World class sprinter born in Washington state

Wenatchee, Washington, United States.  Current population: about 30,000.  Area: 7.3 sq miles.  Chief products: Apples, World Class Cycling Sprinters.

That’s right.  The boy from Wenatchee, Tyler Farrar of Garmin Transitions professional cycling team, is not only riding in the Tour de France, he’s nipping at the heels of sprinting powerhouse Mark Cavendish.  He achieved a second place finish in stage 6 while still suffering from a broken wrist.  For those unfamiliar, sprinters rely heavily on the arms, hands and wrists to provide a leverage point for the upper body to hold against the power of the legs as they turn the pedals over.  Before the unfortunate crash that broke his wrist, Farrar was a survivor in a Tour de France that was quickly losing sprinters capable of challenging Mark Cavendish.  The second place finish despite the injuries shows that Farrar can be a real threat.

Tyler Farrar was born June 2 1984.  Following Junior national titles in track as well as sprint events in 2002, he started his professional cycling career in 2003 with Team Jelly Belly.  His year with Jelly Belly was followed by a year each on Health Net-Maxxis and Cofidis (Lance Armstrong also once rode for Cofidis).  In 2008 he joined team Garmin-Transitions, where he remains today.