Beyond The Peloton highlights Garmin-Cervélo's Milan-San Remo disappointment

Cervélo TestTeam may have been consigned to history, with many of its riders, both male and female, moving across to Garmin-Cervélo for the 2011 season, but fans will be pleased to know that one of the more innovative approaches the outfit brought to the sport is alive and well with the continuation of the popular Beyond The Peloton series of short films.

As before, the ten-minute-or-so spots, now in their third year, give a behind-the-scenes glimpse at what goes on within a team at some of cycling’s biggest races, with the latest episode focusing on last month’s Milan-San Remo, including Heinrich Haussler’s preparations at altitude and a pre-race talk from Jonathan Vaughters in which he makes sure the riders are all sure of the team plan.

That ended up being ripped up on a pretty forgettable day for Garmin-Cervélo with Thor Hushovd crashing and Tyler Farrar missing the front group of 40 or so riders, which contained only one rider from the team, Heinrich Haussler; he too had fallen away by the time a select group of eight riders contested the sprint, won by HTC-Columbia’s Matt Goss.

The disappointment of all involved is evident to see, but a light note of relief is provided by a novel spin on teamwork by the world champion, with Hushovd saying that only one rider can get the kisses on the podium – and he can’t share those with his team mates.

You can also catch up on the Intro 2011 Season episode below.