Stage 9 Preview

by Chris... on Jul 16, 2007 7:30 PM EDT in News

Hope you enjoyed your rest day, Cyclists. For a stage that ends at a lower altitude than the start, this is gonna hurt. What makes this a spectacle is how tough the race gets right off the bat. No sleeping in tomorrow, not when the first 15km of the race ascend to one of the highest roads in Europe, atop the windy, open pass at the Col de l'Iseran, over 9000 feet up. Following that are 70km of descents, all the way down to 2200 feet, a depressing statistic when the race is next scheduled to climb back into the 9000 foot range over the Cols de Telegraphie and Galibier. That last little effort consists of 27.5km of hors categoire climbing with a brief 5km downhill respite in the middle. Then, finally, it's 38km downhill into Briançon.

The stats:

Col de l'Iseran: 15km @ 6% (hors catégorie)
Col du Telegraphe: 12km @ 6.7% (1st Cat)
Col du Galibier: 17.5km @ 6.9% (hors catégorie)

I'm going with le Tongue again. I suspect that while the Chicken may not be a total disaster on the descents, Moreau is going to ride with a huge chip on his shoulder. Some of these other guys should take notes.

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uphill finish

Not officially, but the last couple of K's are spectacular and steep. Both finishes I've seen televised to Fort de Salettes have had riders coming in in ones and twos, separated by 10 or more seconds. Iban Mayo was a strong second in one of them.

by 12string on Jul 16, 2007 8:27 PM EDT 0 recs

Giro finish?

Is it the same one that Di Luca won in this year's Giro? I know that Anthony and Brian did mention that at some point, or... maybe I was hearing things.

by BDBrian on Jul 16, 2007 8:31 PM EDT up 0 recs

was wondering...

The info for these stages is surprisingly crappy, the Tour and CN are using simple graphics, no max grades, no info about the finishes. I'm sure it's out there someplace, but there are only so many hours...

The Giro finish made for a great stage conclusion, and with time bonuses that could make for some really excellent racing, assuming the heads of state are the ones battling it out.

Boy, I can't wait. What time does VS come on?

Got a problem? Va fa Napoli!

by Chris... on Jul 16, 2007 8:58 PM EDT up 0 recs

How they fared on similar 2005 TdF stage

(Omitting 2005 riders not starting Tuesday's Tour stage.)

1 Alexandre Vinokourov
3 Christophe Moreau 1.15
7 Cadel Evans
8 Levi Leipheimer
9 Michael Rasmussen
11 Alejandro Valverde
12 Yaroslav Popovych
18 Andrei Kashechkin
20 Andreas Klöden
21 Haimar Zubeldia
22 Carlos Sastre
24 George Hincapie
26 Paolo Savoldelli

I'm not going to pick Vino to be first to Briancon on Tuesday. But the winner ought to be one of those other guys.

I'll predict it will be Valv.Piti.

Savoldelli is the usual choice for the long downhill run but I think the pace will be high enough to shed him from the leaders before they get to the top of the Galibier.

by socal on Jul 16, 2007 8:41 PM EDT 0 recs

Chris Horner's interviews continue to be far

and away the best of all rider interviews I've seen (not to mention several TV commentators we're familiar with). I know we've discussed them here before, but thought I'd remind all of you to regularly visit VeloNews to check them out because his insights are fantastic, and his enthusiasm is infectious.

Today's rest day interview was pretty long (happily) and served up in two parts. He talks about Rabo's dilemma as to whether they should switch gears and support the Chicken, or let him go on his own and stick with Menchov in hopes of losing the Yellow for a while so the team won't have to burn themselves up protecting the Yellow before the Pyrenees. Also interesting was his take on Klöden (whose group he was in most of yesterday). Chris believes Klodi is the strongest rider for the overall, but thinks the Kazak sponsors are unfortunately holding him back (his coming back to help Vino yesterday is obviously case in point). Good story about him smashing into an elderly fan at the Tour last year too.

by Scott. on Jul 16, 2007 8:42 PM EDT 0 recs

Heard that

He definitely has a knack for this. Before stage 7 he was saying he expected teams to try to crack Vino. He knows more than a few DSs do.

Got a problem? Va fa Napoli!

by Chris... on Jul 16, 2007 8:59 PM EDT up 0 recs

The heck with post-career commentary,

I'll bet he'd make an even better DS.

by Scott. on Jul 16, 2007 9:08 PM EDT up 0 recs

horner

is one very smart guy, and his ability to read a race is unbelievable. i hope he works his way into a break (and takes a stage!) this year.

by 72andSunny on Jul 16, 2007 10:27 PM EDT up 0 recs

Come on Rabobank!

I figure our best and maybe our only hope is to have Rabobank and ~:> attack to give him as much time as possible. No way will the other teams let him escape again so if he does this we'll see some fireworks.

But my guess is that it won't happen.

by ursula on Jul 16, 2007 9:55 PM EDT 0 recs

If...

~:> is really serious about getting himself one of those three steps in Paris - and as a fan of the pure climbers, I'd love to see him there - let's hope he sets the race on fire up the Telegraphe and keeps it burning over the Galibier.

Portadores del Agua: Hardest of the hard men

by Jiggs on Jul 16, 2007 10:04 PM EDT 0 recs

So what's the CW?

Are we going to see fireworks tomorrow, or is it going to be a replay of stage 7?

As per Biver, is Vino going all-out ... or is it a bit of misdirection for Kash/Klodi?

Is it me, or is this year's Tour the most exciting one of the last 9 years?

by 72andSunny on Jul 16, 2007 10:40 PM EDT 0 recs

Whoa there, fella!

Don't forget amongst those inexorable marches to victory during the Armstrong era, 2003 was a fantastic race. I think I've worn out the DVD rewatching it. This race, while unpredictable, has a LONG way to go to match the centenary Tour.

Portadores del Agua: Hardest of the hard men

by Jiggs on Jul 16, 2007 11:22 PM EDT up 0 recs

Meh; or, same same but different

I'm not sayin' 03 wasn't good, but this one is a whole different dynamic, what with no defending champ, and indeed, no previous Tour winner in the ranks --- I've got a much bigger sense of anything-could-happen.

by 72andSunny on Jul 17, 2007 8:40 AM EDT 0 recs

'03 was definitely my favorite

amongst the Tours I've seen in the 2000s; had me on the edge of my seat the whole race. As unpredictable and engaging as the racing is now, all the doping BS has unfortunately dampened my excitability.

by Scott. on Jul 17, 2007 10:36 AM EDT 0 recs