PARIS, July 24, 2011 (AFP) - In 2010 Lance Armstrong's American team RadioShack caused controversy on the Tour de France podium when they ignored protocol to wear black 'Livestrong' jerseys.
A year on and fellow American outfit Garmin-Cervelo found a lighter way to celebrate victory in the team's classification when they made sure teammate David Zabriskie wasn't left out by carrying a cardboard image of the rider onto the podium.
Time trial specialist Zabriskie was the only Garmin rider not to finish the July 2-24 race, having been among the dozens of victims in the crash-plagued start.
The American was one of several big names to crash out on the ninth stage to Saint-Flour, when podium contender Jurgen van den Broeck of Belgium and Kazakhstan legend Alexandre Vinokourov also left the race injured.
While Zabriskie is recovering from his injuries, Garmin made sure he didn't miss the party -- they brought a life-sized and deceptively real-looking cardboard version of the American onto the podium for millions of viewers to see.
Despite failing to launch a challenge for overall victory, Garmin-Cervelo leave the Tour on a positive note.
They won the team time trial on Stage 2, allowing Norwegian powerhouse Thor Hushovd to spend a week in the coveted yellow jersey.
Garmin also won three stages. American Tyler Farrar won Stage 3 to Redon while Hushovd won Stages 13, to Lourdes, and 16, to Gap.
Leopard-Trek finished second at 11:04 in the team's classification.
Source: http://www.bicycling.com/tour-de-france/home/garmin-takes-home-tours-team-classification
Erin N. Gemmill Jerry P. Dwyer Maria B. Moore Francene W. Hicks Darnell W. Goodlow Mitsuko L. Sharp
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