit on your wheel it makes it a bit comfortable, not easy but easier to pass you there, than even on a flat sprint. All in all we're pretty happy we won our stage and if we can win another we will do it, but unfortunately the crash didn't make it happen for us. As for tomorrow we'll do our best in the time trial and see what happens."

"It was really a fast lap, lots of hard corners and the last 300 metres was a really hard hill," said Thor Hushovd. "The team was pulling all day they did a great job. Heinrich Haussler lead me out and I think I waited too long or lost a little speed. In the end J.J. Haedo came from behind and he had more speed. But I'm happy with second place. My form is good and the TestTeam is enjoying the Tour of Missouri. Now I'm second overall, I'd like to have the lead but I'd like to ride a good time trial I'll do my best and we'll see how I end up."



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Checking in from Missouri
Hey y'all,

I once again apologize for not being a regular on the blogging thing here at Bartape.net. Thankfully some of my colleagues are picking up my slack with blog posts and the awesome videos. I really am impressed with the movies they're producing and always finish up the last one waiting anxiously for the next to come out. And it's all the cooler because I'm a living part of it! Well done guys.

There are plenty of people who wear multiple hats, so to speak. As I worked my way up the American cycling ranks I noticed that rider/managers are a common sight, for example. Here at the Tour of Missouri, I'm writing for Velonews.com so I've therefore dubbed myself a rider/journalist. Sure it's just a blog entry every few days, but I think journalist sounds more distinguished than "blogger."

Anyway, I don't mean to steer you away from Bartape.net, but feel free to check out what I'm writing for Velonews this week for some insight into the race. HERE* is the pre-race entry and HERE* is entry numero dos after Thor Hushovd stormed to victory on stage 3. Hope you think the writing is up to snuff.

The team is riding like all-stars right now all over the globe which is a blast to see and great to be part of. Thor is fast in Missouri, Simon Gerrans' win at the Vuelta was pretty spectacular and savvy, and the rest of the guys are off to Tour of Britain which begins on Saturday. Yup, life is good right now!

Bye from middle America!
Ted


Also from Edward Carrington "Ted" King:

*  I Am Ted King: Supersized
*  I am Ted King - Game on!

Hushovd Still in Green in Missouri
Today’s time trial at the Tour of Missouri drastically changed the overall GC after the 4 previous sprint-finish stages. Dave Zabriskie (Garmin) won the time trial by 30 seconds over Gustav Larsson (Saxo Bank) and 44 seconds over Tom Zirbel (Bissell) to take the overall lead in the race. Cervélo TestTeam’s Thor Hushovd retained the green jersey, and Brett Daniel Lancaster was the team’s top performer in the time trial.

“I think I went too hard to be honest,” said Brett Lancaster. “I went really hard the first 5 km, but I went really easy for 5 km in the middle, and then brought it home pretty hard. It was ok, considering the amount of training I’ve been doing. I’m looking forward to the next two days. They should be good. You know, yesterday we had a bit of bad luck, I was sort of caught behind the crash, but if it all comes together tomorrow we should be able to win the next two stages.”

Note: Marcel Wyss was according CyclingNews faster than Brett Lancaster!



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Reimer 7th in Tour of Britain's 1st stage
The Tour of Britain kicked off today with a 172.6 km course from Scunthorpe to York. The stage winner was Chris Sutton (Garmin-Slipstream) who won the battle of the sprinters through the narrow streets of York with Michel Merlo (Barloworld) taking second and Ben Swift (Team Katusha) third. Best result for a Cervélo rider was Martin Reimer who placed seventh.

"Today we had a good start to the Tour," said Jens Zemke, Sports Director. "Two riders espaced during the race (Marten Mortensen Vascansoleil and Thomas De Gendt TopSport -Vlaanderen) working up almost a 13 minute advantage, but the peloton chased them back about 8 km before the finish. It came down at the end to a bunch sprint and we provided the lead out for Martin who did a great sprint. The weather was good and there was an amazing cycling festival here with lot of spectators. It makes racing lots of fun here. Tomorrow we have an up and down course and we will do again our best."

Stage 2 will see the riders racing 153.3 km from Darlington to Newcastle Gateshead. This stage is very similar to stage 1 and has great finish location, near the Millennium Bridge on the banks of the river Tyne.



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Hunt on the attack, Thor retains green, Stage 6 Tour of Missouri
The sixth stage from Chillicothe to St. Joseph was the fastest pace that the peloton has ever raced at in a Tour of Missouri stage. Cervélo and several other teams were the cause with non-stop attacks throughout today's stage. Cervélo's Jeremy Hunt was the one that actually did get away. Hunt went off the front line about the 65km mark, working to a three minute ten second gap at one point and was then brought him back after about 20km.

Today's sprinter's finale saw green jersey wearer Thor Hushovd finish second to Francesco Chicchi (Liquigas) after Chicchi's long and dramatic end of stage sprint that overtook both Hushovd and third place finisher Lucas Sebastian Haedo (Colavita/Sutter Home).

"Getting closer to the end, still a few things to do," explained Sports Director, Jean-Paul Van Poppel. "One, keeping Thor safe for the green jersey, this morning he was equal in points with JJ Haedo from Saxo Bank, (not to be confused with his brother with Colvita), both with 49 points. The plan was to help Thor in the intermediate sprints if there was no breakaway on the road. We tried with several riders to get into the breakaways since the GC was split after the time trial yesterday that could give us some opportunities. But what happened in the first sprint is, that Thor got five points and Haedo didn't get any. Now Thor's five up. Then Jeremy Hunt was pretty active and he got in the break and they let him go by himself. They let him go there for about 15 - 20 km, then the other teams didn't let it go, they chased hard and took him back. Closer to the final we tried to control the race. Just before the second intermediate sprint there was a break and we let it go. We didn't want to lose our energy for the stage win and they pulled it back in about 25 seconds. It was pretty hard uphill today in spots but the riders controlled the road well.

"In the finale Brett Daniel Lancaster took the sprint with Thor on this wheel and he looked like he was going to win but then Chicchic from Liquigas came through and you know if he doesn't suffer he's very fast and hard to stop. But we have nothing to feel bad about, the green jersey that's our target and maybe tomorrow we'll let Chicchi suffer a little bit more and get Thor the win."

"I took it easy and hoped they would take it easy," said Jeremy Hunt. "Usually if you go easy, they go easier but they didn't they started attacking."

"I don't know. I can't get anything out of my legs, I'm a bit disappointed today," said Thor Hushovd. "The team did a great job and I'm going to try again tomorrow. It's going to be a nice day in Kansas City and it would be an awesome race to win."

Not your typical parade stage to finish the tour, the circuit (116.4 km) through Kansas City’s greater downtown area tomorrow will be hard. With the start and finish at Crown Center the riders will have to contend with countless technical corners and short steep hills. As we have seen throughout this competition, the overall champion will certainly have to earn it.



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I Am Ted King: Playing catch-up, on the bike and off