Bastille Day Battle
by Jen See on Jul 14, 2008 11:38 AM EDT
in Live Races
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Post-Race Show: Stage 10, Pau-Hautacam!
An Early Move. A breakaway of unusual size split off from the main field, and with 134 km to go (85 km to the Tourmalet), they held just over a minute in hand. Several French riders celebrated Bastille Day by joining the break, including French national champion Nicholas Vogondy, Sylvain Chavanel, Romain Feillu, and Rémy DiGrégorio. The break included Oscar Freire on the hunt for points, and in a hint of things to come, CSC rider Fabian Cancellara also joined the move. Silence-Lotto sent Yaroslav Popovych along for the ride, too.
Col du Tourmalet The break hit the Tourmalet with some 8.00 minutes in hand, and French climbing hope Rémy DiGrégorio went up the road on the early slopes of the climb. No one felt the desire to join him. As the main field steadily ascended the climb, the bunch thinned markedly, with Team CSC-Saxo Bank doing much of the pace-making. Clearly, CSC intended to ride today. On the upper slopes of the Tourmalet, Jens Voigt took over, turning the screws in the final kilometers of the climb, and Damiano Cunego and Alejandro Valverde fell behind the main field. Over the top of the Tourmalet, DiGrégorio held 2.00 over the remnants of the original breakaway and 7.15 over the main field, driven by CSC. Yellow Jersey Kim Kirchen of Team Columbia remained in the main field, but looked very lonely with his team mates distanced over the course of the climb.
CSC-Saxo Bank Plays its Hand. Down to the valley floor, the group of favorites descended. Cunego and Valverde remained just under a minute behind, and up ahead, DiGrégorio still dreamed of a Bastille Day win. But Team CSC-Saxo Bank had other ideas. Cancellara dropped back from the break, and together with Jens Voigt, he turned the screws on the Yellow Jersey group, quickly shrinking the gap to DiGrégorio and further distancing Valverde and Cunego, whose team mates were no match for the World Time Trial Champion. At the base of the Hautacam, Rémy DiGrégorio held less than a minute gap over the charging CSC-led field. So much for France's Bastille Day hopes. Worst still was the day of Valverde and Cunego who reached the final climb of the day over 2.00 minutes down on the other GC favorites. In just under 10 kilometers, CSC-Saxo Bank had eliminated two GC hopefuls.
Climb to the Finish. As the race hit the lower slopes of the climb, splits opened almost immediately. Kim Kirchen, the Yellow Jersey, quickly found himself out the back and all alone, and eventually finished just over 2.00 minutes down on the other GC favorites and fell to seventh overall on GC (1.56, the gap). Up ahead, Saunier Duval took over, and forced the pace. Leonardo Peipoli and Juan Jose Cobo Acebo attacked, making a play for the stage win. Fränk Schleck joined the move, and the threesome quickly opened up a gap over the ever-shrinking main field.
Soon enough, only five survived to chase the break: Cadel Evans of Silence-Lotto, Denis Menchov of Rabobank, Riccardo Ricco of Saunier Duval, Christian Vandevelde of Team Garmin, and Carlos Sastre of CSC. In between the Evans group and the Peipoli group, Vladimir Efimkin of AG2R and Bernard Kohl of Gerolsteiner ascended alone, largely un-noticed. Kohl's ride brought him to within 46 seconds of the race lead and to fourth overall in GC by the time he reached the finish. No doubt Kohl will not go un-noticed much longer.
The Evans group rode steadily, but none of the GC riders yet wanted to show their cards. Evans did the majority of the work for the chase, in a successful effort to ride himself into the Yellow Jersey. Carlos Sastre and Riccardo Ricco sat on, benefiting from their teammates' work in the break. Up the road, Peipoli and Cobo traded attacks and inside 3 km to go, distanced Fränk Schleck. Leonardo Peipoli soloed the final kilometers to win his first Tour de France stage. Behind, Schleck chased desperately in an effort to ride into yellow. He fell just 1 second short at the line, thanks in part to the willingness of Vandevelde to contribute to the chase behind. Bernard Kohl crossed 1.06 behind Peipoli, and the Evans group came in at 2.17 down. Vladimir Efimkin held on just ahead of the Evans group at 2.05. Further down the results, Damiano Cunego came in 5.51 down on the stage, ending his hopes for the general, while Alejandro Valverde finished 1 second behind him at 5.52. White Jersey leader Andy Schleck finished at 8.59 down, ending his run for the young rider classification.
Classifications. With the exception of the Green jersey of points leader, all of the jerseys changed hands today. Oscar Freire showed for the first time in his career that he is serious about the points jersey in this Tour de France and rode the break, adding ten points to his lead over Kim Kirchen. He now leads the points classification. Cadel Evans wears his first ever Yellow Jersey, leading the general by 1 second over Fränk Schleck of CSC-Saxo-Bank, 38 seconds over Christian Vandevelde of Team Garmin, and 46 seconds over German climber Bernard Kohl of Gerolsteiner. After two days in the mountains, Riccardo Ricco has taken over both the White Jersey of best young rider and the Spotted Jersey of best climber. Vincenzo Nibali sits just 1.49 down on Ricco in the young riders classification, while Ricco's team mate David de la Fuente holds second in the climbing competition.
Here are today's stage results and the new general classification.
Tomorrow, we rest...
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Holy Crap that was fantastic...
Absolutely fantastic. Seeing CVV up there, pounding it out all the way to the summit and trying to sprint away to the finish was delicious. Seeing Kirchen fight just to do honor to the jersey… magnificent. Jens! and Tony absolutely destroying themselves for Sastre. If only Sastre could have done something special to put a nice bow on it. Cadel and Frank within 1 second of each other. Wow… wow wow wow wow wow.
Wow.
Wow.
After a hard day of watching a Tour stage, I like to unwind with Verbotene Liebe
Anybody doubting
the excitement of the Tour this year? What’s the old saying about the riders making the race?
"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum."
I'd still loved to have Astana in the mix, especially Alberto...
great stage, but every mountain stage at the Tour is great.
by Bruce Suomi on Jul 14, 2008 11:54 AM EDT up reply actions
and even better,
imagine Horner carrying Alberto/Levi/Klöden over the finish line on his bike!!! ;)
by Bruce Suomi on Jul 14, 2008 12:15 PM EDT up reply actions
i think with a stage like that
everyone forgot Astana
by semprenaroda on Jul 14, 2008 2:23 PM EDT up reply actions
Couldn't see that comin' ;)
After a hard day of watching a Tour stage, I like to unwind with Verbotene Liebe
nah, Horners heroics brought it back,
he is a class act and should’ve been there, along with the best stage riders Contador, Levi and Klöden…
Have to agree on Horner...
I used to think he was a cry baby, but I’ve come around. Check out Levi’s comments on how he won The Cascades Classic with only Chris as a team. I’m not a big LL fan by any means but a two man showing in a major North American stage race is pretty inspiring.
by Christopher See on Jul 14, 2008 7:49 PM EDT up reply actions
well horner actually got help from another team on the second to last stage
he even acknowledged in his post race comments that he called in a few favors… I think he put it ‘it pays to have friends’.
It was absolutely mind-blowing. I feel like I need to have a cigarette - whew!
One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor. - George Carlin
lol, i'm not sure i'd go thaaaat far ;-)
can’t believe schlecky missed yellow by a second. l’ouch.
good riding from that guy today though. and beautiful csc team effort.
It's kind of pissing me off, though.
CSC, and Riis’ Plan, would have resulted in a stage win and the maillot jeune without the SDS guys, who I do not trust to be clean. JMHO.
One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor. - George Carlin
I hear you
but I don’t exactly trust Riis and Checchini in that regard. So I must give SDV the benefit of the serious doubt. My eyebrow is cocked, but chapeau to all of them today.
Brooklyn Chewing Gum: Vlaanderens Mooiste
remember
that’s what so many people on this side of pond said during the LA days …... :)
I am doing me best to trust the people that have never failed a test
by cyclingchallenge on Jul 14, 2008 11:46 AM EDT up reply actions
I know, I know. I keep telling myself that....
One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor. - George Carlin
I meant that comment
in the friendliest way :)
by cyclingchallenge on Jul 14, 2008 11:48 AM EDT up reply actions
pasta rice and a pint of blood for the team dinner?
by cyclingchallenge on Jul 14, 2008 11:49 AM EDT up reply actions
What was Kaiser Jan's (myspace) favorite ice cream?
Baby tears and blood?
Brooklyn Chewing Gum: Vlaanderens Mooiste
thems were the days...
lol, that thingy was so darn funny.
i like chocolate chip, myself. but to each his own and all….
exactly - if you don't like it when suspicions are raised for your favorite rider when he does an amazing ride
well don’t raise them for your non-favorite rider
I'm with you, they're dirty!
guess Mayo passed around his stash of epo as he can’t get use of it
"Race radios in Cat 4?"
by gravel road on Jul 14, 2008 11:47 AM EDT up reply actions
Any good english language links to post race stuff?
Eurosport already went to their next program.
Just spinning the pedals in the hills of Western Maryland
And a quick thanks to you all; we had so many people here, watching and "talking" to each other,
I totally lost track of all the comments. I have to go back and read them all now. First time that’s happened to me, it was crazy! :-)
One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor. - George Carlin
Now I'm glad it's a rest day tomorrow
I’m going to need that rest after today…
Beautiful day
Not that I saw much or had a decent working computer, but what I did see were some brilliant, ruthless tactics from CSC. Talk about playing your cards: Jens! up the Tourmalet, then having Cancellara up the road to drop back and pull on the flats. Unreal.
Bad tactics: Cunego’s “just follow valverde” strategy…
"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."
by Chris Fontecchio on Jul 14, 2008 11:46 AM EDT reply actions
when you saw cance in the break...
did you know what was going to happen next? yes, really we did.
riis at his best.
hmmm.
can someone tell me why Riis is called a genious using this tactic, this was what JB was doing all the time?
by Bruce Suomi on Jul 14, 2008 12:37 PM EDT up reply actions
when that sort of thing works
it looks easy. That doesn’t mean it IS easy. JB didn’t invent these tactics any more that Bjarne did, but doing what both of them do IS genius.
I loathe JB, but have to respect his genius as well. Saying, we’ll control the race and put the favorites into difficulty is one thing, making it happen is another.
Brooklyn Chewing Gum: Vlaanderens Mooiste
indeed.
I loathe Riis, but they did very well today, too bad for the 1 second.
by Bruce Suomi on Jul 14, 2008 12:46 PM EDT up reply actions
+1
Riis doesn’t just draw up familiar plans at breakfast. To get Cancellara over the Tourmalet in a break, and Jens! in position to hammer the GC guys, you have to plan this a few days ahead and make sure these guys are ready to do this kind of work. Unzue (Caisse) has a great team and they’re mostly climbers who can move to the front whenever the mood strikes them. CSC has to plan more carefully. They did, and they executed. Caisse had no answer.
"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."
by Chris Fontecchio on Jul 14, 2008 1:37 PM EDT up reply actions
probably before the Tour even started
You could tell watching, that CSC was waiting for something specific. They were extraordinarily scarce during that first week. I don’t think I ever saw a CSC jersey at the front, except when Cance made that one shot for a stage win. Otherwise, it was all wheel sucking all the time. They’ve got this one pretty clearly mapped out. Today, they had the legs to make it work. We’ll see if they can do it again.
I didn't
but I suppose it had to do with taking out the garbage, unpacking my backpack and trying to feed the baby. One wonders whether the other teams knew. I suppose there wasn’t much anyone besides SDV could do about it.
"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."
by Chris Fontecchio on Jul 14, 2008 1:34 PM EDT up reply actions
Good thing you weren't watching...
... or you would have fed the garbage to the DS Littler Bear and thrown your backpack in the trash.
After a hard day of watching a Tour stage, I like to unwind with Verbotene Liebe
He climbed Hautacam solo
so the cameras didn’t follow him, but he’s done his team and his market value very well today.
He’s a star now.
Brooklyn Chewing Gum: Vlaanderens Mooiste
that's a good ride from that kid...
talented climber, seemed to drop off the planet a bit last year – but looking good today for sure!
great to see that. he was on camera a few times – i knew he was there at least ;-)
Good thing I
had him on my team…............last year.
Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck!
"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum."
If he was on your team this year
you know he would’ve schlecked himself on the descent to honor your team. :-P
"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."
Ain't that the truth :-)
"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum."
Who else
was on your team last year? I’d like to know who’s going to win the Tour.
"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."
by Chris Fontecchio on Jul 14, 2008 1:37 PM EDT up reply actions
Contador, Rasmussen,
Fignon, Roche…....the usual suspects.
"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum."
but it's a bit suprising
I mean, he hasn’t got ANY result since the 2006 Dauphine. Where was he hiding?
by King of Doping on Jul 14, 2008 11:53 AM EDT up reply actions
not sure
i wondered what happened to him, really. he’s been virtually invisible since then.
not sure what the story is there.
some GC talents
prep that way. I remember Levi wouldn’t be seen except at the tour. Then when he broke his back, he was gone for a whole year w/ nothing to show for it.
That is the risk of being a specialist. Of course, Valverde and Cunego showed us the risks of peaking for the Ardennes and the Tour both. I prefer the folks who race all season long, but they aren’t likely to win many GTs against fokls like Cadel and Menchov who put all their eggs in one basket. The days of riders winning the tour and Paris-Roubaix are long gone. They days of winning Liege and the tour or the tour and the WC int eh same year are gone too.
Brooklyn Chewing Gum: Vlaanderens Mooiste
can you imagine
crash at 35 mph, then climb 2 HC mountains the next day…
wow
Is kohl up there too?
I think your right
Just spinning the pedals in the hills of Western Maryland
Cadel crying on the podium
and he even kissed the little lion on both cheeks. He won’t let anyone near his shoulder though.
LOL!
I’m really happy for him, he looks like he really is enjoying it up there, so sweet!
One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor. - George Carlin
Yes we are!
And damn tired too – 2am in Sydney
Highlight was seeing Cadel cry on the podium. Did well to bounce back after his fall.
Well done mate!
2 am?
that’s some dedication right there. at least you can have a beer or several during the stage though…
Autobus time
41.31 after Peeps. But with 91 riders still out there they can pretty much come in when they want.
what is cut-off? 41?
yes, they seem willing to change rule if lots of riders
by cyclingchallenge on Jul 14, 2008 11:55 AM EDT up reply actions
Actually part of rule I think
If more than 20% (or some percent) of riders miss or something like that it gets extended. I’ll have to go look.
lol so a rider could drop back to help a sprinter
by helping get to 20% :)
by cyclingchallenge on Jul 14, 2008 11:58 AM EDT up reply actions
Ricco will attack and attack
Now that Ricco has the climbers jersey he will keep attacking. Kohl is another real winner today. 46 seconds down all on his own – that is the move nobody followed. He is a wild card!
what a ride by SD today - they took advantage of all the work done by the Sexy boys
masterly played by that team. Sexy team showed today that they meant business and that Jens! is a beast but did they burn too many matches, only time will tell.
CdE needs to let OP loose, he’s riding quite well. Valverde well will try and win a stage later on to redeem himself.
great ride by CVV but he’s now a marked man and they will try and drop him.
Menchov seemed really strong to me. Evans well still blah about him, just can’t root for him.
Nice job by Goubert to stick with the big boys.
and grinta for Kirchen
okay enough of disjointed thoughts, need to go to work now
nice ride from remy too
in the normal way of things, he might have stayed away. but when csc decided to ride, that was it for him. memo to remy: try not to pick the day that csc wants to win to break away…
Remy DiGregorio interview
I tried, I left [the field] early but the headwind going to Hautacam, all alone so it;s very difficult to get to the finish. I want to thank everyone that cheered, I have never been so cheered for … I really enjoyed today.
I tried, I couldn’t leave the Pyrenees without trying. I wanted to attack before the Tourmalet, I said it this morning, voila it’s done. I’m really happy, I tried, I don’t regret trying.
Right now, I would like to [attack again] in the Alps, it’s not far from home, .. I really would like to try again in the Alps.
I think C can still be a silent guy
as no one (but a few of us) believe this isn’t just a great ride today.
I so love it!!!
"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."
CVV is definitely a marked man after today
but he can probably work with allies during the stages. He’s quite smart so it should get really interesting.
I didn't mean for the whole tour but
too many aren’t sure what he can do. I don’t think he’ll be viewed as a huge threat just yet.
Regardless – I am super duper silly giddy excited for him!!!!
"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."
the french commentators had his resume out so peeps have done their research
sign that he’s on the radar now. But still not one of the big boys but won’t be forgotten and certainly won’t be let go if he makes a move.
Okay I totally agree but I get to have fun with this!
You guys know I am a friendly fan and I just am so excited! Ear to ear grin today!!!
"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."
Smiles :-) Grazie babe!
My Z button is failing me these days. I’m finding I am missing a lot of comments and almost feel a need to go through and re-read later when it’s quieter. I still want to go back and scroll the live threads today as I KNOW I missed some good comments made out there.
"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."
if he plays his cards right, he might be on the podium!
he showed today that he has it, great to see him doing so well!
by Bruce Suomi on Jul 14, 2008 12:29 PM EDT up reply actions
Sadly though Riis most certainly does.
I so hope he can rest up well and kick some more butt with them Wed! Such great stuff!
"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."
Ricco interview
He wants to keep the maillot pois to Paris. Whether he ever goes for GC is tricky, since right now he weighs 57 kilos. More TT power would mean more weight whicj would compromise his climbing.
New respect for Cadel for me
We’ve all watched him progress toward yellow year after year. To take it on this stage after a crash yesterday is quite special.
DO you think he get Yellow w/o CVV pulls at the en?
Seems to me that CVV coming to the front at the end get the jersey for Cadel.
Just spinning the pedals in the hills of Western Maryland
to clarify, CVV's pull did help Evans but not saying that it was intentional
yet ;) we’ll have to see if any alliances are/were made in the next stages.
I think it helped but Ricco was making moves as well.
The individuals had to try and get a gap.
"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."
oh, I hope CVV takes the yellow from Cadel!
by Bruce Suomi on Jul 14, 2008 12:22 PM EDT up reply actions
If that happens, you will all be hearing my cheers through the computer!!!!
I think CSC wants it though and if C gets a spin on keeping it from Frank then there will be some hurting come Wed. The one good thing is that there is some good respect with C all around. I doubt we’d see something personal but tactically – oh yeah. Pain-o-meter will be in high gear for yellow. IMO anyways. :) Soooooo giddy! :)
"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."
I'm excited for agressive riding coming...
I doubt Cadel will have the lead going into the ITT. CSC has got to have another play up their sleeve. Kohl and CVV can smell yellow. Silence is vulnerable. I’m excited.
Brooklyn Chewing Gum: Vlaanderens Mooiste
Not good he's key to my VDS team
He’s also key to all my other teams at other games too.
Just spinning the pedals in the hills of Western Maryland
Columbia lost all the jerseys in the last two days
no white, no yellow and no green. And I don’t think they can recover them, Freire looks focused to win the green jersey!
by King of Doping on Jul 14, 2008 12:04 PM EDT reply actions
I think Columbia knew that they couldn't keep them which is why they went all out in the first week
now they recover, and go for stage wins if possible.
+1
I only expected Lövkvist to hold a bit more in the mountains (just like in Suisse)
by King of Doping on Jul 14, 2008 12:07 PM EDT up reply actions
yeah a bit surprised that Lövkvist cracked so early on
the team has been working in front in the wind for quite a few days
I had a "done deal" feeling...
but you guys have given me hope that we still have a real race to look forward to. I don’t want it to be over, like the Vuelta was last year (over except in fact, you know?)
1 ord - Menchov
He doesn’t seem to have played his full hand yet. But I do think you can apply the 3 minute rule to see who is left at this point.
Just spinning the pedals in the hills of Western Maryland
Here is who's left w/in 3 minutes - not may good TT riders
1EVANS 42h 29’ 09”
2. SCHLECK Frank + 00’ 01”
3. VANDEVELDE Christian + 00’ 38”
4. KOHL Bernhard + 00’ 46”
5. MENCHOV Denis + 00’ 57”
6. SASTRE Carlos + 01’ 28”
7. KIRCHEN Kim + 01’ 56”
8. COBO ACEBO Juan Jose + 02’ 10”
9. RICCO Riccardo + 02’ 29”
10. EFIMKIN Vladimir + 02’ 32”
Just spinning the pedals in the hills of Western Maryland
the alps will cause huge gaps as well...
by Bruce Suomi on Jul 14, 2008 12:26 PM EDT up reply actions
definitely
The 3 minute rule will help keep track of who is still really in contention for wining and then each spot back to 5th place. An OP like escape can change positions 5-10 pretty quickly. But it seems year-to-year the 3 minute rule holds up pretty well for the top 5.
Doing some extrapolation and assuming that nobody cracks spectacularly in this group (an assumption bound to be blown to bits).
I see a top 5 made up of Evans, Mechov, Vandevelde, Sastre, and either Kohl or Kichen. This based primarily on TT ability.
Just spinning the pedals in the hills of Western Maryland
Ricco & Schleck
big movers. Sastre, Menchov, Cobo, Kohl and Vandevelde holding steady. But Ricco and Schleck are the only guys who look like they could make trouble for Cadel in the Alps.
"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."
by Chris Fontecchio on Jul 14, 2008 1:50 PM EDT up reply actions
And
give it all back on Stage 20. But I certainly hope they ride out of their socks on every mountain stage if only because they are exciting as hell. Say what you will about Ricco but that guy can accelerate like a rocket.
Molto benne.
"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum."
And Tinkoff are going to announce tomorrow their plans for 2009
by King of Doping on Jul 14, 2008 12:05 PM EDT reply actions
throw the predictions out the window
this is a tour like 99.
Except, that for me Menchov might be the fave.
I think Evans’ shoulder is more damaged than he lets on and that this will hurt him—either at L’Alpe or in the final tt.
I’m thinking good thoughts about VdV, but we’ll see.
Sastre needed to throw down today, and it didn’t happen. Actually, CSC/Sexy Back’s ROI was minimal today: Andy Shleck’s no longer a factor, Sastre looks his usual almost top of the line . . . which won’t be good enough.
And, in my special bitter comment of the day: How ‘bout Lance Armstrong’s pick? How bout that Stijn Devolder? Wow . . . (I know he was sick, I’m just really tired of people who think that Armstrong really even follows pro cycling anymore . . .)
Yeah, but
hasn’t Menchov historically done better in the Pyrenees than the Alps? That was certainly the case in 2006. In the meantime, FS did, as we all know, win at L’Alpe in 2006. Though the real question is whether anyone can put in enough time on Evans to hold him off on the final ITT. Given that FS surrendered 2’ to Evans in the first, short ITT, I kinda doubt he’d be able to do it.
I'm so baised today is might not be pretty
But C LOVES being the underdog and he played that role pretty damn well in ‘99 too!
I have nothing but huge positive vibes going his way!
"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."
Didn't Lance pick
Cadel for this year, but said Devolder could win some day if someone “made it a project”? (as compared to Cunego who he thought could never win)
yeah. and you'd think he knows what he is talking about....
by Bruce Suomi on Jul 14, 2008 12:32 PM EDT up reply actions
One thing I catched in my tech research about Devolder!
He’s sponsored by Nike and riding in the Lance designed shoes.
So, I’d say Lance was doing nothing but plugging a sponsored rider.
by Ryan_Liles on Jul 14, 2008 1:05 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Sure
but who here actually bought into the concept of Devolder even placing top 10 in the Tour?
"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum."
Hey Drew....
Who thought I was being cute and nice and a good fan? Tee hee.
Nice to have you back by the way. Email coming your way shortly.
"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."
Sastre
a let down as usual. same old thing every year, time for a new leader.
More of a question is
can FS do it more than one day in a row? After his Alp win in ‘06 he was not much in any of the following mountain stages. Anyone have any idea how well he recovers?
Que?
he rode like a captain today. Can’t say any different for him than for Menchov or Cadel. That is tactics, with Schleck up the road, his job was to stick w/ Evans and he did that. To have him chase Frank would have been an Aitor/Cunego type teammate move. CSC is faaaaaaaaar too smart for that kind of ass-hatery.
Brooklyn Chewing Gum: Vlaanderens Mooiste
agreed
csc played the perfect game today, i think. if it were the last mountain stage, i’d say sastre blew it, but he was right to stay with the leaders and use schleck to force things. they almost got the yellow out of that move – only 1 second short. not a day for sastre to attack, take advantage of his team mate up the road and play the waiting game. still more road for him to work with.
Indeed
Of all the heads of state, Sastre used the least gas today. I don’t think he took a single pull or a seconds’ worth of wind. That ain’t criticism, when your teammates are blowing the race apart, he played his role to perfection.
Brooklyn Chewing Gum: Vlaanderens Mooiste
good point, actually
about him sitting on all day. evans did quite a lot of work in that favorites group – logically, as it was his chance at yellow. but menchov and vandevelde worked too. only sastre sat. good use of the team by riis.
Didn't he go off the back and have to get back to the group at one point?
I’m not so sure he was playing the perfect role. I think he was at his limits, and that would mean that he used his teammate up the road to keep from blowing rather than conserving.
Just spinning the pedals in the hills of Western Maryland
nah, he didn't go off the back
He looked pretty solid through the stage.
The heads of state marked one another. None of them looked supremely stronger than the others.
However, if Sastre can’t get away on the mountain finishes, he doesn’t have a chance at the podium.
Great debate
It’d be just like Riis to have Sastre holding his cards for the Alps. That’d better be the case, because Sastre has NO HOPE if he just follows Cadel around. But if Riis has gamed this so he hits everyone hard now with Schleck & Jens and Cance, all to set up Sastre next week… respect.
"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."
by Chris Fontecchio on Jul 14, 2008 1:53 PM EDT up reply actions
Sastre was muy tranquilo in the post-stage
No way he was at limit today, he just sat on. He answered every acceleration without problems.
Question is if he is explosive enough to open the big gaps he needs though. Cadel/Menchov showed they can work well together to keep the whippersnappers close enough to make it a final showdown between themselves in the TT.
CVV can be a nasty surprise for them if he continues like today.
Stages ahead with Mountain Finishes
There aren’t too many chances left for Carlos. Here are a couple that will be key. Certainly stage 17 will be crucial. I can’t wait to watch that!
Stage 15 Climbs: * Km 58.0 – Col Agnel – 20.5 km climb to 6.6 % – Category H * Km 157.0 – Colle del Morte – 1.7 km climb to 7.2 % – Category 3 * Km 183.0 – PRATO NEVOSO – 11.4 km climb to 6.9 % – Category 1
Stage 17 Climbs: * Km 31.0 – Côte de Sainte-Marguerite – 3.5 km climb to 6 % – Category 3 * Km 79.0 – Col du Galibier – 20.9 km climb to 5.6 % – Category H * Km 156.0 – Col de la Croix de Fer – 29.0 km climb to 5.2 % – Category H * Km 210.5 – ALPE-D’HUEZ – 13.8 km climb to 7.9 % – Category H
Someone mentioned the 3 minute rule
which makes a lot of sense,
except w/ Valv. blown & CSC perhaps have burned all of their matches today. Perhpas we’ll see another Pereiroesque break. If Sanchez (either one) or Kirchen get in a break, who is going to take responsibility for chasing?
Silence can’t, Rabo won’t, the Slippies and ‘Steiners may not be able to either.
The rewards are such that someone is going to take a flier, and that flier has a puncher’s chance of paying off.
Brooklyn Chewing Gum: Vlaanderens Mooiste
think csc has more left...
this is the first day they’ve worked. it will be difficult for caisse to do anything more though
a flyer? yeah, maybe, but i think there will be a csc jersey along for the ride with anything that goes.
i think this also
they really did nothing the first week – not even a breakaway. there’s a lot left in those legs, and they’re very serious about chasing the gc this year. riis is going all or nothing for once – no stage win hedging.
Perhaps
A Schleck seemed to be kept in reserve today, but Jens and Cancellara turned themselves inside out and sideways tied in knots. I don’t expect to see much out of them for a few days.
Brooklyn Chewing Gum: Vlaanderens Mooiste
Hmm
I seem to recall last year one stage between the mouintains where there was a good breeze and Astana put the hammer down in the end catching out only Moreau.
That won’t happen this year but if given the opportunity I can imagine Cancellara, A Schleck and Voigt really pressing the breaks.
And of course if not from CSC then someone else as like 06 and Phonak the peloton knows that Lotto can spend much energy defending. If no one helps Lotto the breaks could get quite big.
Ultimately by the next TT Evans will be out of Yellow. The real question will be by how much and to whom.
Speaking of strong teams
AG2R – 3 in the top 20 of the stage, same as SDV – what a surprise!
Silence will struggle, can’t see Cadel defending the jersey.
evans post-race
lol, lequipe describes him as a kid at christmas :-)
were you feeling the effects of your crash?
I had really the fear of my life. I was really happy to finish the stage yesterday. This morning, I was rather bad at the start, I had bruises and scrapes all over. Then, I began to feel better during the course of the day. For this, I have really to thank my team: the osteopath who worked on my body last night, and also my doctor…
Where did you suffer the most?
Without a doubt on the descents. Yesterday I fell. And today, I really suffered on the descents. That was tiring above all.
You have just taken the jersey, will you hold it?
I hope so. it will be very difficult. We do not have the most powerful team in the bunch, but the yellow is a grand satisfaction and motivation. I think htat our team is best when it rides at the front of the bunch.
You looked very emotional on the podium.
After chasing the jersey, I had a hard time believing it. Yesterday I was at the lowest point of this Tour, I believed that I had lost the race. Today, I am at the summit. All has changed in the space of 26 hours…. And to see all the kangaroos and australian supporters on the hautacm, that gave me so much pleasure.
Who are your principal rivals?
To all evidence, Fränk Schleck is the first. He is only a second back in the classification. He is the principal menace. Then… Where is Kohl in the classification? And who is third? Vandevelde? Bravo for him. But in a three week race, I think that Menchov is the most dnagerous and he is already proven.
That could be a great nickname for Fränk Schleck...
“Principal Menace”... either for Fränk or a professional wrestler.
After a hard day of watching a Tour stage, I like to unwind with Verbotene Liebe
Yes!
He had a heap of strength today.
"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."
by Chris Fontecchio on Jul 14, 2008 1:55 PM EDT up reply actions
Would he look like this?
"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum."
I'd be a bitch to timetrial...
... with all those feathers.
After a hard day of watching a Tour stage, I like to unwind with Verbotene Liebe
CSC Executed to absolute perfection today...
... with the most likely sacrifice being a stage win in a breakaway for Jens! There are 11 stages including all of the Alps before the next and final ITT so there’s still plenty of time for things to shake out. Wednesday’s stage 11 has two Cat.3’s and one Cat.1 climb, stage 12 is a lumpy-downhill-most-of-the-way stage, stage 13 is lumpy too with three cat.4’s but nothing that’s gonna kill riders of this class, stage 14 starts to climb up again, but nothing drastic and it isn’t until stage 15 that we see the first major climb again but it’s at the beginning of the stage and an uphill finish on the Cat.1 into Prato Nevoso which seems tailor made a KOM battle, but not a GC battle.
It isn’t until a week from tomorrow that we see outright Mountain Stages so I bet we see Cadel in Yellow through the second rest day, barring a mechanical or medical calamity and then it will start all over again. This race isn’t decided by any stretch of the imagination for anyone except, most likely, Cunego and Valverde. The ITT at the penultimate stage will cause the final shake out, but don’t think for a second it’ll be a shakeout of this exact standing… things are gonna flip flop around all over again in a week… and I can’t wait.
After a hard day of watching a Tour stage, I like to unwind with Verbotene Liebe
Vaughters speaking about CVV to Cycling News...
“If he limits he loses today, he will be good in the final weeks. In the past, he has always gone better in the last weeks of a three-week tour. Then, he will obviously be good in the last time trial. Today will be the worst day of the Tour for Christian, if he can hold then the race becomes much better for him.”
If today was really the worst day of the tour for CVV, everyone else is screwed.
After a hard day of watching a Tour stage, I like to unwind with Verbotene Liebe
Now, wouldn't it be interesting
if CSC, SDV, Garmin, Gerolsteiner, Rabobank, and Columbia take turns attacking Lotto over the next 10 days? Realistically if Evans is not too worn out by stage 20 then he’s going to win or place very well on that stage. But, if he’s exhausted from following multiple, multiple attacks over successive days then he’s not exactly a shoe in for the win.
There’re going to be some back room deals being discussed between now and July 25th.
"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum."
it would, and l think that will happen
Not to sound like a broken record, but that is the only way Cadel can be cracked, tiring his weak team, putting him under pressure in every stage.
hmm..
i’d expect vandevelde and evans to ride together, at least for now. you already saw a bit of that in the last kilometer when vande helped with the chase for the first time.
How much of a help was it really?
By pulling like that to try and get a couple seconds, CVV put Evens in the yellow. Now Lotto must defend which they just don’t have the legs to do. So in one way what happened today is the worst possible option for Evans. Now he & Lotto must defend a 1 second gap for a week. That’s not very good.
So I have to wonder, did JV tel CVV to go hard and did Menchov work too so as to make it harder on Evans going forward? This thing is starting to have shades of 2003. Just saying.
Just spinning the pedals in the hills of Western Maryland
Garmin don't have the team either to defend the
jersey, CSC is without a doubt the strongest team here, and will and can control the race as we’ve seen so far.
SD riders will loose minutes in the TT.
"loose minutes"
You misspelled this. It’s b-l-e-e-d. I know, this is like your fifth language today…
"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."
by Chris Fontecchio on Jul 14, 2008 4:19 PM EDT up reply actions
when talking about SDV riders and time trials
Yes.
"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."
by Chris Fontecchio on Jul 14, 2008 4:51 PM EDT up reply actions
menchov
It seemed to me Menchov did pretty minimal work in the group. Cagey character, there. If he did help Evans it was out of the recognition that CSC and Saunier have more legs to cause trouble than any of the rest of them. I doubt very much they were working to put Evans in yellow to make it harder. More, to insure that Saunier and CSC didn’t find the chance to ride away with it.
Neither Garmin nor Lotto has much in the way of team to make a play for the GC, which may draw them together into cooperating as CSC increasingly turns the screws.
Agree with Bruce, that Saunier will be yucky sucky in the crono, but Ricco can’t be allowed any more trips up the road. No doubt CSC will take care of that.
I think Menchov was helping himself
Menchov actually wants to win the race and so has to act on that basis. In a way setting a pace is protective so a rider like Sastre doesn’t feel inclined to jump them – and he also is putting time into those behind him and restricting the time gains of those in front. Does anyone really want to get Perieroed – because it’s hard to tell a riders true form until they’re are truly forced to give it all they’ve got? It isn’t just Evans vs Menchov. If there were tactical mistakes made today it was by those who didn’t put themselves into the red on the Tourmalet to stay in contact with the yellow jersey thinking they could reintegrate on the descent. If you look at Cunego or Valverde’s Hautacam ascent times I believe they weren’t too far of the Evan’s group and quite a bit faster then Kirchen – but they lost time because of the pace set on the valley road – so instead of losing 2 minutes like Kirchen they’ve lost closer to 4. And if you give Valverde 30s for the mechanical I reckon he’s around the same time up Hautacam as the Evans group.
Si...
Cunego was only about 30 seconds down at the top of the Tourmalet. By the base of the Hautacam, it was 2.30. I suppose the question I have, though, is if he could have gone any harder on the Tourmalet. The screws got themselves turned pretty tight there at the top.
Cunego made a funny
Said in the interview he had troubles on the Tourmalet and dropped back. He then tried to get back on the descent “but it was hard because of the wind” LOL! The two-man TGV (Voigt/Cance) in the front group might have had something to do with it…............
I don't know that CVV helped with the chase at the end...
looked more like he was trying to get a time gap of any sort on the group since at that point it looked like they were all going in as a group. Evans was sempre na roda though.
After a hard day of watching a Tour stage, I like to unwind with Verbotene Liebe
If Peeps didn'tspeak french, he wouldn't be here today
That’s why you need to have your racing licence in Monaco boys and girls. Instead of sitting at home knitting potholders like Pettachi, Piepoli can win stages in the Tour…......
Can I get some of those potholders?
I might as well get SOMETHING in exchange for my 25 points.
After a hard day of watching a Tour stage, I like to unwind with Verbotene Liebe
Of course
do you want them in Milram-blue or Tinkoff-yellow? Send your request to overthehill@cashingin.com
CSC rode well today but really it was to little effect
Valverde and Cunego were never REALLY threats for the overall and neither is Schleck the Elder. Sastre didn’t look too great. I don’t buy the biding his time stuff. He has to attack at every chance. He doesn’t have the luxury of picking and choosing. Does anyone really think that Sastre can get away from Evans? REALLY? Doubtful. Let Frank get 2-3 minutes, it will all be given back in the last TT. Menchov and Sastre have to man up and attack him themselves, otherwise they’re done. All the teamwork in the world won’t do any good if you can’t finish it off and it’s starting to look like Sastre can’t finish it off. He hasn’t been able to in the past and I doubt he can this year. I know there is a lot of wishful thinking and all, but it’s just not the case.
If I just had one more gear, I...
You would really
have him attack his teammate’s move?
bad form, that.
I’ll agree that I don’t like Sastre for the overall, since he’s more of a wear ‘em out than knock ‘em out kind of rider. Still, he’s got plenty of chances to wear them out coming up. The race can’t be won on a day like today, but CSC did everything right. They sorted out the strong from the weak and crushed the strongest team (CdE) completely.
Really, what would you have them do differently? Cadel & Denis chose not to chase Schleck today, but that just means they won’t have the option of letting him go in the future.
Brooklyn Chewing Gum: Vlaanderens Mooiste
I agree that attacking his own teammate is bad form unless
He is sent ahead to wait for him and help him put time into your rivals. I know everyone thinks Schleck is some big threat, but I don’t think so. He will wind up cracking and going out the back before Evans’ chances have evaporated. I think that Sastre has no choice but to attack, regardless of who is up the road. Really, what are his options? Let his team repeatedly attack until they can no longer do so and on the off chance that he gets into yellow and they are too spent to defend, then what? At some point, Sastre needs to go to the business end of the race and get it done. It really is that simple. I always thought that CSC was the strongest team, not CdE. They were just waiting for the right moment.
If I just had one more gear, I...
Sastre
Must attack when there are uphill finishes. He needs at least 2’ in hand for the final TT; his descending skills are pretty poor (Landis put 30” into him on the descent into Morzine in 2006); any uphill finish in which Carlos fails to put time between himself and Evans is an opportunity wasted.
At some point yes
But today was two hard climbs and 150km. Alpe d’Huez stage is 210km and three harder climbs. Time will tell, but I think CSC are biding their time with Sastre. That stage is so ridiculous that he could probably afford to wait til then. Other Alps stages too.
"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."
by Chris Fontecchio on Jul 14, 2008 4:22 PM EDT up reply actions
Given that he lost nearly 2'
in the first ITT, I think he needs well more than that going into the final ITT.
But I think Chris is right, it’ll come down to whether Sastre (or someone else, Ricco perhaps?) can blow Evans away on one or more of the Alpine stages.
Evans, Menchov, and Company
Need to keep an eye on Schleck and Sastre on 15 & 17 which are Carlos’ last best chances.
Presuming Schleck doesn’t crack, it’s going to be a tough job to mark both of them over all the upcoming HC climbs.
It’s smarter for Sastre to bide his time and go for it when he’ll get the maximum payoff.
If he pushed it today for nothing, his tour would be over already.
It will be interesting to see if Kohl can play his hand intelligently and ride to a surprise podium spot.
+1
Cycling is a team sport and now that Saxo has punted CdE to the curb they are the strongest team. If I were Cattle, CVV or Mench I would be very afraid of Saxo going up the road in ones, twos or en masse. It’s gonna be good.
"I won! I won! I don't have to go to school anymore." -- Eddy Merckx, after winning his first bike race
Different goals
Garmin is going for max exposure. That is their only team goal for this tour and CVV’s efforts today were totally in line with that goal. He was going for a high stage finish and trying to move himself up on GC. He wasn’t trying to push Evans into yellow so others will attack Evans and thereby open the GC doors for CVV. That is just too tactically complex for those guys to pull off. It might work out that way in the end, but it was not their master plan at the start of the day.
CSC’s efforts were impressive but I think Sastre was hanging on by his fingernails despite all the work done by Jens! and Tony. It was a lot of work for little gain. They may be the strongest team, but they just don’t have a good GC guy to seal the deal. Sastre can’t do it. Big Schleck can’t either.
And my hat is off to Evans who showed some serious stones today. The guy crashed yesterday at speed, cracked his helmet, knocked himself silly, tweaked his collar bone, and still managed to ride with the big boys until the finish? He looked like death warmed over on Hautacam, all pallid and pasty, but he still rode well. Seriously impressive.
I'm gonna have to watch the last 20 minutes or so...
... tonight again to see just what sort of form Sastre had at the end. This looked textbook from CSC in how to set your team up right for the decision maker stages. “you can only lose the tour on this stage” is one of the most cliched statements but it really rang true today… Caisse D’Epargne’s, Lampre’s and Columbia’s GC hopes are toast now… everyone else either excelled or did what they had to do.
Wouldn’t be surprised to see *Lotto give the jersey back on Wednesday if the opportunity presents itself… the idea of “Must Defend” the Jersey at this point is more out of honor than realism… I don’t have a problem with Lotto playing it either way… honorable to put your guys on the front for the next five stages, smart not to.
After a hard day of watching a Tour stage, I like to unwind with Verbotene Liebe
wednesday
Very good day for a breakaway. Stage winners, take note. If I’m in the Lotto car, I control the race well enough at the start that the right break of non-GC riders goes, and then I sit back and ride a nice controlled tempo to the line, and hope that no one gets any ideas along the way.
the only flaw here
is in assuming that lotto has enough wattage left in their team to control the race well at the start.
i think they can do that...
That’s probably not too much for them – there are some talented guys on that team. They just can’t really climb any high mountains. They won’t need to do that to control the break, so it’s all good. They’ll have alllies too, probably in Rabobank, and likely in Garmin.
He tried
I thought I saw him try to escape but quickly gave up. Evans wasn’t letting him get an inch.
"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."
by Chris Fontecchio on Jul 14, 2008 4:23 PM EDT up reply actions
I agree after taking a quick look that I think Carlos tried a couple tests but they got squashed.
At that point, I think he did what Riis probably told him to do… sit your ass on and save the energy. The team got Carlos on the podium at the Vuelta and I would think Carlos believes in the tactical games played and will follow along with himself beleiving it is all in good planning to put him on the podium in Paris.
Okay… enough cycling for a bit for me. Off to the doc…. ugh!
"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."
Remember...
... always ask the mechanic to give back the parts they took out.
After a hard day of watching a Tour stage, I like to unwind with Verbotene Liebe
If they do give it away
They seriously need to be careful about who gets it. Nobody wants a Pereiro to happen again.
So we know I am biased when it comes to C but
I have to say that one should never discount the tactics up in JV’s head. That man thinks and plans a whole lot of scenario’s out and I noticed it last year and personally think he’s pretty good at it. I don’t think what Jimbo said is quite right in being “too tactically complex” as I think JV and company have it BUT agree that today I don’t think that was the part of the plays. One fun thing with having followed C over the years, he has really developed some serious on the road and team tactics thinking. There’s a reason guys look up to him out there.
I personally think C’s attempt at the end was his attempt at the end to try and get a few seconds and maybe a booster for him to end the day with to say – “hey self, you’re still here and you still have some left.” I don’t think it had anything to to with helping or not helping Cadel, I think it was all him to attempt it. If Cadel had not grabbed his wheel so fast, he could’ve gotten a few seconds. If things pan out for a podium of some kind in 2 weeks then I really think C knowing CSC as well as he does, could be a benefit to working with them, not against.
"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."
Good point about CVV being former CSC...
... there might be something for the backroom to dealings…
After a hard day of watching a Tour stage, I like to unwind with Verbotene Liebe
so long as
Vandevelde sits higher than Sastre on GC, and so close to Schleck, I doubt very much CSC will have any interest in helping him. Quite the contrary, they will want to crack him as much as Evans. They have no reason to help someone who can ride a decent crono on a good day. For either Sastre or Schleck to win this Tour, Menchov, Evans, and Vandevelde will all have to be left behind somewhere in the Alps, or wherever else Riis might discover for crushing unwitting rivals. Riis, he never likes to ride for anyone else’s benefit.
I sort of assumed...
... that the deal would be Garmin helping CSC into the top spot while CSC assisted Garmin onto the lower rungs. I think Riis would explode in a fit of Danish fury if it were the other way around.
After a hard day of watching a Tour stage, I like to unwind with Verbotene Liebe
Dan's take is my nieve take.
Riis would ponder the idea to take help to ensure he gets what he wants. If he can get some assistance and it helps another out and won’t mess with his goal, why not…. :-)
"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."
I said "too tactically complex to pull off"
not to conceive of. JV is a very smart guy and I’m sure he has noodled many possible strategies, including that one, but putting it into play on the road is no small feat and I think JV would be the first to admit that. Your boy C is getting respect because he is earning it by his actions this tour. He is showing that he is one of the big boys, as someone quoted Bobby Julich as saying at cn during the race thread. But he does not have the team behind him to be the boss that way.
I just wanna know...
... if there’s going to be a “Spanish National Champion” around to screw Ricco again on the final mountain stage. Bwwahahahhahahahahaaa…
After a hard day of watching a Tour stage, I like to unwind with Verbotene Liebe
I just watched the race recorded after work
That was seriously one of the best stages I’ve seen. Sort of a bummer that CSC didn’t get anything tangible for their effforts at the end. Cancellara and Jens! deserved a stagewin or the jersey for their efforts today. Chapeaus en masse to them!
In the end though I think not getting the jersey was a blessing. I’m sure Silence will have a great time defending it :-) .
yeah I can just imagine the conversation at the silence table
WTF couldn’t he have been 1 second slower?
On Jens!: sure, I'm prejudiced. It's no secret.
But watching him grind his way up the Tourmalet, and decimate the peloton the way he did, just blew my mind. He caused such mighty hurt and pain, such epoch destruction that Valverde and Cunego got left behind, for god’s sake. Up the Tourmalet.
I don’t care what great performances we’ll see in the 2nd half of the race; if Jens! doesn’t get his much-coveted Most Aggressive Rider award this Tour, solely for his work today, I will weep.
One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor. - George Carlin
Totally agree
between the 2 groups (Pippo, Cobo and Frank and Evans, et al) attacking each other constantly it was like watching a tennis match. I’m sure the producer for French TV was losing his mind trying to get cameras on both bikes, and the guys chasing, and the favorites who’d be dropped.
Poor old Bernard Kohl rode a terrific race in total obscurity :-)
"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum."
Which is a shame , especially since he is so stylish
I’ve never seen a hunchback ride with such grace.
Seriously it was a shame, others have talked the talk but he walks the walk.
Was thinking
he might be suffering a seizure all the way up.
The last guy I saw climb like that was Francisco Mancebo – ugliest style since Fernando Escartin.
"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum."
random side note
Just went to check my gmaily, and there was a link to an ESPN story. The headline? “Peipoli leads harrowing ascent” Harrowing?! Ascent? Sigh… Who are the people who write these things. Descents are harrowing. Climbs are relentless, inexorable, steep, difficult, unforgiving. But harrowing? NO!!!!!
Okay, I feel better now.
Might I also suggest...
soul rasping, infernal and route-planned-by-Torquemada
After a hard day of watching a Tour stage, I like to unwind with Verbotene Liebe
Route planned by Torquemada
no, I think that’s stage 17…
Did you see eurosport's article today: Tour de France - Evans in yellow, Piepoli breaks duck
WTF? Piepoli broke a duck
wtf does that mean?!
I mean, I thought I knew English. But then again, maybe not.
Is it me, or did they mis-spell Cobo’s name throughout?
It's a cricket thing
it means first score/win – so in Piepoli’s case it could mean his first tour win as in “Piepoli breaks his tour duck” or it could also mean his first win of the year or career or whatever. To be out without scoring in cricket is a duck – so that’s the origin.
It's a bit like soccer
which is an abreviation of association football; just no-one thinks about the link anymore. IIRC Duck was originally Duck’s egg, which is round so resembles a zero – like the modern day usage of donut to describe a score of zero. But over time has become just duck.
...or "Love" in tennis
L’oeuf=egg correct?
"I won! I won! I don't have to go to school anymore." -- Eddy Merckx, after winning his first bike race
There was a duck broken today
but the blame for that goes to Jens and Fabian. They made Cunego (duck in Italian) cry for his mama on the Tourmalet and never let him back on.
Brooklyn Chewing Gum: Vlaanderens Mooiste
My quick biased wrap up :-)
I am so excited being a long time fan of C’s. I’m more impressed with his confidence than I am with results. He’s beleiving in himself and I love seeing that and he’s backing up that confidence with efforts he’s been working hard on showing since last fall. Kudo’s Mr C for setting a goal of top 10 at the 2008 TdF and going after it!!! I think he rode great today and what I found most impressive was his relaxed and confident attitude after the stage. Good stuff.
Along with my love of C and the garMEN, I also love CSC. OMG was today just awesome! I loved seeing Fabian take off in that break and then come back and help Jens! kick some ass. And Jens! – jeezus! Stop messing with the mans food, holy crappers! He was so awesome to watch today. Just burying himself for the team and let’s not forget to give Tony some high fives too. He was out there pounding it doing his part just like it was planned. Then after those huge kudo’s and all that excitement – good job Frank! He went today like he needed to. Good riding from those guys. You can plan all you want but it takes solid riders to pull it off!
Finally a small HTFU award out to Cadel today. I’m not a big fan but I respect his efforts today. I almost wonder if he won’t hurt more come Wednesday after the bruises and soreness get a day to really settle in. Way to ride today mate!
Today’s stage was awesome and not just because of all my smiles for C. Just all out really great riding and tactics and kabooms and valient efforts. I love this and am so excited to be a fan of this sport, especially after today when there are just so many things to smile about and get excited for while watching. As sore as I am – I was on the edge of my seat glued to watching the faces of the riders and all the excitement.
Happy Rest Day Guys – you’ve earned it!!! Thank you for a great stage today!
"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."
Currently Rewatching Hautacam...
Jens!... my god. Jens! is an animal. Hands down… no doubt… died in the wool… 100%... indisputable… pure… distilled… glorious… pristine… crystaline… bad… ass. All the way up the Tourmalet… half way up Hautacam… the look on his face…
Tony and Jens! doing MASSIVE turns on the front on the run up to Prèchac… they took over the front of the pack at 57k to go and held the pack’s nuts in an iron fist the entire way to the 12k. Then at 12k, Voigt pulled off and Frank just… rode away… didn’t even force it… he just pulled away around an FdJ rider that saw the move, gasped… started panting and stood on the pedals and couldn’t do anything.
Evans tried… but could NOT match Frank. He tried to keep up but couldn’t do it.
Sastre really punched hard at 10k and pulled hard around Cobo… Everyone got out of the saddle immediately… Evans, Menchov, Kohl, Frank, Ricco, Nibali, Efimkin, everyone. Cobo looked like he was standing still, Kohl looked like he accidently shifted into reverse and Menchov had afterburners… he looked like Valverde coming around that curve to take the stage from Kirchen a couple of days ago… Menchov was scaaary fast on that. Kohl looked like he put it in reverse. As soon as Frank was up the way and Menchov bridged, Sastre packed it in and didn’t punch again. But that was a good move by him.
When Kohl moved forward and Cobo bridged, CVV moved and moved incredibly fast. Evans got caught in a cat and mouse with Menchov and they let that string streeeetch but eventually pulled it all back.
Evans actually attacked at 8k… and that was also explosive… flying up to Astarloza… let me say that again…
Evans attacked.
Ricco attacked at 7k but was marked well by Menchov, Evans, CVV and Sastre… but totally cracked Nibali.
Menchov attacked at 6.5k but was well marked by Sastre, Evans and Ricco. CVV couldn’t match it but as Menchov slowed up as the gap was bridged, CVV was able to get back on.
Everyone threw a solid, nasty punch and everyone took at least one solid nasty punch. Everyone suffered… no one gave in though. I don’t think any of the riders was at the final limit though… looked like everyone, when pushed HARD thought “Uh… dummy, this is the FIRST HC stage… not Alpe d’Huez” and didn’t force it.
After a hard day of watching a Tour stage, I like to unwind with Verbotene Liebe
by crashdan on Jul 14, 2008 11:01 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Thanks Dan! Now I want to go watch it again
as in like the 5th ot 6th time today. It just rocked and when you can FW through commericials wow. Just put that puppy on a loop and stare in awe. :-)
"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."
Not a chance!
This is one of those feel good days that I’m going to enjoy all the way through tomorrow!!!
"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."
I would add
Evans did a fair amount of work up that last climb, Menchov looked very, very tranquillo, and Ricco looked like he was on a fun training ride playing the “who wants to catch me” game over and over again. If he keeps those legs he’s going to have 2 jerseys and at least one more stage win. He looks fantastic when the road tilts up. His accelerations are very Valverde-esque.
"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum."
The Wonder that is Jens!
AT 3:53 PM KevinK wrote:
“Jens doing the last bit of work
Carlos is second in the field now”
At 4:50 PM Koppenberg wrote:
“good god man Jens is still going. He literally is breaking their spirit. He’s eatting their lunch and writing his name in their underwear”
I don’t really need to comment, it says itself…..
Also: if any of the signed underwear shows up on ebay, please notify me.
It's got to be a bit demoralizing
if you’re a favorite on a bad day (like V V) and someone like Jens is up front going all out because he doesn’t have to think past the next 60 minutes. The favorite on the other hand has to think about the next 10 days. Quite the contrast.
Also, you know how all those cycling articles in the glossy mags tell you to climb with your upper body relaxed, hands lightly holding the bars, spinning your way to the top? Do you think Jens has ever read them or would he just read them and proceed to wipe his buttocks with them? I thought he was going to snap his carbon bars, he was crushing them so hard.
"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum."
It's pure Mind over Body
when he climbs. Like a bumblebee flying. He shouldn’t be able to do what he does but I just think he has a better capability of ignoring the screaming protests from his body than any other man.
Add to that, that he has been forced to conserve energy in a way he never has before and you get yesterdays result.
I believe my comment was...
... “he looks like his entire body is composed of gritted teeth”
After a hard day of watching a Tour stage, I like to unwind with Verbotene Liebe
Yup
I’m pretty sure Bjarne was thinking of Shakespeare when he had Jens go yesterday:
“Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war.”
"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum."
Why thank you madam :-)
"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum."
Thank you for the brilliant rpost thread. I knew it was exciting.
I watched Stage 10 after work yesterday on TiVo.
all. 5. hours. worth.
So at 11pm, my eyes lids drooping, I saw the finish. Sorta. First thing I’m doing tonight after work? Watching the last 30 min again. Thank goodness for rest days. I need the rest. And the laundry needs to be done.
Go Team Zoe!
Cavendish, Di Gregorio, Fothen, Kirchen
, Kreuziger, Lowe, Siutsou
, Ten Dam
, Y.Trofimov and Vandevelde
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