Congratulations to Greg Henderson for his win but the story of the day was how the race was split by the Caisse d’Epargne team.
What’s with these Spaniards? First Flecha wins the Het Nieuwsblad and today several Spaniards behaved like a well-drilled Peter Post squad when they ripped up Stage 1 of Paris – Nice. Normally you’d expect the likes of Rabobank, Quickstep or Columbia-HTC to do this, not Caisse d’Epargne?
Well… beware national stereotypes. Yes the Dutch and Belgians know all about racing in crosswinds but it gets windy in Spain too. For a reminder, go back to last year’s Tour of the Mediterranean and on stage 4 Luis-Leon Sanchez and Imanol Erviti split the front group in the race to help Sanchez secure the overall. Sanchez was once again active in driving things today. So don’t be surprised to see this Spanish squad, led by the crafty Eusebio Unzue, exploiting any situation to their advantage.