Cadel Watch - Stage 4 TdF 08
After the stage 4 of the 2008 Tour de France, the Individual Time Trial today in Cholet the win went to Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner) but the overall GC battle has moved significantly in favour of Cadel Evans. Evans wound up coming 4th in the test, 27 seconds behind Schumacher but his nearest rival is now Denis Menchov who sits 51 seconds back.
One of the outsiders for overall GC honours Kim Kirchen (Team Columbia) has signalled his strength for the race with a massive result finishing 2nd only 18 seconds back leaving him 12 seconds behind Schumacher overall.
The other main GC contenders include Damiano Cunego at 1:26, Alejandro Valverde at 1:27 and Carlos Sastre at 1:43.
The big chuckle of the day for me was reading the BBC Sport headline that proclaimed “Millar Moves Into Tour Contention”. Yup, ever the optimists are the British press. With a best finish of 55th in 2003 and with the mountains to come, his chances are very strong.
We all know that Cadel Evans’ maddening tactic in the past has been to cover every move in the mountains to minimise any possible time loss. With a 51 second lead over his nearest major rival that type of tactic may just serve him well this year. That being said, the field hasn’t had to cover any sort of terrain yet.
Suffice to say, it’s better to be 51 seconds in front than 51 seconds behind.
stumble
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