Team Astana asserts its dominance in TTT

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Cancellara retains Golden Fleece by 22/100ths of a second

It was four years to this day when, on the fourth stage of the 2005 Tour de France, a team called Discovery Channel set an incredible average of 57.324 kilometres an hour to take victory in a 67.5-kilometre team time trial from Tours to Blois.

Helped by Dave Zabriskie's dramatic final kilometre crash that saw him lose his maillot jaune, the CSC team lost the stage by two seconds and swallowed another bitter pill when the hallowed golden tunic crossed shoulders to Lance Armstrong, who, as history now tells us, went on to capture his seventh Tour scalp.

Back in France after a four-year absence, and once more on a team time trial held on the fourth stage, Armstrong did almost the same thing again Tuesday in Montpellier.

Over a much shorter though far harder, far more technical 39-kilometre course, his Astana team - unified despite all that's been said about them and a potential rift with Alberto Contador the past six months - motored around Montpellier as if they were the TGV, the country's iconic fast train, their 50.340 km/h average 18 seconds quicker than Garmin-Slipstream and 40 clicks of the second-hand clock better than Saxo Bank.

However, Astana's winning time of 46:29 resulted in a deadlock. Overnight leader Fabian Cancellara and Armstrong both found themselves on the same overall time: 10 hours, 38 minutes and 7 seconds. It forced the timing officials to go back to their computers and look at their hundredths of a second to work out just who is the leader of the 2009 Tour de France. Turns out it was Cancellara - by 22 hundredths of a second.

"Time was born in Switzerland, so that was on my side!" said Cancellara.

"It wasn't a good course for a team time trial. It obliged us to remain calm and not go flat out right away," Cancellara continued. "We knew the last kilometres were more suited to a high rhythm. It was only 40 kilometres, not very long, but it was important to stay calm and concentrated, especially in the first part. Our preview of the course also helped a lot, and I think we deserve to retain this yellow jersey today. We can be very proud of what we have done."

But look what's behind him...

While the perfect Swiss timer may have the edge for now, there's a bevy of Astanas behind him - Armstrong, Contador, Andréas Klöden and Levi Leipheimer are now second to fifth overall, respectively. Part of La Grande Boucle for six consecutive editions from 2000-'05, but the first occasion since Christian Prudhomme has been at the helm, the current Tour director chose to revert to a format where no upper limit on the amount of time lost exists - the maximum three-minute deficit no longer applicable - and by consequence, it's seemingly put a host of contenders out of contention.

Runner-up the past two years, Cadel Evans of Silence-Lotto, is 35th on GC, 2:59 back, and on Tuesday clearly missed ousted time trial specialist Thomas Dekker, who lost his chance to start due to a two-year-old positive sample for EPO. Oscar Pereiro (Caisse d'Epargne), the 2006 Tour champion, is 40th, 3:03 in arrears. Milram's Linus Gerdemann is 3:11 back in 45th overall. Said to be a dark-horse before the race began, Rabobank's Denis Menchov, who crashed in the opening kilometres and really never got going again, can now be regarded as a bit of a donkey, the Giro d'Italia champion a massive 3:52 behind Cancellara in 72nd place overall.

And doesn't Armstrong know it.

"There are two ways to define leader within this team: you can be strongest, or you can be team leader because you have experience, age, the trust of the other riders," said the 37-year-old. "That might be my role. But, as I told Alberto before the stage, I think we'll win; but what we have to do is ride a perfect race... I think today, the Tour de France is finished for some riders.

"The way the TTT works now, with team time counting to individual time, you look at results and it's difficult - with no disrespect - to make up that time. I said to Alberto: 'Let's ride perfect and make this race almost impossible to win for others.' I think we can say we accomplished that."

Eight still with a chance - albeit an outside one

Nothing like the Nantes to St Nazaire team time trial at the 2000 Tour or the aforementioned TTT of 2005, the 39 kilometres travelled involved a technical, brutally difficult first half, before a back section on rolling terrain heading to the finish at the Yves du Manoir stadium. Those teams who accurately measured their fuel tanks were able to throw their chain to the outside ring and rear clusters into the 11-tooth sprocket; those that didn't found themselves floundering.

Though the 2009 Tour's not quite over. We've still got seventeen stages to go.

Still with a remote chance of toppling the Astana juggernaut are: Columbia-HTC's Tony Martin and Michael Rogers, 52 seconds and 1:32 back in 8th and 16th overall, respectively; Garmin-Slipstream leader Christian Vande Velde, 1:16 behind and 12th; Roman Kreuziger of Liquigas, 1:31 down in 15th; Saxo Bank's Schleck brothers, Andy and Fränk 1:41 and 2:17 off the winning pace in 20th and 25th; Katusha's Vladimir Karpets, 2:31 behind and 27th; and defending Tour champ Carlos Sastre of the Cervélo TestTeam, 2:44 in arrears and 29th on the classement général.

"This tour will be exciting. They've designed a great route. You're not going to write your final story until we're all on the top of Mont Ventoux," said Armstrong, "that's a guarantee. That's good for you, good for the people, maybe not good for the riders, but good for the event.

"It will not be easy to win if I'm lucky enough to win again. Today, I'm realistic. I've got both feet on the ground. I'm not going to be last. But it won't be like 2004, 2005, 2001. It's going to be a lot harder than I expected, that's as honest as I can say it."

Christophe Moreau summed up the team time trial perfectly for the Tour de France guide. "It can be terrible when one focuses on not being dropped, or exhilarating when the team works well together."

In Montpellier on Tuesday, it all happened for Astana.

For images of stage four click here

Garmin-Slipstream second despite challenges

By Richard Moore

Garmin-Slipstream began Tuesday's team time trial as highly fancied contenders for victory, but there seemed little prospect of that when, as they tackled the first climb, after just 10 kilometres, Tyler Farrar, the team's sprinter, was unable to hold on, and slid off the back.

Then it got worse: one by one other riders followed Farrar out the back door, as Bradley Wiggins, David Millar, David Zabriskie and Christian Vande Velde, all supremely strong time triallists in their own right, set a pace their teammates simply couldn't handle. Julian Dean, Martijn Maaskant and Danny Pate all lost contact, while Ryder Hesjedal held on for dear life, not contributing but fulfilling a vital role: as the fifth man, on whom the clock would stop, he had to remain in contact.

"We were really fast from the start," said Millar, who, with the rest of the team, had reconnoitred the course several times, with this stage a key target for Garmin-Slipstream. "On the first climb we lost some guys which left us with the minimum five required to finish, but with 28 kilometres still to race!

"Ryder did well to stay with us, but, not being a specialist, he couldn't contribute as Zab', VDV, Wiggo and me were just too fast for him. The four of us dug incredibly deep over the next 28km over a course that was very difficult - gale force winds and small roads made for more crashes than I've ever seen in a team time trial.

"I'm proud of the way we rode today. It didn't get us the win, but there's a lot more racing still to be done."

The team's directeur sportif, Matt White, said, "It was a very satisfying ride. We had five guys under a lot of pressure for the majority of the race after losing some guys early. It was a challenging course with a strong wind and narrow passages. We were fastest at the second and third time checks despite those challenges and having only five guys, which shows how strong the guys worked today. It was close, but not good enough. We try again tomorrow."