Zoner Christian Vande Velde placed fifth overall in the Tour De France and was the top US Cyclist in Team Garmin-Chipoltle H30’s Tour debut.

Team Garmin-Chipotle H3O’s tour debut was one few will forget. There was, of course, Vande Velde’s mid-race transition to team leader. From mountain highs to perfectly executed time trial efforts, over and over he proved himself a leader. His solid 4th-place finish in the high-intensity, 50-km individual time trial earned him, once and for all, 5th place overall in the 2008 Tour de France.

And the Zone was there to help!

“Fish oil supplements are another component to the anti-inflammatory diet that the riders are doing here at the Tour,” team chiropractor and nutritionist Kevin Reichlin said. “These supplements are provided by the Zone. The Zone company is headed by Dr. Barry Sears, and they have graciously signed on as a sponsor for the team.”

As part of that involvement, blood tests were performed on most of the riders prior to the Tour. They primarily tested for the ratio of AA/EPA (Arachidonic Acid/Eicosapentinoic Acid). This is the best test to determine overall body inflammation.

“After analyzing the results, Dr. Sears provided us with a recommendation for each specific rider. This recommendation included the amounts of fish oil needed to mediate the inflammatory response that the blood test indicated. Also, he recommended proper amounts of anti-oxidant supplementation,” Reichlin said. “We use the fish oil products developed by Dr. Sears. We also use the anti-oxidant product developed by The Zone.”

Reichlin said he believes it’s important for the riders to take these products on a regular basis to help maintain a healthy balance of essential fats, and therefore help decrease inflammation.

“The blood studies that the Zone did on our riders prior to the Tour were essential to dial in the exact amounts of fish oils as well as to make specific dietary recommendations for each rider. Dr. Sears and the people at the Zone were instrumental in helping us create the dietary modifications for each rider. We thank them hugely,” Reichlin said.

The team as a whole put in a solid performance. Team Garmin-Chipotle H3O took over the team GC - sporting precious yellow numbers - on stage 3 and held on to it through stage 6. David Millar’s 3rd-place finish in the stage-4 Cholet time trial helped increase the team’s GC lead. In the final time trial, Team Garmin-Chipotle H3O had an impressive day with four top-15 performances from Christian Vande Velde, David Millar, Ryder Reseal and Danny Pate.

Julian Dean animated several stages of the race with his sprint efforts, finishing 4th on stage 24, 6th on stage 21, and 9th on stages 12 and 13. He finished 9th on the overall sprint classification.

Canadian Ryder Hesjedal continued to grow stronger during the race, providing Christian support on the final climb on stage 16. The two youngest members of the team - Trent Lowe and Martin Maaskant - worked to keep their mentors watered, fed and in good position. Magnus Backstedt, who had to leave the race early due to illness, managed to get in a few solid lead-outs for Julian Dean before having to leave the Tour.

From Will Frischkorn’s exciting stage-3 breakaway effort and 2nd-place finish to Danny Pate’s heroic stage-15 battle in the Alps, the Argyle Armada did more than just compete in the Tour. They brought raw passion and determination to the nearly 100-year-old event. And this in only their debut!