Posted on 07/27/2007 2:21:00 AM PDT by Aeronaut
Tour de France ping!
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“Versus” TV coverage:
Stage 18: Friday, July 27, 2007 - Cahors to Angouleme
8:30am to 11:30am: LIVE Daily Coverage
12:00pm to 2:00pm: Race Action Replay
2:30pm to 4:30pm: Race Action Replay
5:00pm to 7:00pm: Race Action Replay
8:00pm to 11:00pm: Expanded Primetime Coverage
12:00am to 3:00am: Race Action Replay
Through Stage 17.......
| Pos. | No. | Name | Nat. | Team | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 112 | CONTADOR, Alberto | ESP | DSC | 80:42:08.000 | 00:00:00.000 |
| 2 | 041 | EVANS, Cadel | AUS | PRL | 80:44:01.000 | 00:01:53.000 |
| 3 | 111 | LEIPHEIMER, Levi | USA | DSC | 80:44:57.000 | 00:02:49.000 |
| 4 | 031 | SASTRE, Carlos | ESP | CSC | 80:48:10.000 | 00:06:02.000 |
| 5 | 071 | ZUBELDIA, Haimar | ESP | EUS | 80:48:37.000 | 00:06:29.000 |
| 6 | 018 | VALVERDE, Alejandro | ESP | GCE | 80:52:26.000 | 00:10:18.000 |
| 7 | 027 | KIRCHEN, Kim | LUX | TMO | 80:53:44.000 | 00:11:36.000 |
| 8 | 118 | POPOVYCH, Yaroslav | UKR | DSC | 80:54:58.000 | 00:12:50.000 |
| 9 | 219 | SOLER HERNANDEZ, Juan Mauricio | COL | BAR | 80:55:39.000 | 00:13:31.000 |
| 10 | 073 | ASTARLOZA, Mikel | ESP | EUS | 80:55:50.000 | 00:13:42.000 |
All together and rolling at the 7K mark.
Team Discovery has got to be a bit happy, with 2 of the top 3 riders at this point. There is a cloud over Contador’s head though, apparently. Lets see if he lasts the Tour, and the Post tour “revelations”. I am happy for Evans and Leipheimer though. Good on them!
I think we're all a bit snakebit. There's some good advice for those who love TdF in this article from Bicycling Magazine:
Why is there a cloud of Contador’s head?
As an aside, it just seem like the stage has started today since nobody was booted out overnight...;-)
Contador was linked to some strange goings ons about two years ago - nothing since.
Contador was implicated in the Operacion Puerto doping scandal last year. He wasn’t allowed to ride in the Tour. He was cleared right before the Tour started but by then it was too late for him to ride.
You would think his having been cleared would remove any cloud, but Ivan Basso was cleared also. Basso had his case reopened and he admitted guilt, so a cloud remains over the others.
Yes, I suppose we should clear that up. Last year he was booted out in advance of the Tour in the Operation Puerto investigation for supposedly being involved with a “doping doc”, except the doctor, Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes, adamantly asserted he never even worked with Contador at all, & essentially cleared him. A Spanish court later formally cleared him of any link to the Operation Puerto problem, but the damage was done.
Oops, you cleared it up while I was writing. I think Contador’s cloud is much less dark than the others ensnared in OP since the Fuentes categorically absolved him, don’t you? But then I don’t trust ANYBODY anymore, really.
Thanks to both. Thoughts on the ITT tomorrow? Should be wide open...
I guess the color of the cloud depends on how much you can trust a Spanish doping doctor who’s talking about a Spanish rider.
I trust the Mennonite. Lapsed Mennonite, whatever...
I do think that Lance would have really done his homework on this guy for Disco, though. If any of the guys on that team should get caught, the dirt would surely fly back on LA & sully his own record in a really nasty way given his central involvement on the team.
Considering how much money & effort Armstrong's put in to the task of defending himself against doping charges, I can't believe he'd have let Disco sign him unless he had 100% certitude Contador didn't present a risk to his own reputation.
Levi will remain in 3rd. He’s not quite as good in the TT as Evans and would need to make up almost a minute. But no one will beat him for 3rd as the rest are over 3 min back and, barring a devastating crash, no one below him can put that much time into Levi in an hour-long TT.
Disco signed and then fired Basso when he was re-implicated.
((sigh))
OK. I give up.
Never trust the man in yellow, trust only the yellow jersey itself.
Period!
Casar gets taken out by a dog but stays on, attacks and makes it over the line first to take the stage.
The Dark Blue machine gets the Jolly Green Man in position and he takes enough points to stay in front of the other sprinters.
All in all another great day.
OK, now I can get some work done.
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