Tyler Farrar certainly looked like he was over whatever has been ailing him as he beat Mark Cavendish in a man-to-man bike sprint for Stage 5 of the Vuelta a Espana on Wednesday.
The 26-year-old sprinter from Wenatchee, Washington, won the stage without benefit of a lead-out from teammates on his Garmin-Transitions cycling team.
In the closing kilometer of the race, he sat near the front behind Columbia and Lampre cyclists. When Cavendish went, Farrar followed and passed him just before the finish line.
After the race, an interviewer on Universal Sports asked him where he found his strength:
“It's a surprise for me today. I was sick yesterday and all last night. I guess it was just adrenaline.”
Whatever propeled him to the finish, it marked his third Grand Tour stage win in 2010, after previously winning two stages at the Giro d'Italia in May. He now has a total 7 wins in 2010.
His first Grand Tour win in his career came in Stage 11 of the Vuelta last year.
The peloton absorbed a four-man breakaway near the finishing town of Lorca. Belgium's Phillipe Gilbert of Omega Pharma-Lotto still leads the race, and US cyclist Tejay Van Garderen (HTC-Columbia) moved up one place to 5th overall, 19 seconds behind the leader.
See all the results at CyclingNews.com.
Recent Comments