Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda won the Tour of Utah's team time trial at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele on Wednesday.
Ravell Call, Deseret News
TOOELE — Christian Vande Velde will wear the yellow jersey in Stage 3 of the Tour of Utah, but he knows it really belongs to every rider on the Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda team.
"I thought about today, and one of us getting the jersey, but being the best team across the line was the goal," said Vande Velde, a veteran of stage races, including the Tour de France.
Cycling may look like an individual sport, but at its highest levels it's more a team sport than most fans understand. Tour of Utah organizers wanted to highlight the team aspect of UCI racing with Wednesday's Stage 2 — a team time trial at Miller Motorsports Park. That means that the team rides together and it's the fifth rider to cross the finish line who stops the clock.
Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda had the advantage of boasting some of the biggest names in the sport. But Vande Velde said it is their chemistry that made a difference Wednesday in what was the first time trial in a North American race since 2008.
"We've been together for five years now," he said after the team posted a time that was three minutes faster than officials believed the stage could be won in — 22:35.33. "Riding together just becomes second nature. We know each other so well because we've been racing together for so long. It's like I know what David (Zabriskie) is going to do, he knows what Tyler (Farrar) is going to do and we're able to use that. We've been together for five years now. So we're used to this."
Rabobank Cycling Team posted the second-fastest time, 33 seconds back, and RadioShack-Nissan-Trek was third, 38 seconds back. The riders navigated a 4.5-mile loop around the Miller Motorsports Park, and at different points, it seemed wind was an issue.
The riders said the shifting winds made deciding how to take corners as a group more difficult.
Vande Velde said they changed tires because of the wind and watched the other teams compete before they took off near the end of the day's time trials.
"We knew exactly what was going on before we started," said Vande Velde. "I was quite surprised to see how fast we could go on that first lap. When we heard 7:24, I got a little scared wondering how we were going to keep on doing this for two more laps."
Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda team director Charlie Wegelius didn't pedal a stroke with the squad, but he may have had the most difficult job — determining the order in which the men would ride.
