Stage 18
The second fastest stage in Tour de France history. Only the second time, ever, the average speed topped out over 50 kmph. The lead group was absolutely flying today. And Pablo Lastras gets the stage win. OK, I was tough on Knaven, and I take nothing back. He's a mediocre rider who was in the right place at the right time, but Lastras is legit. He now has a stage win in all of the three Grand Tours. And that's pretty cool. He's never going to win a Tour, but it's nice to see him get some hardware.
With the lead group over 20 minutes ahead of the peleton, the battle for the green jersey was delayed a bit, but it was well-worth the wait. McEwen picked up six points in the first intermediate sprint, but more curious, Ullrich decided to make a run for some time, and outsprinted Armstrong to the line. It gave him an additional two seconds on Lance, but it also denied Cooke and Zabel the points. Picking up points has really helped out Ullrich in this Tour. Each point is a one-second time bonus in the GC, and Ullrich trails Armstrong overall by 65 seconds. However, he leads 103-85 on points, so Ullrich would be 1:23 out without the time bonuses. He's really used the point system to his advantage.
McEwen got the six points and the big two kept Cooke and Zabel off the boards, so McEwen was ahuge winner on the first sprint. He won six points and neither of his closest contenders won any. Then the breakway happened, which was further good news for McEwen. It meant the final sprint would only be worth one point per place, so all he had to do was beat Cooke to the line and he was in first, while Zabel would probably find himself over 10 points out at the end of the day. And that's exactly what happened. Zabel looked like he had the sprint won, but he faded in the last 10 meters. and McEwen lead the peleton to the line. Cooke could just hang onto the wheel, but not much else. So the final sprint for 15th place gave McEwen 9 points, Zabel 8, and Cooke 7. Throw in the earlier six points and McEwen now finds himself in Green, 178-176 over Cooke, with Zabel at 165.
Saturday is a time trial, and Ullrich needs to beat Armstrong by 65 seconds. It can happen. anything can happen in this Tour. It'll be one of the most exciting time trials in Tour history. The yellow will be effectively decided then. And on Sunday, they ride the Champs Elysses to decide the green. Two intermediate sprints, plus the final race to the line. The two biggest prizes are on the line.
We couldn't ask for a better 100th anniversary of the Tour.
The second fastest stage in Tour de France history. Only the second time, ever, the average speed topped out over 50 kmph. The lead group was absolutely flying today. And Pablo Lastras gets the stage win. OK, I was tough on Knaven, and I take nothing back. He's a mediocre rider who was in the right place at the right time, but Lastras is legit. He now has a stage win in all of the three Grand Tours. And that's pretty cool. He's never going to win a Tour, but it's nice to see him get some hardware.
With the lead group over 20 minutes ahead of the peleton, the battle for the green jersey was delayed a bit, but it was well-worth the wait. McEwen picked up six points in the first intermediate sprint, but more curious, Ullrich decided to make a run for some time, and outsprinted Armstrong to the line. It gave him an additional two seconds on Lance, but it also denied Cooke and Zabel the points. Picking up points has really helped out Ullrich in this Tour. Each point is a one-second time bonus in the GC, and Ullrich trails Armstrong overall by 65 seconds. However, he leads 103-85 on points, so Ullrich would be 1:23 out without the time bonuses. He's really used the point system to his advantage.
McEwen got the six points and the big two kept Cooke and Zabel off the boards, so McEwen was ahuge winner on the first sprint. He won six points and neither of his closest contenders won any. Then the breakway happened, which was further good news for McEwen. It meant the final sprint would only be worth one point per place, so all he had to do was beat Cooke to the line and he was in first, while Zabel would probably find himself over 10 points out at the end of the day. And that's exactly what happened. Zabel looked like he had the sprint won, but he faded in the last 10 meters. and McEwen lead the peleton to the line. Cooke could just hang onto the wheel, but not much else. So the final sprint for 15th place gave McEwen 9 points, Zabel 8, and Cooke 7. Throw in the earlier six points and McEwen now finds himself in Green, 178-176 over Cooke, with Zabel at 165.
Saturday is a time trial, and Ullrich needs to beat Armstrong by 65 seconds. It can happen. anything can happen in this Tour. It'll be one of the most exciting time trials in Tour history. The yellow will be effectively decided then. And on Sunday, they ride the Champs Elysses to decide the green. Two intermediate sprints, plus the final race to the line. The two biggest prizes are on the line.
We couldn't ask for a better 100th anniversary of the Tour.
posted by Poseur at 11:08 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home