UNEXPECTED. Sure, the reigning world time trial champ had a good day in the London Prologue last Saturday, winning the 5.7 mile jaunt to don the Yellow Jersey. That could have been expected. But this...this wasn't expected.LIKE A ROCKET. Nobody expected Fabian Cancellara to contend for a stage that rolled on endlessly--237 kilometers, 147 miles; not a stage that was designed to feature the world's top sprinters pushing and shoving each other for glory. But with the finish line in sight as the peloton gobbled up four day-long escapees, the big Swiss overwhelmed eveyone--shooting ahead of the pack like a rocket.
MAKING A STATEMENT. It's not usual for the wearer of the Yellow Jersey to try to win such a stage, since he would have received the same time as the first-place finisher even if he'd been the last rider in the main bunch. But Fabian Cancellara is apparently not interested in just "protecting" the maillot jaune. He's interested in asserting his hold on it as long as he can. Today's finish was a strong a statement as he could make. Awesome!
GO, DOG, GO! As I watched part of the race, the peloton was moving along about at 20 miles per hour for most of the course. I was thinking, "I could do that!" Commentators said they were "loafing." It's not racing, that's for sure. Now, come on, 20 mph certainly isn't loafing, at least not for amateurs. But when the peloton got serious about chasing down the four escapees, they put the hammer down, flying between 35-40 miles per hour for the last 25 miles. Whoa! I was thinking, "I cannot do that!"
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