Stage Three
For an uneventful day of racing, it was a bizarre stage. Beloki at one point decided to get his toenails clipped. so he pulled up to the team car, fiddled with some clippers and then raced abck to the peleton. I have absolutely no idea what that was about. An actors' strike bloked the road at one point, bringing the race to an almost virtual stop. And the final sprint was marked by an amazing crash by Haselbacher, who landed with such force the ground ripped his pants off. So, all in all, a fun day.
Due to time bonuses, we have a new rider in yellow, Jean-Patrick Nazon of Jean Delatour. He finished at the same time as McGee, but he picked up some points in the intermediate sprints which gave him enough time bonuses to take the overall lead. So another minor French team gets to defend the yellow jersey for a few days.
But, of course, this day was all about the sprinters. Nazon went all out on all three intermediate sprints, earning points on all three. Kirsipuu and McEwen were also active on the early sprints, but not as successful. Of course, on the final sprint, Kirsipuu finished 22nd and Nazon 14th, so it's probably a good thing for the contenders those were the guys picking up intermediate points.
Once again, Petacchi won the final sprint, so he may not be in Green, but he is really putting his stamp on the race right now. That's two stage wins already. He's not racing for those cheap points in the middle of stages, he's going for the big bonus at the end. And it's a strategy that is working quite well for him. However, even with two stage wins, McEwen is up on points. As long as Petacchi keeps winning these final sprints, he can win Green, but unless he's going to win every stage, he's eventually going to have to win an intermediate sprint or two.
The biggest thing about this sprint finish was this was the first time every contender was at the front for the final 100 meters and there was no crash at the front of the race. This really was the first time every sprinter faced off on equal ground. What did we learn? Zabel can't get over the top still. McEwen burned himself out a bit on the intermediates, so even though he finished fifth, he still finished 3rd in points on the day. Friere has a lousy team with Rabobank already banged up. He could win a straight sprint, but that isn't going to happen much. And Petacchi is a bad mo fo.
So four riders have seperated from the pack: McEwen, Zabel, Petacchi, and Nazon. Cooke, Friere, and Hushovd, and Kirsipuu are close enough to still be threats, but they have to do something spectacular in the next few days or else they can wait until next year. I think Nazon will fade and either Friere or Cooke will join that top group, but this is looking like it will be a three man race: McEwen, Zabel, and Petacchi. I think McEwen is the favorite in that case.
For an uneventful day of racing, it was a bizarre stage. Beloki at one point decided to get his toenails clipped. so he pulled up to the team car, fiddled with some clippers and then raced abck to the peleton. I have absolutely no idea what that was about. An actors' strike bloked the road at one point, bringing the race to an almost virtual stop. And the final sprint was marked by an amazing crash by Haselbacher, who landed with such force the ground ripped his pants off. So, all in all, a fun day.
Due to time bonuses, we have a new rider in yellow, Jean-Patrick Nazon of Jean Delatour. He finished at the same time as McGee, but he picked up some points in the intermediate sprints which gave him enough time bonuses to take the overall lead. So another minor French team gets to defend the yellow jersey for a few days.
But, of course, this day was all about the sprinters. Nazon went all out on all three intermediate sprints, earning points on all three. Kirsipuu and McEwen were also active on the early sprints, but not as successful. Of course, on the final sprint, Kirsipuu finished 22nd and Nazon 14th, so it's probably a good thing for the contenders those were the guys picking up intermediate points.
Once again, Petacchi won the final sprint, so he may not be in Green, but he is really putting his stamp on the race right now. That's two stage wins already. He's not racing for those cheap points in the middle of stages, he's going for the big bonus at the end. And it's a strategy that is working quite well for him. However, even with two stage wins, McEwen is up on points. As long as Petacchi keeps winning these final sprints, he can win Green, but unless he's going to win every stage, he's eventually going to have to win an intermediate sprint or two.
The biggest thing about this sprint finish was this was the first time every contender was at the front for the final 100 meters and there was no crash at the front of the race. This really was the first time every sprinter faced off on equal ground. What did we learn? Zabel can't get over the top still. McEwen burned himself out a bit on the intermediates, so even though he finished fifth, he still finished 3rd in points on the day. Friere has a lousy team with Rabobank already banged up. He could win a straight sprint, but that isn't going to happen much. And Petacchi is a bad mo fo.
So four riders have seperated from the pack: McEwen, Zabel, Petacchi, and Nazon. Cooke, Friere, and Hushovd, and Kirsipuu are close enough to still be threats, but they have to do something spectacular in the next few days or else they can wait until next year. I think Nazon will fade and either Friere or Cooke will join that top group, but this is looking like it will be a three man race: McEwen, Zabel, and Petacchi. I think McEwen is the favorite in that case.
posted by Poseur at 11:14 AM
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