Posted on 07/23/2008 5:38:41 AM PDT by green iguana
Bwaaa Haaa Haaa Haaa Haaa!!!
I love this stage!
At least it's not steep.
TdF Ping!
Approaching the base of the Col de la Croix de Fer. Might see some action here, but more likely the attacks will be on Huez.
Four out in front right now by about 4 minutes. No threat to the yellow jersey in the bunch.
Just read a news bit that Ricardo Ricco was caught doping because the drug company that made the EPO booster he was taking had put a chemical marker in it during its manufacture to make it easy to determine the drug had been used. Developed it in conjunction with WADA. Maybe we’ll read about some more of these next month...
Well, nothing happened on the Iron Cross, except the breakaways lost a bunch o’ time and are about to get reeled in as the ascent of L’Alpe-d’Huez is about to start.
Let the fun begin!
10 km to go and the leaders are all together.
I do hope this isn’t a boring finish...
Pls keep us cubicle bound posted. I hate to be at work today.
Oh well, will watch on DVR tonight.
Spoiler Alert!
Attack, attack, attack!
Carlos Sastre has opened up a 1:50 lead on the other contenders with 5.5 km to go. This easily puts him in virtual yellow, taking the jersey away from his team mate if he can hold the lead. Considering he’s rapidly adding to his lead, it looks like he just might!
All other contenders together, now 2:03 back.
Wow, I knew that the drug mfrs were working with cycling/ anti-doping agencies to develop detection methods for new EPO products before public release, but didn't know they actually put in a special marker just for them. Cool!
Thanks for doing the threads ((((green iguana))))! Much appreciated even though I can't watch the stage. Hope to see it later in reruns.
Looking good for Sastre - 2.6 km to go, 2:18 up.
Still not quite enough to protect him from Evans in the TT is it?
1.5 to go, 2:25 up.
I’m not sure - Sastre was 1:16 behind Evans in the first 29.5 km TT. Saturday’s TT is 53 km, so he should be a bit further behind.
Sastre is 0:41 behind Evans now and should be up by 1:4o or so after today, so it would appear to favor the Aussie.
But being in Yellow on the penultimate TT is one heck of an inducement.
Sastre takes d’Huez!
But by how much?
2:03 over 2, 2:13 over the rest of the GC.
Sastre should have a 1:35 lead over Evans. Probably not enough, but you never know.
Top of the GC after today’s stage:
1 Carlos Sastre (Spa) CSC-Saxo Bank
2 Fränk Schleck (Lux) CSC-Saxo Bank 1.24
3 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner 1.33
4 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence-Lotto 1.34
5 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 2.39
6 Christian Vandevelde (USA) Garmin-Chipotle 4:41
Now the stage is set for a TT showdown. I like this kind of finale because spoiler teams with nothing to lose can't control the peloton. It's mano a mano in the race of truth.
Its an advantage for Evans because he is faster than Sastre and he will ride first. His time will be posted and we'll get to see the count down as Sastre finishes. It just might be that we could still have fireworks in Paris on Sunday. That usually doesn't happen.
I was off work today and was able to watch this stage. Fantastic cycling!
Great ride by Sastre today, but he won’t have his team to help him on the TT.
Evans trails by 1:34.
On the first TT this year, 29km, Evans beat Sastre by 1:16.
Last year in the 55km TT (stage 19) Evans beat Sastre by 2:33.
I think Evans will beat Sastre by about 2 minutes in TT and will win the TDF.
I wouldn’t bet against you. Evans should be able to take 2:00 from Sastre with a 95% ride.
My thought as it happened was that with Cadel marking Frank Sheck on every move it was decided that if Sastre or Andy Sheck had the chance to open up a gap they would give it a go.
What I found to be more curious was that when Sastre got away Andy Sheck upped his pace toward the end giving some momentum to Cadel which may have helped him reduce the gap he has to cover on Saturday.
I agree with the 1-2 punch and three riders in the top 10; certainly enough to win the team championship. But, if Cadel wipes away Frank’s lead of 1:34 by just a few seconds, someone is going to do some serious soul searching about Andy helping to drive the pace up in that chasing group. Especially, since Cadel didn’t seem to have the gas to make a difference on his own.
I don’t think it was odd. After all, Sastre is the team leader, and the one everyone was working for going into the Tour, although the team had a 3 man attack.
The plan probably would have been Sastre attacking, Evans and/or Menchov spending themselves catching up with Frank or Andy sitting on the wheels (which they did), and then Frank launching a counter-attack if Sastre was caught (which he wasn’t).
CSC are in a position where they could have 2 guys in the top 3, just like Discovery last year. Add to this the fact that they will be best team (AG2R are close, but not going to put up 3 guys in the TT that will be even close to guys like Cancellara, Voight, etc.), and Andy in the white, and they potentially have a lot to put in the treasure test on Sunday.
Also, remember that Cancellara and Voight will be going out on the TT ahead of Andy, Frank, and Sastre, so they will be able to give the guys starting last plenty of feedback and tips (bike setup, picking the right line through the turns, etc.).
The difference with Lance is that no one on his team was ever in the same position as Sastre. The best comparison I can think of was when Victor Hugo Pena was in yellow, and worked for Lance, because he knew who the team leader was. I don’t think CSC ever expected Frank to be in yellow, it just turned out that way, and it also made it easier to pass the jersey to Carlos. It would have been much harder to win it if Evans or someone else been in yellow. I think Evans’ teammates would have been more motivated if he was in yellow on Alpe d’Huez.
The only thing that would have made it worse would have been if they went over the Col d’Izoard in between Embrun and Briancon. That would have made for 4 HC climbs.
I don’t think the Tour has been to Les Deux Alpes since Pantani won up there in 1998, but they were in the neighborhood today. That’s always a good one to do in the years when they don’t go to Alpe d’Huez.
This was nearly a carbon copy of the stage from 2006 where Floyd Landis blew up on La Toussuire.
Except, on that stage, things began in Bourg d’Oissans (after going up Alpe d’Huez the day before), then went over the Galibier, and then through St-Jean-de-Maurienne and around, though St-Columban-des-Villards, then up the Croix de Fer in the other direction, before going up La Toussuire (where Floyd cracked).
Floyd’s stage the next day started in St-Jean-de-Maurienne and went over a bunch of climbs (including the Joux-Plane, the penultimate), before descending into Morzine.
The best part about the map of France is that you can string together an infinite number of possible stages, routing the race over this climb or that climb. One of these days, I’m going to bust out Google Earth and try to come up with my own exciting route for next year (which begins in Monaco/Monte Carlo and ends, of course, in Paris, going to the Alps first and Pyrenees second.
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