Levi, Levi

by Softie on May 15, 2008 2:51 PM EDT Comment 41 comments

Mr. Excitement plans to protest to race jury about his finish. He lost another 23 seconds today because of some snafu with a motorcycle, and Astana wants the race jury to correct the problem.

So, if Levi gets his 23 seconds---which is a lot, even in a Grand Tour---and he steps onto the podium based on that erased gap, would that represent yet another example of race jury kindness to Levi (ToC 2007) or a karmic return on the occasion when a race jury rudely extended its middle digit (TdF 2005)?

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Levi - harden up

How far back did this crash happen? Levi – Harden the f* up and chase back to the group. Yes, I know this would expend extra unplanned energy, but that’s racing.

by Ron... on May 15, 2008 3:12 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

happened in last k

when a motorcyclist inexplicably got sideways. If Levi gets time added back, everyone in his group should have the time added also. The moto DID impede the bunch.

by R Mc on May 15, 2008 3:22 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

agreed

No reason everybody in that group should not get same time. It was a tight corner and there was no way to really get around it other than sit and wait

by PopUp Rolen on May 15, 2008 5:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

here too

there was nothing the riders could do about it…
They had to stop since the moto was ridiculously covering almost the whole road…
Definetly the same time for everyone who finished in that group, since it was clearly the organisors fault… IMO.

by Bruce Suomi on May 15, 2008 5:51 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

for those

who didn’t see the stage, it was a camera moto(?) that died in the final climb, but instead of pulling the dead moto to the side, it was kept in the middle of the narrow roads, causing riders literally stop before passing it…......

by Bruce Suomi on May 15, 2008 6:06 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

bahahahah!

i love me some tags :-)

levi? meh, i have nothing to add.

by gavia on May 15, 2008 4:29 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

The last K?

I thought everyone gets the same time if they are together at the 3K marker? Why does he even need to protest?

by Jimbo... on May 15, 2008 4:55 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

The VN article

made it sound as if it was the race official’s call. I’d say Levi et al. has a better argument here - where an official obstructed the road - than for Millar who had mechanical.

by .cjb. on May 15, 2008 6:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

?

More Levi bashing? Surely you have something a little more constructive to write about. Anybody hoping to podium in a grand tour would do the same, so this isn’t exactly news.

If I just had one more gear, I...

by SpunOut on May 15, 2008 5:55 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

c'mon

it’s hardly “bashing”. And even if it were, c’mon and defend Levi!

by Sui Juris on May 15, 2008 6:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

It is bashing

Regardless of how you look at it, it is bashing. If you were held up by a motorcycle in a race like the Giro, you would do the same thing. And if you chose not to? Then you would be stupid. So, yeah, it is bashing

If I just had one more gear, I...

by SpunOut on May 15, 2008 8:13 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think part of the reason that it may seem like it is bashing is that Astana (the management, not the riders FYI) is the only team that is mentioned as making an appeal. It would seem that Slipstream should also be making an appeal on behalf of CVV who dropped 14 sec. Now, I don’t know whether they are, but just kept it from the media, or if they are letting it go.
Regardless, Astana is the only team mentioned, and Levi is their main rider who will benefit from a successful appeal. And he was on the good side of the race officials shoddy decision making skills last year. So yes, there may be some harsh words sent in his direction..but it’s hardly spontaneous bashing.

by Hons on May 15, 2008 8:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

What does the ToC have to do with this?

What happened at the ToC has no bearing on the Giro. As far as whether SS chooses to protest for CVV’s 14 secs, they probably won’t put too much into it because they know they aren’t going to win the Giro. LL probably won’t either but a podium is very possible, so it only makes sense that they would. Also, is there really a difference between spontaneous(?) and pre-planned bashing?! That’s just…... I’m no fan of LL but I’m pretty sick of hearing about LL not being exciting, blah, blah, blah.

If I just had one more gear, I...

by SpunOut on May 15, 2008 11:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The ToC has a lot to do with it

It was a very similar situation, but he benefited. Now that he’s on the other side of the situation there is a very different approach being taken. And yes, I know that it is a different race, with a different team (kinda), but I think people really resented that the race officials went against the UCI rulebook to favour Levi then, and so are less likely to sympathize with him now.

Hold on, I was not trying to differentiate between spontaneous and pre-planned bashing. I was trying to differentiate between spontaneous and provoked bashing. And as I mentioned above, this situation seems to have evoked some of the frustration that was created at the ToC.

On another note…what was the situation in the tour 2005? My memory doesn’t go that far back.

by Hons on May 15, 2008 11:24 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I ask in all seriousness

what’s the harm, here? There are no actual attacks on Levi’s character – no one’s calling him a cheating doper or an unscrupulous twit (in fact, I think that most of the people who slag him for being unexciting would give him his props for being a damn hard worker). And there are no beyond the pale characterizations (say, like the commenter who called Odessa his “dead-behind-the-eyes motorpacing wife” sometime last year). So, really, what makes it so itchy? I honestly don’t understand.

by Sui Juris on May 15, 2008 11:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I ask in all silliousness

If Chris started a live thread on match race between Levi and Cattle would any one comment? Cattle’s stock here actually seemed to rise a bit this spring. Maybe a bike throw by Leipheimer would show his human side and get him some love from PdC. Just tryin’ to inject a little LEVIty here (groan.)

by huy on May 16, 2008 3:25 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

uh, hello?

shunning anyone?

by Sui Juris on May 16, 2008 9:07 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

1 vote - yes

;-)

"Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated."

by Drew... on May 16, 2008 9:31 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

who needs to vote

we can just ‘rec’ it.

by Hons on May 16, 2008 11:26 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Nice

This site is so cool now – in the old days we used to have to have a quorum to approve such a thing.

"Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated."

by Drew... on May 16, 2008 11:31 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hey,

Does that mean my posting privilages ar- ZAP! (poof)

by huy on May 16, 2008 2:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

We'll let you off with a warning

this time. But be warned about groan inducing puns in the future

:-[

(that’s my stern look)

"Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated."

by Drew... on May 16, 2008 3:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hmmmm

This would have been better >:-[

"Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated."

by Drew... on May 16, 2008 3:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Some people like him

and some don’t. I don’t see much changing.

"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."

by Chris... on May 16, 2008 12:47 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Not much of a chance

I’ve just watched the replay and gone back over that bit a couple of times. The only riders who actually stopped were 3 guys from diqui-quiqui-PVC; everyone else got round reasonably OK. The ones who got squeezed the most were those going up the inside, but all the Astana jerseys I saw went round the outside. The gaps developed after that, and the riders had plenty of time, even in the finishing straight, to catch up. You can’t take it easy and then ask for the same time as those who put in a bit more effort.

by Monty. on May 16, 2008 5:53 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I had a similar reaction

when I watched the race last night. There was never even a gap that I could see. Two guys stepped off and everyone else just rode around them. Levi was on the inside though so he must have been delayed more?

by Jimbo... on May 16, 2008 11:36 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

What was the final ruling?

Did Levi get anytime back?

by kalais on May 16, 2008 12:13 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Brian and Anthony said yes

They gave him back the time.

by Jimbo... on May 16, 2008 12:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Good

I don’t like the guy, but he got jacked and there was no reason he should suffer for it.
I really think your point is, well pointless as I really doubt he is going to step on the podium.

by Ryan_Liles on May 16, 2008 12:37 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Is there a rider on the planet

who has GC ambitions and doesn’t bother to ask about a 23” penalty? Sorry, but if people don’t like Levi, they’re going to have to point to something else. Hell, I would ask about that time… and I can’t ride for sheit.

"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."

by Chris... on May 16, 2008 1:51 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

According to

Velonews, the jury ruled against Levi. and Astana will continue to protest on Saturday.

by Katiek on May 16, 2008 8:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Did anyone else hear

Brian and Anthony say that they gave Levi the time back? Or am I just smokin crack?

by Jimbo... on May 16, 2008 11:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Funny how you say "just" in that sentence...

LOL!
I heard it too. At the time I was wondering how that would work as if they gave it to him, wouldn’t they have had to give it to that whole group. And then with that, what part of the group, or the entire group even though there were some splits. But then the race went on and I forgot about it.

"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."

by nikki on May 16, 2008 11:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

tuttobici confirms today...

No time for Levi.

by gavia on May 17, 2008 10:55 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I guess I agree with the jury

I can remember one prior race jury decision in favor of Levi: 2007 ToC, where the finishing time was equalized despite a split in the pack.

In the 2005 TdF, he lost a place in the overall to Vino on the last stage after the race director said that they wouldn’t change the GC for the finish, but applied the time bonuses anyway.

In the 2007 TdF, he was hit with a 10-second bidon-pulling penalty, that looked no worse than any other bidon-pull I’d ever seen.

So I’d say that Levi, karmically, deserves to get the seconds back, and I’m OK with that decision.

by Softie on May 16, 2008 1:50 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Two awful decisions

Neither of which really reflects on Levi himself, though he gets the brunt of the criticism for what turned out to be kind of a bullshit win in the TOC.

I’m not a huge fan - lack of charisma, can’t fathom the Astana thing, etc. - but these decisions were made by someone else.

"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."

by Chris... on May 16, 2008 1:54 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

No, that one

was pretty egregious. Not a bidon pull if you’ll recall, he got a huge push while his mechanic “adjusted” his saddle. I kept thinking any second now they’ll let go, any second now, or even now. Even Phil and Paul said the commisars might not like that. It wasn’t just the length of the push, but also the speed, they’re allowed to hold position while having mechanical repairs done, but this was quite a bit quicker than that. I’ve seen 20s penalties handed out for less.

by Rothko on May 16, 2008 7:32 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs