The riders from Team Garmin-Transitions have staged a brilliant fight back in the Tour de France after the slaughter of the slippery descents on the Brussels to Spa leg.
The Garmin-Transitions team members, including New Zealander Julian Dean, Tyler Farrar, and Ryder Hesjedal, recovered from the carnage of the first few stages with gutsy performances.
Buoyed by Hesjedal’s courageous performance over Stage 3’s cobblestones, which earned him the Most Aggressive Rider award for the day, Julian Dean managed to fight his way to a second-place finish in Stage 4 behind Italian Alessandro Petacchi. Farrar responded in Stage 6 with his own second-place finish behind Brit Mark Cavendish, despite having broken his wrist in Stage 2.
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Aided with the Transition lens advantage the Garmin-Transitions team will be well equipped for the rest of the Tour de France.
After Stage 8, Hesjedal remains in 6th place overall and Farrar is sitting in 13th place in the green jersey points competition. Dean is currently 167th overall and 34th in the points competition.
Conditions during the race are quite varied and provide challenges to the cyclists. The first week of the Tour de France has already seen rain and wet roads, and blistering heat.
Cyclists contend with many different environmental conditions during training and competitions. Not all riding surfaces are smooth and flat, some can be steep, bumpy, or slickened by rain. The weather also affects the riders’ performance. Wind can be difficult to ride against and the sunlight can interrupt riders’ vision of the road ahead.
Riders experience periods of hot weather and bleary sunlight followed by shade. This is where the competitors’ equipment can offer them extra support.
The team from Garmin-Transitions have been well prepared for racing in these conditions with their Oakley Jawbone frames fitted with Transitions lenses adaptive lens technology. The Transitions lenses help the riders navigate the changing light conditions and provide them with “more comfortable vision, protection and enhanced visual performance,” says Transitions Optical Marketing Manager, Kate Mulcahy.
Aided with the Transition lens advantage the Garmin-Transitions team will be well equipped for the rest of the Tour de France.
Riders received some respite yesterday (Monday), the first rest-day of the 2010 Tour, but will return to the mountains today (Tuesday). Stage 9 travels 204.5 km from Morzine-Avoriaz to Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne through the Alps and 5 mountain climbs.
