The Race of Truth
Bob Roll was sort of right. On Friday morning he stepped away from his prediction, saying he didn't know what to predict. That was all the karma Ullrich needed. (FYI Roll was still moving his hands a lot when he said it.)
Here's what the Race of Truth has told us...
1) Jan Ullrich is an absolute beast. I have never seen him ride as well as he did in this time trial. And I'm really happy for him because it's been a while since he scored a big win.
2) Armstrong is vulnerable, as the riders & pundits keep saying, but the problem for his rivals is that he's not consistantly vulnerable to the same one of them.
3) Iban Mayo isn't going to win, but he & Zubledia will attack like mad in the next week.
4) USPS's win in the team time trial was HUGE! So was the Beltran-led attack at the foot of Alpe d' Huez--that's when they dropped Ullrich. That's the difference for the yellow jersey.
5) As Stephen "TD" Baker pointed out, Vinokourov is the real big winner today. He lost only 30 seconds to Armstrong.
6) Denis Menchov is now 10 minutes in the lead for the white jersey.
Other comments...
This result is a mixed bag for Armstrong. We're now to the point at which the leader can make a short list of riders to eliminate. Right now, that list is down to two men--Ullrich & Vinokourov. These are the men Armstrong will not let out of his sights (unless he's in front of them). When the day started the list was about 6 guys and Lance's lead was 21 seconds, not 34. On the bottom line, it was a good day.
The next four days will be so much fun as we get to see this race unfold in the steep mountains of the Pyrenees. Be sure to tune in. This is the most exciting Tour in about a decade.
Also, before we get to the big climbs on Saturday there are two intermediate sprints for O'Grady, McEwen, and Cooke to fight over.
One more note on the time trial, CSC vaulted over Banesto in the team race because, as we all know, Spaniard climbers can't ride a time trial to save their lives. Of course, they'll probably get it back tomorrow.
Bob Roll was sort of right. On Friday morning he stepped away from his prediction, saying he didn't know what to predict. That was all the karma Ullrich needed. (FYI Roll was still moving his hands a lot when he said it.)
Here's what the Race of Truth has told us...
1) Jan Ullrich is an absolute beast. I have never seen him ride as well as he did in this time trial. And I'm really happy for him because it's been a while since he scored a big win.
2) Armstrong is vulnerable, as the riders & pundits keep saying, but the problem for his rivals is that he's not consistantly vulnerable to the same one of them.
3) Iban Mayo isn't going to win, but he & Zubledia will attack like mad in the next week.
4) USPS's win in the team time trial was HUGE! So was the Beltran-led attack at the foot of Alpe d' Huez--that's when they dropped Ullrich. That's the difference for the yellow jersey.
5) As Stephen "TD" Baker pointed out, Vinokourov is the real big winner today. He lost only 30 seconds to Armstrong.
6) Denis Menchov is now 10 minutes in the lead for the white jersey.
Other comments...
This result is a mixed bag for Armstrong. We're now to the point at which the leader can make a short list of riders to eliminate. Right now, that list is down to two men--Ullrich & Vinokourov. These are the men Armstrong will not let out of his sights (unless he's in front of them). When the day started the list was about 6 guys and Lance's lead was 21 seconds, not 34. On the bottom line, it was a good day.
The next four days will be so much fun as we get to see this race unfold in the steep mountains of the Pyrenees. Be sure to tune in. This is the most exciting Tour in about a decade.
Also, before we get to the big climbs on Saturday there are two intermediate sprints for O'Grady, McEwen, and Cooke to fight over.
One more note on the time trial, CSC vaulted over Banesto in the team race because, as we all know, Spaniard climbers can't ride a time trial to save their lives. Of course, they'll probably get it back tomorrow.
posted by uberschuck at 10:06 PM
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