Froome Watch, III

I'm watching the team time trial, and just saw Chris Froome hanging on for dear life after about ten miles, not pulling through. The next time they showed the team, they were with only seven (one rider of the nine having fallen behind due to a flat early on), so perhaps he got dropped. The Flemish commentators have noted that the team had the fastest split at the half-way mark. But this may have been without my new friend.
Update: Chris Froome's team, Team Sky, finished second in today's team time trial, and it looks they could live with that. Here's Froome's tweet: "Running 2nd after an effort like that is just not as rewarding as it should be. Spirits high though. 2morrow a new day, a new opportunity!" It wasn't a very spectacular day, but if you looked at the faces of the riders, especially in the final kilometer, you realized how tough a team time trial is. Same with watching guys taking their place at the rear of the rotation after a turn at the front: that is a matter of centimeters, and if you're just a little late, you're gapped and you have to bring all hands on deck just to stay in contact. Problem is, those hands are on deck from mile one, so it can get desperate pretty quickly. In other words, there are still many worthwhile aspects to a day like this that can justify an hour or two in front of the television.