All nine Argyle Armada finish in Paris — Farrar third in sprint!

Team Garmin-Slipstream concluded its Tour de France, finishing all of the starting nine riders. In the end it was five of the Argyle Armada on the front working for Tyler Farrar, including Christian Vande Velde and David Millar — but a tight final turn at 250 meters opened up an unclose-able gap.

“We went to the front but it was a little too early for the number of guys we had and Julian was left in the wind with 800 meters to go,” Farrar told Versus. “Then Bennati took me off Cav’s wheel in the final turn and by the time we came out it was too much.

“I got through it which was a goal. I had a lot of top fives, but I would have liked to have won a stage. Yeah I am one of the top sprinters in the world but it is still frustrating coming second or third.”

Bradley Wiggins also capped off an impressive Tour with fourth place overall and Christian Vande Velde completed the strong results with eighth overall — just two months after fracturing five vertebrae, his pelvis and a rib in a crash.

Team Garmin-Slipstream, stage 21
1. Mark Cavendish 4h02.18
3. Tyler Farrar
41. Julian Dean
44. Christian Vande Velde
55. Bradley Wiggins
124. Ryder Hesjedal +0.22
133. Martijn Maaskant
138. David Millar +0.30
141. David Zabriskie
149. Danny Pate +0.44

Team Garmin-Slipstream, GC results
1. Alberto Contador 85h48.35
4. Bradley Wiggins +6.01
8. Christian Vande Velde +12.04
49. Ryder Hesjedal +1h14.03
77. David Zabriskie +2h02.36
85. David Millar +2h15.04
98. Martijn Maaskant +2h29.53
121. Julian Dean +3h04.41
141. Danny Pate +3h32.39
151. Tyler Farrar                        +3h48.13


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This entry was posted on Sunday, July 26th, 2009 at 11:00 am and is filed under Garmin, Garmin Web Site, Home Page, Race Reports and tagged with , , . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

  • Lisa

    Congratulations to all!!! You guys made watching the tour so exciting!!!!

    Looking forward to seeing you in Missouri!

    Thank you

  • ladidragona

    Merci a tous vos coureurs pour nous avoir fait vivre un super tour. Bon chance pour le reste de la saison.

  • http://spanish-cyclepaths.blogspot.com Dawn

    You guys have absolutely NOTHING to be ashamed of. You produced the only sprinter who’s capable of keeping Mark Cavendish awake at night. You turned one of the best track cyclists in the world into a formidable multi-stage racer. You gave the US time trial champion the opportunity to place higher in the general rankings of the Tour than he’s ever placed before. You took a guy who busted half his spine in the Giro less than three months ago and placed him in the Top 20. You showed that a team made up of racers from English-speaking countries can stand as tall and as proud as any continental European team. You finished with as many racers as you started with. And you proved that it could be done without the help of prohibited substances.

    If those aren’t victories, what are?

  • Steve

    BRAVO! To the Team. Great effort by every last one of you. You made this Tour special for me….cheering you on, on every stage. What a team effort and you will all remember this team for the rest of your days. I hope Garmin can keep this team together. I know there is a possibility of Miller and Wiggens going over to the new British Team and I cant blame them if they do. If so, I wish you two all the best and thanks for your efforts on Garmin. Vaughters I trust you’ve got a good deep roster and some good young talent that can come on to the team and step up. Looking forward to many years of cheering on the boys in argyle. Now it’s on to the Vuelta and the other races inbetween.

  • Betsy

    Congratulations on bringing all 9 into Paris. That is not a small feat!
    Congratulations to Tyler on making it to Paris on his first TDF. That is a huge accomplishment topped off with a nifty podium finish for the stage.
    Nice effort in the closing section on the race. The Columbia train is formidable.
    Great top ten for Wiggo and Christian!
    Great job for everyone in helping these fellas get there and stay there.
    I am very proud to be a Garmin-Slipstream fan and very proud of the way you all rode.
    Have a blast tonight!

  • http://www.christianvandeveldefanclub.com/ maggie

    Woot! 2 Argyles in top 10! Awesome performance by all! I’m hearing rumors about Contador Garmin alliance. Any truth there?

  • Mike VB

    Congratulations to all for a fantastic tour. I’m extremely proud to be an ardent argyle armada supporter after watching the way in which you all raced.

    Thanks for all the hard work and the great team philosophy. Good luck throughout the rest of the racing season. I’ll be watching.

  • Mackenzie

    What an amazing tour. Every single one of you guys impressed us so much and even sometimes caused us to scream at the tv because we were so caught up in the excitement of it all. Congrats to you all and we are looking forward to next year even more now. Now all I have to do is find out what to do in the mornings now that I don’t have the tour to watch.

  • Richard

    Great race for the whole team - incredible ride Wiggins! Two years in a row riding for the GC.

  • E Mackay

    cracking effort guys, shame about the line into the last corner……… bring on the vuelta

  • Floyd Gadd

    WOOOOOOW WHAT A TOUR….GREAT RACE TEAM .

    BUT ESPECIALLY WIGGINS AND FARRAR.

    GREAT FOR THE UK AND US..

    WIGGO THE KING OF THE NORTH…….

    TYLER THE KING OF THE EAST COST…

  • ryder_fanatic

    Congrats to Team Garmin for the excellent results!!!

  • louis feiten

    Oh Yeah..by the way!..almost forgot!

    Bradley Wiggins also capped off an impressive Tour with fourth place overall.

    I think that Wiggo deserves far more than a one sentence after thought. If that is all you have..just leave it out.

    Wiggo and Cristian finishing 4th and 8th are big stories.

    Wiggo GUTTED out Ventoux to beat out Frank Schleck by 3 seconds for 4th. I believe Franks’ previous win at Alp DuHuez, confirms his climbing abilities. To stay within 20 seconds of Franks time on Ventou is incredible! Great job Wiggo!!

    Vandevelde cracked three vertebrae two months ago. To crack the top ten at the TDF is amazing. Fabulous ride!

    This is a great team that could win it next year.

    BY the way..Tylar Farrar is an up and coming sprint star. A little more work and he will start winning stages. Keep it going Tyler.

  • kb

    Almost!!! What a great finish - and I think we saw the best tactics yet for a sprint finish - great job by the team today, maybe just one man short and that corner was tough. Congrats to the entire team for finishing with the team intact, second on team GC. Plus Christian in the top ten and another in the top five GC rider in Bradley. I already can’t wait for next year’s Tour!

  • Andy Murray

    What a great Tour!
    Thoroughly enjoyed watching the G-S team show their mettle throughout. Go Wiggo! Bravo Millar! Christian is magic! Zabriskie made his point!

    A fantastic effort from all. Now must buy some merchandising and show some Argyle Style.

    Andy Murray.

  • Hayden

    Being in the top 5 consistently isn’t something to be sneezed at, Tyler. You’ve shown that you’re one to challenge Cav in the sprints, and in time, you’ll get your well-deserved wins. Excellent job all in all, and here’s to seeing the team open a can of major whoopass next year.

    Very, very impressed with Garmin. You guys are a team united, classy in victory and defeat, and most definitely a serious threat in the near future. Keep up the fantastic work!

  • Practice Nurse Anthony Clarkson

    EVER PROUD !!
    PROUD OF THE BEST TEAM IN THE WORLD !!
    PROUD TO WEAR ARGYLE !!
    PROUD TO FOLLOW A TEAM ..IN THE TRUE SENSE OF THE WORD..SOLID FOR EACH OTHER ; EVERYDAY !AND CLEAN AS A WHISTLE ! WELL DONE BRADLEY, CHRISTIAN, TYLER AND ALL FOR THE SELFLESS WORK FROM EVERY TEAM MEMBER ! GREAT TO SEE YOU ALL IN PARIS AND SHOWING THE SAME GUTS AND DETERMINATION AS DAY 1. & A word of Thanks for Matt White and ALL the soigneurs service crew and All !
    Hoping to catch you Again at “THE TOUR OF BRITAIN” again this year to Congratulate you in person
    Anthony C Lincolnshire England

  • fab

    Congratulations to the whole team, you did a great TDF! Have a nice, and well-deserved, rest now and see you soon!

  • Andy

    IT was brilliant all around…a great tour. Congrats Bradley Wiggins

  • Phil

    Go Garmin!

    Thanks Slipstream for the fantastic performance! Enjoyed watching every minute of it, the TTT, Millar’s break to BCN, Tyler’s sprints, agressive fellow dutchy Martijn, Wiggo’s GC, Ryder’s escape, David Z’s downhillin’, all the hard work of Danny and Julian and of course VDV’s awesome comeback.

    Saw you guys at the start here in Girona and just back from Paris where you zoomed pass on the Champs d’Elysees!

    Get some rest now, you deserved it! Congratulations!!

    Phil from GRO

  • Brian

    No Contador! I can’t wait already for TdF 2010 with this same team, and VDV and Wiggo serious threats for yellow.

    You guys looked like the closest team out there — watching a different guy every stage do something outstanding — seeing Millar, DZ, Dean, VDV turning themselves inside out for their teammates — THAT is what makes you all special — and what makes me a fan.

    Same team next year! Wiggo and VDV on the podium! Farrar blowing past Cav!

  • http://halfglassanalysis.blogspot.com/ Star

    Well done G-S!!!
    Everyone on the team, and everyone else that supports the team, did an awesome job. You made the fans of the Argyle Armada proud.
    Good Luck with the rest of the season.

  • Tyler

    Thank you all. You gave me something to cheer for and something to look forward to on a daily basis. That’s just all I can say.

  • Jennifer

    Congratulations. All nine of you were definitely the highlight of the Tour for me. Christian, you’re my hero!

  • Michael Olsen

    My first closely watched tour, all because of Garmin Slipstream. Thanks to the steam, to the sponsors. I really enjoyed it.

  • gerry

    Top work guys - big thrill following the team the pst three weeks. I hope none of you turn up in any post race doping scandals!

  • Marc

    Super Tour! What an accomplishment to finish with all riders intact.

    Couldn’t be prouder of our hometown boy Tyler!

    I want to thank all of the mechanics, soigneurs, cooks, JV, Matt, Allen and the entire crew @ http://www.slipstreamsports.com/garmin-slipstream-staff/ for delivering one of THE best teams to cycling and to this year’s Tour.

    See you all in Missouri!

  • Dan

    Well Done Garmin-Slipstream!

    A credit to all of you for finishing as a whole team in a fantastic 09 tour.
    Great to see Wiggo stir up the tour with some fantastic results, also fantastic rides by Farrar, Vande Velde, Millar and the rest!

    Lets see you come back next year and go one better!

  • Marsha

    Garmin Slipstream is amazing. Thanks for the gutsy rides, and putting everthing you have into it each day. What fun to cheer for Argyle. Also an aside, thanks for sending riders to ICC Superweek. Was special to cheer Garmin on the streets, and on tv. Thanks Hans and Ricardo. Your efforts haven’t been overlooked during Tour time.

  • Jim D Houston

    Congratulations on a great tour, guys! Your class, honesty, and guts bring honor to the team and this beautiful sport. You’re easy to root for, and the Garmin approach allows us to cheer without reservation. Awesome.

    I’ve enjoyed watching you develop—through integrity, good choices and hard work—into one of the premier teams in the peloton. (Of course, this means you are underdogs no more! Glad I got on the bandwagon early.) Thanks for a fantastic three weeks.

  • Glen in Lemont

    In Garmin’s second year in the TdF you have become a world class team which can challenge the best in any discipline; trial trials, climbing stages or sprints. Simply unbelievable.

    Congrats to the entire team.

  • Sam

    Was a pleasure to watch you guys race. To support Wiggins into 4th was amazing and you did it with a more balanced team capable of winning any stage type, whereas Astana & Saxo Bank had more cards to play with 3 riders capable of reaching the podium. I hope we can see BW & a 100% CV next year. I think they have a lot of respect for each other which was lovely to read about this year.

    Good luck, still half a season left too : )

  • arron

    BIG UP GARMIN SLIPSTREAM!!!!

  • lardog

    Great job, guys. Let’s give Tom Danielson a chance to play next year!

  • Coby

    Way to go Garmin! You all did so well! I am proud to be an Argyle fan.

    Hope to see you all return next year as a team.

    Tyler - it was amazing being able to watch you out there racing in the TdF. I thought it was exciting to watch you at the Twilight Criterium back in the day, but now to watch you on TV being the BEST American sprinter… it was awesome…that is all I can say.

    Hope to see you next time you are home for a visit. I still want that autograph!

  • Jackie Harrington

    Woohoo! What a Tour!! I don’t think my vocal cords (and okay, I admit it, my tear ducts!) will ever be the same again! Am so enormously proud to be an Argyle fan … Christian, that was one hell of a ride, particularly after the accident in the Giro. And MASSIVE congratulations to Wiggo, we always knew you had it in you!!!

  • http://www.cyclingfitness.net Max Power

    Great ride guys, was made up to see Christian and Dave riding for Brad like that. Now get those internal test results out to stop the naysayers in their tracks!

    Well done chaps.

  • Sherilyn

    U guys rock!!!!!! Well done on a brilliant result in the tour - 2nd team overall - whoohoo!!

    Awesome ride David Millar on the stage into Barcelona - we were screaming for you on the sidelines

    & awesome ride Bradley on Mt Ventoux! We could feel your pain!

    Oh, and GO Julian!!! You’ve done NZ proud again! :-)

  • Alex

    well done garmin

    podiums of farrar and wiggins
    awsome time trail with wiggins , millar and zabriskie in top ten
    in the general classification: wiggins 4 vandevelde 8
    teamtimetrail: second place

    thats much more better than last year!!! When christian dont hurt next year then in 2010 you can took the podium on the tour. or win a stage with farrar or maaskant as a member of a group

    i keep the fingers acrosss for you!!