PLUMELEC, France — BMC, the American team that includes the winner of the opening time trial of this year’s Tour de France, followed up by winning Sunday’s team event against the clock.
The win by BMC, the reigning world champion in the team time trial, was tight, with the team beating Team Sky of Britain by a single second. But regardless of the margin, the result further elevated expectations that BMC’s leader, the American Tejay van Garderen, will be on the podium in Paris in two weeks.
After Sunday’s ninth stage, van Garderen was in second place over all, just 12 seconds behind Chris Froome, Sky’s leader.