Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda Wins Stage 2 Team Time Trial in 2012 Tour of Utah – Van de Velde Moves into Overall Lead – Results and Photos

TOOELE – He may not carry a Utah driver’s license these days, but Dave Zabriskie still knows how to drive at an awful fast pace on his home state’s roads.

Put him on a closed race track and Zabriskie might be unstoppable.

That was definitely the case Wednesday afternoon at Miller Motorsports Park as Zabriskie set the early pace for his Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda squad during Stage Two of the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah.

While Zabriskie was the lead bike out of the start gate during the 14.5 mile team time trial, Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda blistered the race track in Tooele and skillfully powered his team leader, Christian VandeVelde into the yellow jersey as the race’s overall leader.

“I love it when a plan comes together,” Zabriskie playfully tweeted after the race.

That plan was perfectly executed as Zabriskie led his 8-man team out of the gate and quickly established the perfect pace to dominate the 17-team field. After Zabriskie pulled off, Tyler Farrar took over in front and used his sprinters legs to ramp things up and allow his team to lock into their rhythm – a rhythm that was unrelenting as it covered the 3-lap race in nearly perfect precision.

“I don’t have to do much with so many experienced riders, such as VandeVelde and Zabriskie,“ said Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda team director Charlie Wegelius on planning a strategy for this specialized discipline.  “You win a team time trial not by going extremely fast, but by never going slowly.”

Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda’s win shook up the overall standings in the race.

Stage One winner Rory Sutherland’s UnitedHealthCare team had a fine effort on the MMP tarmac, but finished 53 seconds slower than the Zabriskie-led pace. That knocked UHC’s strongman out of yellow and down to 10^th in the GC.

VandeVelde is the new leader with partners in crime Tom Danielson and Zabriskie sitting in second and third, respectively, as each have the same time. Teammate Peter Stetina is in fourth giving the argyle-clad squad a dominating presence on the leaderboard.

Rabobank’s Wilco Kelderman jumped up to fifth in the GC after his team mastered the wind in the early TTT sessions to finish second on the day, 33 seconds off the pace. Radio Shack-Nissan-Trek finished third at MMP, 38 seconds back.

Another of Utah’s favorite racers, two-time defending Tour of Utah champ Levi Leipheimer, suffered miserably on the track. With high winds and rugged heat baking the field, Leipheimer’s Omega Pharma-Quickstep squad struggled to hold its formation and had to slow and regroup several times. That cost Leipheimer dearly as his team finished more than two minutes slower than Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda, meaning if there is to be a three-peat, Leipheimer will need to attack in the mountains during Stage Five and/or Six.

Gallery by CottonSoxPhotography.net

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Gallery by Steven Sheffield

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Overall G.C. Standings – following Stage Two presented by XO Communications
1. VANDEVELDE Christian Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda 5.48’16”
2. DANIELSON Thomas Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda 5.48’16”
3. ZABRISKIE David Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda 5.48’16”
4. STETINA Peter Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda 5.48’46”
5. KELDERMAN Wilco Rabobank Cycling Team 5.48’49”
6. KRUIJSWIJK Steven Rabobank Cycling Team 5.48’49”
7. HORNER Christopher Radioshack-Nissan-Trek 5.48’54”
8. BUSCHE Matthew Radioshack-Nissan-Trek 5.48’54”
9. BENNETT George Radioshack-Nissan-Trek 5.48’54”
10. SUTHERLAND Rory UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team 5.48’59”