Stage 7: Virenque–King for a Day, King of the Mountains
Richard Virenque held off the peloton for over 100km to take the stage win, the King of the Mountains lead, and the yellow jersey (by 2:37 over Armstrong). It was a gutsy effort to attack early in a 230 km stage with 5 climbs. Virenque may be spent for tomorrow, but he’s got a good lead in the race for the polka dot jersey.
Lance Armstrong obviously wanted to save energy for the big race tomorrow. USPS rode a controlled tempo that most of the contenders could cope with, but Gilberto Simoni and Santiago Botero couldn’t. It’s possible they can regain form, but now nearly ten minutes behind Armstrong, their hopes for winning it all are done. And if Botero wants to concentrate on the polka dot jersey, he’s already far behind Virenque. Doh!
So, I was wrong in thinking Armstrong would make a move today. But it’s pretty obvious tomorrow is the big day. Again here’s the profile for stage 8. The stage is 211km. At 10km there is a measly little 10km climb of 5.2 % grade. At 125 km they hit the Col du Telegraphe, 12km at 6.8%; it’s followed by the Col du Galibier, 18km at 6.7%. The finishing line is at the end of the climb to l’Alpe d’Huez: 14km at 8%. Get ready for the showdown.
The US Postal squad looked good today. They placed 4 riders in the main field of climbers. However, the big day of Quick-Step now puts them in the lead of the team competition by 2 and a half minutes over USPS. Still, the USPS riders held a pace fast enough to discourage attacks, and when Vinokourov did launch an attack, they reeled him in within minutes.
The other big news of the day was Alessandro Petacchi. No, he didn’t win another stage, and he won’t win any more. He rode his bike for an hour, then once he saw an incline, he decided to quit. Yes, he’s definitely cut in the mold of Mario Cipollini. The green jersey race is now wide open again. Baden Cooke inherits it and holds an 8 point lead over Robbie McEwen. Jaan Kirsipuu also abandoned in today’s stage.
And under the radar, Tyler Hamilton rode with Armstrong’s group. Broken collar bone & all, he’s now in 20th position. Also under the radar, Vladimir Karpets cracked in the mountains and yielded his white jersey to fellow Banesto rider Denis Menchov.
Richard Virenque held off the peloton for over 100km to take the stage win, the King of the Mountains lead, and the yellow jersey (by 2:37 over Armstrong). It was a gutsy effort to attack early in a 230 km stage with 5 climbs. Virenque may be spent for tomorrow, but he’s got a good lead in the race for the polka dot jersey.
Lance Armstrong obviously wanted to save energy for the big race tomorrow. USPS rode a controlled tempo that most of the contenders could cope with, but Gilberto Simoni and Santiago Botero couldn’t. It’s possible they can regain form, but now nearly ten minutes behind Armstrong, their hopes for winning it all are done. And if Botero wants to concentrate on the polka dot jersey, he’s already far behind Virenque. Doh!
So, I was wrong in thinking Armstrong would make a move today. But it’s pretty obvious tomorrow is the big day. Again here’s the profile for stage 8. The stage is 211km. At 10km there is a measly little 10km climb of 5.2 % grade. At 125 km they hit the Col du Telegraphe, 12km at 6.8%; it’s followed by the Col du Galibier, 18km at 6.7%. The finishing line is at the end of the climb to l’Alpe d’Huez: 14km at 8%. Get ready for the showdown.
The US Postal squad looked good today. They placed 4 riders in the main field of climbers. However, the big day of Quick-Step now puts them in the lead of the team competition by 2 and a half minutes over USPS. Still, the USPS riders held a pace fast enough to discourage attacks, and when Vinokourov did launch an attack, they reeled him in within minutes.
The other big news of the day was Alessandro Petacchi. No, he didn’t win another stage, and he won’t win any more. He rode his bike for an hour, then once he saw an incline, he decided to quit. Yes, he’s definitely cut in the mold of Mario Cipollini. The green jersey race is now wide open again. Baden Cooke inherits it and holds an 8 point lead over Robbie McEwen. Jaan Kirsipuu also abandoned in today’s stage.
And under the radar, Tyler Hamilton rode with Armstrong’s group. Broken collar bone & all, he’s now in 20th position. Also under the radar, Vladimir Karpets cracked in the mountains and yielded his white jersey to fellow Banesto rider Denis Menchov.
posted by uberschuck at 4:42 PM
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