stolen from previous thready:
Valverde
Giolbert
Pineau
Kirchen
Ricco
Evans
Schleck F
Pozzato
Freire
Pereiro

a 300-400 meter sprint from VV.

I think Millar was 11th ish maybe?

takes 1” over the next group

if there hadn’t been that huge split because of the crash.

Damn, I would have loved Kirchen to take it. They’ve got to give VV a second or 2 don’t they? There was a gap…

he basically said that he’s on the best form even for a Tour and that he just met his first goal – winning a stage. And now he’ll see how it goes for the rest of the Tour.

gaps already. Makes it interesting from the start.

that’s cutey, voeckler i mean

are we hitting the max for users?

one of my favorite moments – when the CL lion comes popping around the background held up by a body-less hand.

Does CdE try and keep the jersey tomorrow? Or does a break away take the yellow from his shoulders? Another uphill finish.

named Kirchen as Eisel
and Gilbert as Seb Chavannel !!lol

looks kind of like a skirt

that was an amazing sprint, made even more amazing when you watch the Slo-Mo.

I got two in the top 10!

was this posted before? menchov renewed with rabobank. bizarre.

So laughing at Ricco with the white leggings and little arrow. So Funny!

We knew this stage would fit Valverde, Fränk was there too, as was Carlos.
Didn’t get all of it, but Kim seemed happy.

Kurt A:
It was a stresfull day. Glad he didn’t crash. Everything looks good for the team.

http://www.orangedansletour.com/

for a party to celebrate my parents’ 55th wedding anniversary! (luckily planned for later in the day ;) )

is showing women’s roller skiing biathlon? Someone please confirm this because I may be having another episode…

I’ll do my best to try and translate the important parts.

lates kids!

Results are posted over at CN. The times are wrong…but the placings seem to be correct.

1 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne 4.00.36
2 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française des Jeux
3 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
4 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Team Columbia
5 Riccardo Riccò (Ita) Saunier Duval – Scott
6 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence – Lotto
7 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC – Saxo Bank
8 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Liquigas
9 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank
10 Oscar Pereiro Sio (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne
11 David Millar (GBr) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30
12 Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Saunier Duval – Scott
13 Matteo Carrara (Ita) Quick Step
14 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC – Saxo Bank
15 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole
16 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team CSC – Saxo Bank
17 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team CSC – Saxo Bank
18 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30
19 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
20 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner

Gaps of 1-4 seconds. Not sure why…

Valverde must be pleased though. He only has to leave a small gap and he can dump the maillot jaune at his choosing. Of course, he can also simply hang onto it without defending.

was the Euro just the start of something? Or, wait, I meant the Giro.

What’s up with 4’56” back?

Stage 2’s finish looks uphillish and tricky once again.

http://www.letour.fr/2008/TDF/LIVE/us/100/classement/index.html

Valverde, then #2-13 at 1 sec back, #14 -47 at 7 sec back, next group at 18 sec etc.

176. VANSEVENANT Wim 9 SILENCE – LOTTO 4h 00’ 41” + 04’ 56”
177. AUGE Stéphane 182 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 4h 00’ 41” + 04’ 56”
178. BACKSTEDT Magnus 192 GARMIN CHIPOTLE 4h 00’ 41” + 04’ 56”
179. KUSCHYNSKI Aleksandr 66 LIQUIGAS 4h 00’ 41” + 04’ 56”

Vansevenant appears to be on good form to defend his title there … must be the mountains camp he went on with Evans (apparently all of the team but Hoste and McEwen did the Stelvio training camp with Evans after only being invited but not pressured, good team-building apparently … can’t remember where I read that though, sorry).

from sporza.be :
-Lotto’s Vansummeren apparently went through the rear window of a Team Columbia car – cuts only apparently.
-Devolder had a sore throat this morning, according to Lefevere, who also said that Steegmans was looking good until 500 m to go but then the climb was too much
-Monfort, in his first Tour, thinks the speed of the Tour is unbelievable.

if anyone understands Dutch/Flemish, they have video interviews with a number of riders and Lefevere … sometimes they even have English interviews (eg. Evans, Cav – unfortunately for me, McEwen is fluent in Dutch so they don’t interview him ever in English)

Hoste and McEwen were apparently assisting Evans to stay up at the front at the end of the stage (presumably this would be to the bottom of the climb, where afterwards McEwen lost almost a minute).

Also, now when I think about it, I remember right when I first started watching a saw a shot of Vansummeren hanging on to a car (and I see something on CN similarly), so presumably this was after he went through the windshield or whatever happened.

Is today’s victory indicative of him being on form too early? I personally believe that it might be. There’s a long way to go until Paris. It seems that he should have been a little off top form during the Dauphine to ensure that he would be on top form around week two or so. Maybe he can hold it, but I doubt it. I guess we’ll see. Valv Piti has never been a favorite so I can’t say I would hate to see him miscalculate and fail miserably.

Romain Feillu: I had not planned to attack, but I sensed an opportunity when the climb began. If no one had ridden behind, it might have worked. But they came back and then, I crossed wheels with another riders. In all, I do not feel to bad.

Lillian Jégou: (most combative) One attacks to enter the game. Marc [Madiot] told us to try to stay at the front. In order to hope to stay away until the finish, it is necessary to have 10-15 minutes. They only gave us 6-7 minutes. In the end, à duex (with de la Fuente), it was hard. The machine was on the march. It was not easy, it climbs and descends all the time in Bretagne. There was lots of wind. It was better to be off the front than at the back, because of the crashes. Tomorrow, I think that there will be the same type of stage.

Riccardo Ricco: I await the mountains. I am content with my physical condition (eh, no excuses later, then, riccy). In the sprint, I was a little blocked, but it was good. I am watiing for the sixth stage (Super Besse). This year, I would like to win a stage.

Jerôme Pineau: This [Third] is a beautiful placing. The first two stages with the finishes on the bump (en bosse, cool term, that), are favorable for me. Today is encouraging for the next one. That which I was missing, was the power. When Valverde went, I was on his wheel. I was part of the best riders, but I am not the best. It is an enormous opportunity that there is no prologue. I am third in the general. If there had been a prologue, I could not hope to be in Yellow tomorrow.

Philippe Gilbert: I reached the bump after the bridge in 40th position or so, but I did not panic, I took the time to move up and I climbed into the first ten. After, I attempted to escape, I had seen that Valverde was good. I am content, because today is my birthday and I did not miss it by much. And second behind Valverde on this very difficult stage, this is not bad. Valverde surely wants the Yellow Jersey, because he has never worn it.

Silence DS, Herman Frison: Valverde has won well, but this does not pose a problem for us that he takes the MJ, because everyone knew before the start that this was a stage that favored him to win. There remain three weeks until Paris and in several days, there is the CLM in Cholet. The most important, it sto have the maillot in Paris. Cadel was good today, he was strong in the last few kms, we told him to stay at the front and to take his chance.

source, l’equipe.fr

This was a stage on which I could hope for victory and which of course had extra value because there was the maillot jaune. In the last 50 kilometers, in Vannes, I rode on roads that I know by heart, on which I ride all the time in training. But unhappily, this did not suffice. All the same, I have a good feeling, because we were enormously encouraged along the way. I never regret having taking my chance, and I know also that there will be other stages.

look at the riders having fun on their bikes.

(hit refresh if the link doesn’t seem to work, if that fails, then I give up)