Stage 6
I feel bad for Stuart O'Grady and Antony Geslin. They broke away from the peleton at the 40km mark and enjoyed the most successful breakway of the Tour. For 180 km, they led the race, building up a lead as large as 18 minutes. In the end, they couldn't hold off the pack, and they were caught in the final sprint. Think about that. They held a lead for 180 km, only to lose it in the last 500 meters. They finished 20th and 59th on the day. They were 500 meters away from 1st and 2nd.
Petacchi may have won the Green Jersey today. Not only did he win his fourth stage, his biggest rivals, McEwen and Zabel, were invloved in a crash in the final 5k. Neither made it back to the peleton and didn't participate in the final sprint. Only Baden Cooke and Thor Hushovd made it of the real contenders. So now Petacchi has a huge lead: 26 points over Cooke, 34 to McEwen, 44 to Hushovd, and 46 to Zabel. With the race about to go into the Alps, the sprinters won't be able to pick up any real ground until probably Stage 10, and then a long break until Stage 17. Provided he makes it through the mountains, Petacchi's got at least a week in green. Probably he'll be wearing it on the podium in Paris.
Now, let's look at the big winners of week one before we head to the Alps.
US Postal Pena's in first, Lance is a second out. They have every slot in the top eight, and the closest competitor is over 30 seconds out. They really made a statement that they are an aweseome team around Armstrong. HONORS: 3 days in yellow, 1 stage win.
FDJ What can you say? They have wreaked havoc. They have been downright awesome in the earliest stages, at one point holding first in three different classifications. Even if they don't have a single rider depart tommorrow, they have had a successful Tour. Heck, and Cooke's still in 2nd for the green. HONORS: 3 days in yellow, 2 stage wins, 2 days in white, 1 day in green, 1 day in polka dots.
Fassa Bortolo Or more accurately, Petacchi. He's won almost every sprint he's been in. He's absolutely dominating the points classification, and the team has ridden strong to put him in a position to win every time. Basso's only two minutes out, so he's still in the running for the podium, but this team is now riding for green. HONORS: 4 stage wins, 1 day in Green.
Banesto Mancebo goes into the mountains 1:30 out. They also have all three of the top slots in the youth category. They are in a nice position before the real race begins. HONORS: 4 days in white.
ONCE No, they didn't win anything. They weren't a factor in any stage, but their number one guy is closer to the lead than anyone else. Beloki's only 30 seconds down, his team kept him in position to strike.
The losers?
Saeco By finishing so far back in the time trial, Simoni needs to beat Lance by over three and half minutes in the mountains. That isn't very likely. His Tour is probably done.
Rabobank They lost Leipheimer, their best shot at yellow, in Stage One. Friere, their best shot at green, is already over 60 points out. No one had a worse first week.
Telekom The team is riding great, and they have nothing to show for it. Their stated goal of attacking US Postal hasn't worked at all, and Zabel's crash puts him almost 50 points out. They rode great, and Zable is 50 points out. Imagine if they rode poorly.
Lotto Five days in green down the drain. Today's crash just absolutely crushed the Lotto team. Petacchi opened up a 34 point lead in one sprint. So not only does McEwen need to win a stage, he needs to do it and have Petacchi fail to finish in the final peleton to make all of those points back. Or just beat him in every sprint from now until Paris. Good luck.
I feel bad for Stuart O'Grady and Antony Geslin. They broke away from the peleton at the 40km mark and enjoyed the most successful breakway of the Tour. For 180 km, they led the race, building up a lead as large as 18 minutes. In the end, they couldn't hold off the pack, and they were caught in the final sprint. Think about that. They held a lead for 180 km, only to lose it in the last 500 meters. They finished 20th and 59th on the day. They were 500 meters away from 1st and 2nd.
Petacchi may have won the Green Jersey today. Not only did he win his fourth stage, his biggest rivals, McEwen and Zabel, were invloved in a crash in the final 5k. Neither made it back to the peleton and didn't participate in the final sprint. Only Baden Cooke and Thor Hushovd made it of the real contenders. So now Petacchi has a huge lead: 26 points over Cooke, 34 to McEwen, 44 to Hushovd, and 46 to Zabel. With the race about to go into the Alps, the sprinters won't be able to pick up any real ground until probably Stage 10, and then a long break until Stage 17. Provided he makes it through the mountains, Petacchi's got at least a week in green. Probably he'll be wearing it on the podium in Paris.
Now, let's look at the big winners of week one before we head to the Alps.
US Postal Pena's in first, Lance is a second out. They have every slot in the top eight, and the closest competitor is over 30 seconds out. They really made a statement that they are an aweseome team around Armstrong. HONORS: 3 days in yellow, 1 stage win.
FDJ What can you say? They have wreaked havoc. They have been downright awesome in the earliest stages, at one point holding first in three different classifications. Even if they don't have a single rider depart tommorrow, they have had a successful Tour. Heck, and Cooke's still in 2nd for the green. HONORS: 3 days in yellow, 2 stage wins, 2 days in white, 1 day in green, 1 day in polka dots.
Fassa Bortolo Or more accurately, Petacchi. He's won almost every sprint he's been in. He's absolutely dominating the points classification, and the team has ridden strong to put him in a position to win every time. Basso's only two minutes out, so he's still in the running for the podium, but this team is now riding for green. HONORS: 4 stage wins, 1 day in Green.
Banesto Mancebo goes into the mountains 1:30 out. They also have all three of the top slots in the youth category. They are in a nice position before the real race begins. HONORS: 4 days in white.
ONCE No, they didn't win anything. They weren't a factor in any stage, but their number one guy is closer to the lead than anyone else. Beloki's only 30 seconds down, his team kept him in position to strike.
The losers?
Saeco By finishing so far back in the time trial, Simoni needs to beat Lance by over three and half minutes in the mountains. That isn't very likely. His Tour is probably done.
Rabobank They lost Leipheimer, their best shot at yellow, in Stage One. Friere, their best shot at green, is already over 60 points out. No one had a worse first week.
Telekom The team is riding great, and they have nothing to show for it. Their stated goal of attacking US Postal hasn't worked at all, and Zabel's crash puts him almost 50 points out. They rode great, and Zable is 50 points out. Imagine if they rode poorly.
Lotto Five days in green down the drain. Today's crash just absolutely crushed the Lotto team. Petacchi opened up a 34 point lead in one sprint. So not only does McEwen need to win a stage, he needs to do it and have Petacchi fail to finish in the final peleton to make all of those points back. Or just beat him in every sprint from now until Paris. Good luck.
posted by Poseur at 2:04 PM
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