Stage 13 & beyond
It was supposed to be a day for the breakaway, but Lotto did a great job of chasing down every last man so that McEwen could win the stage. Chris Horner's breakaway was over 150 km, and it really sucks to get caught in the last kilometer, but as that other guy who writes on this page likes to say, tough noogies. McEwen grabbed 35 points today, and O'Grady got 30 for his second place finish, but Thor was 5th, worth 22 points. That gap tightens things up a bit, but Thor still has a decent lead.
Hushovd 164
O'Grady 150
McEwen 142
Hushovd has shown he can beat O'Grady, but McEwen is beating both like a drum. The lead now is such that he has some margin for error, but not a whole lot.
The other big development was that Valverde abandoned because of illness & a knee injury. He loses the white jersey and Banesto loses any hope of winning the team competition. Mancebo, Karpets, and Valverde were to be their 3-headed monster in the mountains. Karpets was bad in the Alps. Even if he becomes strong in the Pyrenees, they can't catch CSC.
Yaroslav Popovych inherits the white jersey and holds a 7 second lead on Andrey Kashechkin. No one else is close. Popovych shouldn't be distracted. If he does his job of riding with Lance, he'll win this thing.
Stage 14 might be the most pivotal of the Tour. Take a look at the profile.
Two intermediate sprints on the flat road should get the attention of the green jersey contenders. After that, the GC race is on. In the last 45 km we have an HC climb of 15.2 km at 8%, followed by a finish at top of a category 1 climb of 9.1 km at 7.3%. Anyone who wants to make a move in the GC should do it then. I think it will be the right place for Armstrong to take a stage win and put a choke hold on everyone else.
Hushovd 164
O'Grady 150
McEwen 142
Hushovd has shown he can beat O'Grady, but McEwen is beating both like a drum. The lead now is such that he has some margin for error, but not a whole lot.
The other big development was that Valverde abandoned because of illness & a knee injury. He loses the white jersey and Banesto loses any hope of winning the team competition. Mancebo, Karpets, and Valverde were to be their 3-headed monster in the mountains. Karpets was bad in the Alps. Even if he becomes strong in the Pyrenees, they can't catch CSC.
Yaroslav Popovych inherits the white jersey and holds a 7 second lead on Andrey Kashechkin. No one else is close. Popovych shouldn't be distracted. If he does his job of riding with Lance, he'll win this thing.
Stage 14 might be the most pivotal of the Tour. Take a look at the profile.
Two intermediate sprints on the flat road should get the attention of the green jersey contenders. After that, the GC race is on. In the last 45 km we have an HC climb of 15.2 km at 8%, followed by a finish at top of a category 1 climb of 9.1 km at 7.3%. Anyone who wants to make a move in the GC should do it then. I think it will be the right place for Armstrong to take a stage win and put a choke hold on everyone else.
posted by uberschuck at 7:45 PM
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