U.S. Teams Grab Top 2 Places In Team Time Trial

Today's stage 2 of the Tour de France was a team time trial. Each team started nine riders and ran by itself against the clock. All members of that team then got the time recorded by the fifth member of the team to cross the finish line (until the fifth member finished the team has no time -- regardless of how well the first four riders did). Needless to say, the important thing is teamwork -- not individual brilliance.

With the team time trial coming in stage 2 this year (and yesterday's race being so close), the team time trial will also determine who gets to wear the yellow jersey tomorrow -- and even a great rider must have a good team to stay near the race lead. A weak team can put a race contender with a lot of time to make up in the coming days.

This year's team time trial was won by American team Garmin-Cervelo. Another team from the USA finished in second place, BMC Racing. Third place was taken by Sky Procycling from Great Britain. Garmin-Cervelo's win means their rider, Thor Hushovd, now has the yellow jersey as race leader. Meanwhile, last year's winner, Spain's Alberto Contador (SaxoBank), is 1 minute and 42 seconds behind the leader due to a crash yesterday and a poor team performance today.

Here are the current standings:

YELLOW JERSEY (INDIVIDUAL LEADER)
1. Thor Hushovd, Norway (Garmin-Cervelo)
2. David Millar, Great Britain (Garmin-Cervelo)..........00"
3. Cadel Evans, Australia (BMC Racing)..........01"
4. Geraint Thomas, Great Britain (Sky Procycling)..........04"
5. Linus Gerdemann, Germany (Leopard-Trek)..........04"
6. Frank Schleck, Luxembourg (Leopard-Trek)..........04"
7. Fabian Cancellara, Switzerland (Leopard-Trek)..........04"
8. Edvald Hagen, Norway (Sky Procycling)..........04"
9. Manuel Quinziato, Italy (BMC Racing)..........04"
10. Andy Schleck, Luxembourg (Leopard-Trek)..........04"
11. Jakob Fuglsang, Denmark (Leopard-Trek)..........04"
12. Bradley Wiggins, Great Britain (Sky Procycling)..........04"
13. George Hincapie, USA (BMC Racing)..........04"
16. Tejay Van Garderen, USA (HTC Highroad)..........05"
21. Christopher Horner, USA (Radio Shack)..........10"
22. Levi Leipheimer, USA (Radio Shack)..........10"

GREEN JERSEY (SPRINTERS)
1. Philippe Gilbert, Belgium (Omega-Lotto)..........45 pts
2. Cadel Evans, Australia (BMC Racing)..........35 pts
3. Thor Hushovd, Norway (Garmin-Cervelo)..........30 pts
4. Jose Joaquin Rojas, Spain (Movistar)..........26 pts
5. Jurgen Van Der Broeck, Germany (Omega-Lotto)..........22 pts

POLKA DOT JERSEY (CLIMBERS)
1. Philippe Gilbert, Belgium (Omega-Lotto)..........1 pt

TEAM STANDINGS
1. Garmin-Cervelo (USA)
2. BMC Racing (USA)..........01"
3. Leopard-Trek (Luxembourg)..........04"
4. Sky Procycling (Great Britain)..........04"
5. HTC Highroad (USA)..........05"
6. Radio Shack (USA)..........10"
7. Astana (Kazakhstan)..........32"
8. Omega-Lotto (Germany)..........33"
9. Europcar (France)..........50"
10. Quick Step (Germany)..........56"