Stage 4: Team Time Trial
Remember the days when people said Lance Armstrong’s team was a detriment to his chances for winning the Tour? Yeah, well, USPS beat ONCE by half a minute. ONCE is the best in the business at team time trials, and they just got smashed. Phil Liggett said “This is an exhibition” as USPS came up to the line, all the riders smiling as they knew they had done something special.
This is huge for Armstrong’s victory plans, because instead of trailing Beloki or Ullrich by 30-60 seconds, Lance is the one with a few seconds in his pocket before the race gets heavy. And what a great treat for Victor Hugo Pena. The servant finds himself wearing the yellow jersey, the first Columbian ever to do it.
Bianchi & ONCE both had good days, leaving Jan Ullrich and Joseba Beloki both about half a minute back. So, they're in stalking range. Banesto and Telekom aren't great time trial teams, but they did well considering, so that leaves Mancebo and Botero with fighting chances for the podium. Quick Step and Vini Calderola also did a good job of helping the chances of Richard Virenque and Stefano Garzelli. They were about 90 seconds behind USPS, so it could have been a lot worse. All of these guys have lost time to Armstrong, so it’s a tall order for them to catch him, but they are all in the hunt for podium spots. Of course, they’ll have to pass Roberto Heras, Jose Rubiera, and Manuel Beltran on the way there.
Are they really fighting for second? Here's what Beloki had to say. "It's obvious after today (Armstrong) is very strong and he will probably win again unless he has some sort of problem." Sound's like Beloki reads our page.
It was a lot worse for Gilberto Simoni and Iban Mayo, and Saeco and Euskatel both finished three minutes back. Being a few minutes behind Lance before the mountains ain’t good. Or as Simoni put it, "I don't know how to explain it... I am demoralized." Look for Simoni to attack as soon as he sees mountains. He's got a lot of time to make up.
In the fallout of the Stage 1 wreck, Rabobank and CSC suffered from their injuries & abandons. Tyler Hamilton still has a broken collar bone, but he hasn't quit the race yet. He's planning to see how it goes in the mountains and decide if he can give it a good effort. Tyler is a beast.
In other news, Vladimir Karpets reclaimed the white jersey on the strength of Banesto’s great ride.
And the next two stages belong to the sprinters, though the rolling hills will favor big breakaways. Don’t look for USPS to defend the yellow jersey.
Remember the days when people said Lance Armstrong’s team was a detriment to his chances for winning the Tour? Yeah, well, USPS beat ONCE by half a minute. ONCE is the best in the business at team time trials, and they just got smashed. Phil Liggett said “This is an exhibition” as USPS came up to the line, all the riders smiling as they knew they had done something special.
This is huge for Armstrong’s victory plans, because instead of trailing Beloki or Ullrich by 30-60 seconds, Lance is the one with a few seconds in his pocket before the race gets heavy. And what a great treat for Victor Hugo Pena. The servant finds himself wearing the yellow jersey, the first Columbian ever to do it.
Bianchi & ONCE both had good days, leaving Jan Ullrich and Joseba Beloki both about half a minute back. So, they're in stalking range. Banesto and Telekom aren't great time trial teams, but they did well considering, so that leaves Mancebo and Botero with fighting chances for the podium. Quick Step and Vini Calderola also did a good job of helping the chances of Richard Virenque and Stefano Garzelli. They were about 90 seconds behind USPS, so it could have been a lot worse. All of these guys have lost time to Armstrong, so it’s a tall order for them to catch him, but they are all in the hunt for podium spots. Of course, they’ll have to pass Roberto Heras, Jose Rubiera, and Manuel Beltran on the way there.
Are they really fighting for second? Here's what Beloki had to say. "It's obvious after today (Armstrong) is very strong and he will probably win again unless he has some sort of problem." Sound's like Beloki reads our page.
It was a lot worse for Gilberto Simoni and Iban Mayo, and Saeco and Euskatel both finished three minutes back. Being a few minutes behind Lance before the mountains ain’t good. Or as Simoni put it, "I don't know how to explain it... I am demoralized." Look for Simoni to attack as soon as he sees mountains. He's got a lot of time to make up.
In the fallout of the Stage 1 wreck, Rabobank and CSC suffered from their injuries & abandons. Tyler Hamilton still has a broken collar bone, but he hasn't quit the race yet. He's planning to see how it goes in the mountains and decide if he can give it a good effort. Tyler is a beast.
In other news, Vladimir Karpets reclaimed the white jersey on the strength of Banesto’s great ride.
And the next two stages belong to the sprinters, though the rolling hills will favor big breakaways. Don’t look for USPS to defend the yellow jersey.
posted by uberschuck at 10:48 PM
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