Bumped down into second place overall after today’s stage of the US Pro Cycling Challenge, BMC Racing team leader Tejay van Garderen has pledged to continue to battle for the final victory. The young American remains locked on time with the new leader Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Sharp), but lost out on countback.
The margin could hardly be more slender; apart from having the same overall time, they have the same total sum of stage placings, namely 30. Race judges determined the leader by looking at their stage placing today and with Vande Velde finishing ninth as compared to van Garderen’s twelfth, he is now wearing yellow.
“Yes, I am disappointed,” van Garderen said after the stage. “But this gives me a little extra motivation for the upcoming days. I don't see anything really changing in the dynamics of the race. It's still going to come down to the time trial on Sunday in Denver.”
He has a better recent history against Vande Velde in time trials, and will draw encouragement from that.
In fact, team-mate Mathis Frank believes the new position could well be to the teams’ benefit. “Garmin put a lot of pressure on us on the first climb. But we did everything we could to defend the jersey,” he said. "Really, for the team, it's not so bad to lose the lead. Garmin will have to defend. And for Tejay, it's good because he is still tied on time."
However his team still believes it might be possible to earn back the jersey prior to any more racing. When he won Tuesday, there was a gap between himself and Vande Velde. Despite the fact that it appeared to be one second, officials awarded them the same time, which in turn secures the leader’s jersey for the latter today.
According to BMC Racing Team Assistant Director Michael Sayers, he filed an official protest and a decision is due Thursday. That’s too late for today’s podium, but could be crucial overall.
“We worked very hard as a team to bring Danielson's group back,’ he said. “It was on pins and needles the whole day. The team rode way better than you could have ever believed and we were a really strong unit today.”