Lots of Racing If You're Racing

Brad Wiggins is a forgetful guy. First off, he obviously misplaced his Garmin-Slipstream aero lid, and was forced to pair his Robin’s Egg and Creamsicle Argyle skinsuit with an obviously uncomplimentary Union Jack helmet.

His resulting detention by the fashion police doubtlessly cost him the stage (he was only :02 out), but the Brit seemed pleased enough with the performance—apparently he also forgot that he’s really, really good at racing for roughly four kilometers.

In the end, it was Sylvain Chavanel who won the opening stage at the Eneco Tour (né BeNeLux), despite the best efforts of VeloNews to spotlight Tyler Farrar into victory. The sprinter ended up a single second back, meaning Garmin-Slipstream is in a fairly sound position as the GC battle kicks off—it will be interesting to see how fortune smites them this time.

Elsewhere, Emanuelle Sella (seen here being a little too awesome) made his return to racing after year-long drug suspension. From what I can tell, the punishment was shortened from the normal 24 months because he agreed to race in a very ugly kit upon his return. At any rate, he had no bearing on the outcome of the Tre Valli Varesine, which—no matter how it came to happen—seems like a prudent decision on his part.

Meanwhile, Alessandro Petacchi is looking for a job next year—and some races to do before then. Man do I know how that feels. The second day at Chris Thater, the Mayor’s Cup and the Jamestown Classic all lack a Men’s 3 field. It could be worse, I suppose. I could be in California, routing my training around forest fires. The official line is that the latest was started by a marijuana smuggling ring—which, if his latest interview is any indication, could mean any group ride containing Gary Fisher.