Quoted message said:From CN:
Cadel Evans (Predictor-Lotto) felt it was an impossible task to
rejoin. "It would have been hard to get back there - it was really
fast at that point. If you lose position there, then you are out of
it.
"I don't think the peloton was trying to stop him getting back on. The
guys at the front were trying to bring back the break. For guys like
Zabel and Petacchi, it is good for them if they can make it to the
finish without Hushovd or McEwen and guys like that. It is obviously
to their advantage if they can make it a sprint finish."
Petacchi? I am well acquainted with virtual wins, having claimed
several of my own, but I've never been a virtual rider. Do you have
to declare yourself as a virtual rider before the race starts? Can
you join it mid-way, or even forget there's a race entirely and then
claim virtual ridership well after the fact? Is LANCE a virtual rider
and virtual contender for GC this year? This stuff is getting
confusing.
Virtual Race Marshall, a ruling SVP.
R