Surrounded by a rain-soaked peloton, the young Tyler Farrar finished today’s wet, grey stage 2 of the Tour of California the new race leader and owner of the golden Amgen leader’s jersey. Team Slipstream/Chipotle H3O rode a flawless race in less than ideal conditions, carefully setting Farrar up for the intermediate sprints and the coveted time bonuses.
Farrar finished third and second in the two intermediate sprints earning the three total seconds he needed to move ahead of race leader Fabian Cancellara (High Road) by one whole second. After 115+ miles of racing, the 23-year-old even managed a respectable 6th place for the finish in Sacramento. He was proceeded by a who’s who of sprinters that included Tom Boonen, JJ Haedo, and none other than the Lion King himself, Mario Cipollini.
CEO Director Sportif Jonathan Vaughters was clearly happy with his team’s performance. “Today was complicated. There were any number of scenarios that could have played out,” he said. “But we came and got the job done.”
