Breaking through the Day Two hoodoo
18 January 2007
I
have always had a bit of a belief that winning the first stage of the Tour
is not all it is cracked up to be. Yes, it is great to get the accolades and
be up on the podium but often what happens is the gains of day one are the
losses of day two.
But it looks like hard work and good strategy has kept us on top today despite some bad luck along the way.
The riders wasted a fair bit of vital energy when a bad call through the information system set up for the teams and their managers placed one of the big threats to Menzies in a breakaway group. Our boys went out hard on the chase, only to find later that it was a mistaken call and the said threat was never actually in the pack - the last thing you need when the lead is as tight as this, is that kind of mirage.
The team this year is strong and classy and has the potential to go all the way. The next few days will be nerve wracking but I have faith in the riders and the strategists and I'm pretty excited that we got through day two in such good shape.
Losing Aitken is a blow but we must applaud his efforts today and yesterday and wish him well.