Stage 8
Let me say for the record that Alessandro Petacchi is the biggest punk in professional cycling. How on earth do you drop out of the Tour de France when you have a huge lead for the Green Jersey? He was going to win the Points title, given annually to the best sprinter on the Tour and instead he just spits in the face of cycling fans and drops out before he has to climb the mountains. Hey, it's one thing to try and climb the Alps and fail, but he didn't even try. Petacchi dropped out the first moment he reacheda hill. It was a total disgrace, and it's the exact reason the Tour doesn't invite guys like Cipollini to the race. It's a slap in the face to guys who try and finish the Tour. No one's going to confuse Baden Cooke with the elite climbers of the world, but he's out on the mountains, suffering, so he can win one of the top awards in the greatest cycling race in the world. Cooke's in Green now, but his lead is tainted because he was oer 30 points behind the leader. Disgust doesn't begin to describe it.
Today was the big day: l'Alpe d'Huez. This is usually when Lance Armstrong lays down the hammer and takes total control of the race. It simply didn't happen today. He's in yellow, dropping Virenque on the base of the great mountain, but he's only up 40 seconds on Beloki. Last year, Armstrong gained over two minutes on this stage, this year, he left the door wide open to his biggest rivals. He simply could not shake them. And maybe Rubiera did set too fast of a pace early on, but Armstrong didn't have to call him out after the race. Keep the stuff within the team, don't complain about your domestiques to the press after you fail to win a stage; that's the sort of thing David Millar does, not Lance Armstrong.
Nine riders made up the lead pack, and the group was notoable for its absences. Ullrich, Heras, and Moreau all cracked early. They picked up some time late and only finished 3:36 out and 1:24 behind Armstrong's group. Ullrich just simply couldn't hang in the mountains, he doesn't have the strength. The cracking of Moreau (and earlier Millar and Virenque) come as no great suprise. But Heras? He usually crushes in the mountains and he was almost a total non-factor, leaving Armstrong alone in the lead group. The other notable crack was Gilberto Simoni, who pretty much saw any chance of a podium finish go up in flames. He finished 12:42 out.
So the lead group punished the rest of the field. However, in the final 10 kilometers, Iban Mayo and Alexandre Vinokourov successfully broke away from the group. Mayo would win going away and Vino would finish safely in between the two groups, both picking up huge time in the GC. Lance had to let those two go because he suffered under constant attacks, and he conserved his energy to stopping Beloki. It was probably the right strategy, he didn't have it in him to crush the field, so he kept his closest rival close. But psychologically, Armstrong has shown weakness. For the first time in five years, he looked like a normal human being out there. Look at the standings, he has a 40 second lead. That's nothing. Six riders are within two minutes. 19 are within five. 36 are within ten. Armstrong is winning, but he's not dominating.
The winner of this Tour is coming from this group of nine, the top in the GC:
1 ARMSTRONG Lance USA USP in 35h 12' 50"
2 BELOKI Joseba ESP ONE at 00' 40"
3 MAYO Iban ESP EUS at 01' 10"
4 VINOKOUROV Alexandre KAZ TEL at 01' 17"
5 MANCEBO Francisco ESP BAN at 01' 37"
6 HAMILTON Tyler USA CSC at 01' 52"
7 HERAS Roberto ESP USP at 01' 58"
8 ULLRICH Jan GER TBI at 02' 10"
9 BASSO Ivan ITA FAS at 02' 25"
Vino, Beloki, and Mayo are all excellent time trialists, they will be able to hang with Armstrong in those stages. Every rider in this top group has shown they can climb and are at least a threat. Endurance is the key. Basso's holding on by a thread, and Ullrich didn't show much form today. However, look at 6th place: Tyler Hamilton. The man isn't human. He just rode with the top group up Alpe d'Huez with a broken collarbone. He's in 6th place overall and still has a chance at the podium. I'm in awe of this guy.
The Tour just got officially interesting. Armstrong is mortal. Stop the presses.
Let me say for the record that Alessandro Petacchi is the biggest punk in professional cycling. How on earth do you drop out of the Tour de France when you have a huge lead for the Green Jersey? He was going to win the Points title, given annually to the best sprinter on the Tour and instead he just spits in the face of cycling fans and drops out before he has to climb the mountains. Hey, it's one thing to try and climb the Alps and fail, but he didn't even try. Petacchi dropped out the first moment he reacheda hill. It was a total disgrace, and it's the exact reason the Tour doesn't invite guys like Cipollini to the race. It's a slap in the face to guys who try and finish the Tour. No one's going to confuse Baden Cooke with the elite climbers of the world, but he's out on the mountains, suffering, so he can win one of the top awards in the greatest cycling race in the world. Cooke's in Green now, but his lead is tainted because he was oer 30 points behind the leader. Disgust doesn't begin to describe it.
Today was the big day: l'Alpe d'Huez. This is usually when Lance Armstrong lays down the hammer and takes total control of the race. It simply didn't happen today. He's in yellow, dropping Virenque on the base of the great mountain, but he's only up 40 seconds on Beloki. Last year, Armstrong gained over two minutes on this stage, this year, he left the door wide open to his biggest rivals. He simply could not shake them. And maybe Rubiera did set too fast of a pace early on, but Armstrong didn't have to call him out after the race. Keep the stuff within the team, don't complain about your domestiques to the press after you fail to win a stage; that's the sort of thing David Millar does, not Lance Armstrong.
Nine riders made up the lead pack, and the group was notoable for its absences. Ullrich, Heras, and Moreau all cracked early. They picked up some time late and only finished 3:36 out and 1:24 behind Armstrong's group. Ullrich just simply couldn't hang in the mountains, he doesn't have the strength. The cracking of Moreau (and earlier Millar and Virenque) come as no great suprise. But Heras? He usually crushes in the mountains and he was almost a total non-factor, leaving Armstrong alone in the lead group. The other notable crack was Gilberto Simoni, who pretty much saw any chance of a podium finish go up in flames. He finished 12:42 out.
So the lead group punished the rest of the field. However, in the final 10 kilometers, Iban Mayo and Alexandre Vinokourov successfully broke away from the group. Mayo would win going away and Vino would finish safely in between the two groups, both picking up huge time in the GC. Lance had to let those two go because he suffered under constant attacks, and he conserved his energy to stopping Beloki. It was probably the right strategy, he didn't have it in him to crush the field, so he kept his closest rival close. But psychologically, Armstrong has shown weakness. For the first time in five years, he looked like a normal human being out there. Look at the standings, he has a 40 second lead. That's nothing. Six riders are within two minutes. 19 are within five. 36 are within ten. Armstrong is winning, but he's not dominating.
The winner of this Tour is coming from this group of nine, the top in the GC:
1 ARMSTRONG Lance USA USP in 35h 12' 50"
2 BELOKI Joseba ESP ONE at 00' 40"
3 MAYO Iban ESP EUS at 01' 10"
4 VINOKOUROV Alexandre KAZ TEL at 01' 17"
5 MANCEBO Francisco ESP BAN at 01' 37"
6 HAMILTON Tyler USA CSC at 01' 52"
7 HERAS Roberto ESP USP at 01' 58"
8 ULLRICH Jan GER TBI at 02' 10"
9 BASSO Ivan ITA FAS at 02' 25"
Vino, Beloki, and Mayo are all excellent time trialists, they will be able to hang with Armstrong in those stages. Every rider in this top group has shown they can climb and are at least a threat. Endurance is the key. Basso's holding on by a thread, and Ullrich didn't show much form today. However, look at 6th place: Tyler Hamilton. The man isn't human. He just rode with the top group up Alpe d'Huez with a broken collarbone. He's in 6th place overall and still has a chance at the podium. I'm in awe of this guy.
The Tour just got officially interesting. Armstrong is mortal. Stop the presses.
posted by Poseur at 7:12 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home