Addy Engels, shepherd...

A couple months ago I profiled Dutch racer, Addy Engels, at the Giro d'Italia. Two months on, and he is at the second Grand Tour of the year. What has he been doing? Well today, stage 5, after 100 km of racing, Engles, along with team leader Tom Boonen, and teammates, Gert Steegmans and Gerald Ciolek, hit the pavement hard. Engels and Ciolek quickly got underway, Engels to deliver waterbottles to teammates up the road in the bunch. That mission finished, he then fell back to help pace his captain, who was clearly hurting, the rest of the way to the finish, in an effort to arrive within the time cut. That mission was also successfully accomplished. At this time, the extent of Boonen's injuries are yet to be determined. All this comes following a bit of shepherding during the 3rd stage as well, when Engels rode with teammate Niki Terpstra, who had been in a break for nearly the entire stage; caught with 18 km to go Terpstra was spit out the back, where he was joined by Engels, who helped his compatriot reach the finish 4:23 behind the stage winner. Loyalty can be its own reward, or at least some satisfaction, but I am sure his teammates appreciate the effort.

Engels leads home Boonen during Stage 5

Boonen, followed by Engels after crossing the line, some 13 minutes down