Stage 19--Ullrich falls
I think we all feel a bit let down. The exciting stage & exciting Tour wasn't supposed to end with a rider falling off his bike. That's exactly what happened to Jan Ullrich on the road to Nantes. That fall ended the big race prematurely; it clinched the win for Lance Armstrong.
Before any of the anti-Lance whiners ask why Lance wouldn't stop and wait for Ullrich, let's set the record straight. Armstrong was on pace to win the yellow jersey before Jan Ullrich slipped off his bike. He and Ullrich had been in a tight race separated by just a couple seconds. They had exchanged leads the whole way, each briefly gaining a few seconds advantage. They were also about 15 seconds ahead of the previous best time. So it looked like they would beat the rest of the field, and it looked like they'd finish within 15 seconds of each other. Lance was riding well enough to win the Tour de France.
The roads were in horrible condition and riders were falling all day. Even stage winner David Millar fell off his bike. When Ullrich went down he not only lost the time for the fall, but he lost his edge and had to be careful on the turns. Armstrong realized this and also played it a bit safer to avoid a crash. As they rode conservatively, they both slipped behind Millar and Tyler Hamilton to finish 3rd & 4th. We know Armstrong wants to win the final time trial, but it's better to win the Tour de France than to crash when victory is within sight. It was a smart choice. Make no mistake about it, though, Ullrich and Lance were in rare form until that crash. Both were in range of beating Greg Lemond's all time TdF time trial speed record. The bad weather robbed them of a great finish.
So, Lance will take a 1:16 lead into the final day, and that should be enough to deliver his fifth consecutive TdF victory. The other big winner on the day was Tyler Hamilton. He put in a great ride, not only overtaking Iban Mayo, but also Haimar Zubeldia. Tyler is now in fourth place behind Alexandre Vinokourov, who retained his third place. And it's nice to see David Millar get the stage win. He is usually the one to lose because of a crash or equipment failure, but today it was the misfortune of another that allowed his time to win the day.
OK, get ready for the big finish tomorrow. The green jersey is up for grabs. Robbie McEwen holds 2 points over Baden Cooke and 13 over Eric Zabel. It will be decided on the Champs Elysees for the third consecutive year.
I think we all feel a bit let down. The exciting stage & exciting Tour wasn't supposed to end with a rider falling off his bike. That's exactly what happened to Jan Ullrich on the road to Nantes. That fall ended the big race prematurely; it clinched the win for Lance Armstrong.
Before any of the anti-Lance whiners ask why Lance wouldn't stop and wait for Ullrich, let's set the record straight. Armstrong was on pace to win the yellow jersey before Jan Ullrich slipped off his bike. He and Ullrich had been in a tight race separated by just a couple seconds. They had exchanged leads the whole way, each briefly gaining a few seconds advantage. They were also about 15 seconds ahead of the previous best time. So it looked like they would beat the rest of the field, and it looked like they'd finish within 15 seconds of each other. Lance was riding well enough to win the Tour de France.
The roads were in horrible condition and riders were falling all day. Even stage winner David Millar fell off his bike. When Ullrich went down he not only lost the time for the fall, but he lost his edge and had to be careful on the turns. Armstrong realized this and also played it a bit safer to avoid a crash. As they rode conservatively, they both slipped behind Millar and Tyler Hamilton to finish 3rd & 4th. We know Armstrong wants to win the final time trial, but it's better to win the Tour de France than to crash when victory is within sight. It was a smart choice. Make no mistake about it, though, Ullrich and Lance were in rare form until that crash. Both were in range of beating Greg Lemond's all time TdF time trial speed record. The bad weather robbed them of a great finish.
So, Lance will take a 1:16 lead into the final day, and that should be enough to deliver his fifth consecutive TdF victory. The other big winner on the day was Tyler Hamilton. He put in a great ride, not only overtaking Iban Mayo, but also Haimar Zubeldia. Tyler is now in fourth place behind Alexandre Vinokourov, who retained his third place. And it's nice to see David Millar get the stage win. He is usually the one to lose because of a crash or equipment failure, but today it was the misfortune of another that allowed his time to win the day.
OK, get ready for the big finish tomorrow. The green jersey is up for grabs. Robbie McEwen holds 2 points over Baden Cooke and 13 over Eric Zabel. It will be decided on the Champs Elysees for the third consecutive year.
posted by uberschuck at 11:23 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home