Hushovd snatches Tour lead
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Shanghai Daily, July 4, 2011
Thor Hushovd of Norway captured the overall lead at the Tour de France yesterday after the Garmin-Cervelo cyclists won the team time trial in the second stage of the race.
Hushovd took the yellow jersey from Philippe Gilbert of Belgium, the winner of Saturday's opening stage. Gilbert's Omega Pharma Lotto team finished 40 seconds behind the winners.
Hushovd wears the coveted yellow shirt for the third time in his career ahead of his British teammate David Millar, with whom he shares the same time in the overall standings.
Cadel Evans of Australia, the 2009 world champion, stands third, just one second behind.
"This is an extraordinary dream, I'm very proud, I'm very happy to take the jersey and that the team won the stage," Hushovd said.
"This is a great day, we did a really good team effort, everything worked perfectly," the Norwegian added.
The Garmin-Cervelo team finished in 24:48 around the 23-kilometer flat stage around Les Essarts in the Vendee region.
It was Garmin-Cervelo's first stage win on the Tour after the American-registered outfit finished second in the 2009 team time trial.
Garmin riders celebrated their win by lifting their manager Jonathan Vaughters on their shoulders at the podium ceremony.
Evans' BMC team finished second, fours seconds adrift, with Britain's Team Sky ending in third place with the same time.
Defending champion Alberto Contador of Spain lost more time to the other main contenders after his Saxo Bank Sungard team posted a time of 25 minutes and 16 seconds.
Contador already lost more than one minute to his rivals during the 191.5-km first stage from La Barre-de-Monts to Mont des Alouettes in western France after being slowed down by a crash and now stands 75th, 1:42 behind Hushovd.
Contador, the 2007, 2009 and 2010 Tour winner, was already under a cloud because of the impending appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport next month against his national federation's decision to clear him of a doping charge for clenbuterol in last year's Tour.
While he has emphasized his mental steel, and has shown a ruthlessness characteristic of many sporting greats, Contador was roundly jeered by fans at a glitzy team presentation last Saturday.
Today's third stage in the 98th edition of the race is a 198-km trek between Olonne sur Mer and Redon.
The 3,410-km Tour finishes on Paris' Champs-Elysees on July 24.
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