Stage 8: The "Real" Tour Begins
First off, I've never derided intemediate sprints. Those points matter. I agreed with you that Boonen's dominance not only on the overall stages, but also picking up every point on the intermediate sprints made him seemingly unbeatable. That crash in stage 6 helped Hushovd make a move back in this thing. Hell, Zabel once won a green doing nothing but winning every intermediate sprint he could. Those crumbs add up. And when you're getting killed, you need all the help you can get.
Secondly, a big apology. I've been real busy the last few days selling my house, so I've been unable to post. I've been watching and following the news, but I just haven't seemed to be able to sit down and get all my thoughts together. So excuse me if this post is a little long and gets disjointed. I have a lot to rant about. Actually, let's take these things one at a time...
Stage 8
What's up with Discovery? How can they leave Lance alone like that? I can't believe it was because they couldn't hack a Category 2 climb. At the base of the climb, six Disco riders were at the front of the peleton. Six. The first attack, by Vinokourov, was just five minutes later. After the resulting counter-attacks over the next two kilometers, there wasn't a single Discovery jersey left. Where did they go? Were they just got flat-footed by the flurry of attacks? Were they simply outmaneuvered?
I just don't believe that. It doesn't stand to reason that suddenly Lance's team has gone from tactical masters to dupes. And there's no way its that they couldn't hack the climb. That leaves only one other option I can think of: they were feigning weakness. Hell, Armstrong went to the press after the race to complain about how much he suffered. If there's one thing we've learned is to never believe him when he says he's suffering. It's always been an act.
Which leads to the next questiom: why? What do they gain by encouraging everybody to attack? Well, it could be that they want the contenders to thin each other out and then pick off the survivors. These guys put a ton of effort into picking up absolutely no time on Armstrong. All of these attacks don't just weaken Armstrong, they weaken all of the attackers. I mean, did you notice that Ivan Basso was not among the ten riders leading the climb? He caught everyone on the descent, but he didn't waste his time on attack after attack. Guys like Vino, Ullrich, and Julich did. It's not like the other Disco riders are looking to contend in the GC. It makes sense to conserve energy on a day like today. T-Mobile threw a lot into this stage, and they came up with nothing.
Kloden looks strong, as does Vino. Ullrich looks like Ullrich, the unfortunate guy who Lance has decided to mark ruthlessly. They dictated the action on this stage, and they luanched attack after attack. They cannot do that on every stage, they'll kill themselves. You have to pick your spots a little, but all three of their leaders attacked and at the end of the day, came home with nothing. That's not an encouraging sign.
And give it up for Rabobank! My little Dutch boys! Though I still don't believe Weening won that final sprint. Seriously, could their Tour be going any better right now? How does Erik Dekker get to wear the polka dots? And then have the nerve to wear a polka dotted helmet, like he expected to be in dots? How awesome is that?
More potshots at T-Mobile
Yes, it's not fair, and if the end up winning the Tour, I'm gonna have a whole plate full of crow to eat, but it's just too much fun.
What does Rudi Altig, German cycling great think of Ullrich. Well, let's ask him.
"He's beginning to tire me. With Ullrich, it's always the same thing. Last year, he won the Tour of Switzerland in the mountains, this year he lost it in the mountains - and his team (T-Mobile) continue to tell us that he's stronger than he was last year. I don't think they're doing him any favors."
"Jan earns 250,000 euros a month, but what does he give back to cycling? Before the Tour he didn't even bother to come and race the national championships. And the most astonishing thing is that at T-Mobile, nobody bothers to question him. In any case, no one can say anything to him. It seems he's a law unto himself."
How great is this? Who isn't taking shots at Ullrich? Zabel, his former manager, his teammates, internet jackasses, and now former greats. Ullrich can't be having a fun time right now.
Oh, the USA Today is reporting that Discovery will try and sign Vino in the offseason. Just to let you know.
The fight for Green
Husovd has emerged as the biggest threat to the seemingly invincible Boonen. But the race is moving into Thor's territory: the mountains. OK, Hushovd's not a great climber, but he's better at it than most sprinters. Meaning this is his chance to pick up some points that Boonen will not get. Or even better, maybe Boonen won't make it through the mountains at all. He's down by 5 points. He has a shot to overtake the lead in the mountains if he can hang onto the peleton while Boonen gets dropped off the back.
He's still the underdog, but he's back in the running. But we're not gonna talk much about the Green jersey for the next few days.
It's time for the GC to take center stage. Our first Category One climb is tommorrow. Stage 10 has got two of them. And stage 11? Well, the Cat. 1 is the easy climb on Wednesday.
Secondly, a big apology. I've been real busy the last few days selling my house, so I've been unable to post. I've been watching and following the news, but I just haven't seemed to be able to sit down and get all my thoughts together. So excuse me if this post is a little long and gets disjointed. I have a lot to rant about. Actually, let's take these things one at a time...
Stage 8
What's up with Discovery? How can they leave Lance alone like that? I can't believe it was because they couldn't hack a Category 2 climb. At the base of the climb, six Disco riders were at the front of the peleton. Six. The first attack, by Vinokourov, was just five minutes later. After the resulting counter-attacks over the next two kilometers, there wasn't a single Discovery jersey left. Where did they go? Were they just got flat-footed by the flurry of attacks? Were they simply outmaneuvered?
I just don't believe that. It doesn't stand to reason that suddenly Lance's team has gone from tactical masters to dupes. And there's no way its that they couldn't hack the climb. That leaves only one other option I can think of: they were feigning weakness. Hell, Armstrong went to the press after the race to complain about how much he suffered. If there's one thing we've learned is to never believe him when he says he's suffering. It's always been an act.
Which leads to the next questiom: why? What do they gain by encouraging everybody to attack? Well, it could be that they want the contenders to thin each other out and then pick off the survivors. These guys put a ton of effort into picking up absolutely no time on Armstrong. All of these attacks don't just weaken Armstrong, they weaken all of the attackers. I mean, did you notice that Ivan Basso was not among the ten riders leading the climb? He caught everyone on the descent, but he didn't waste his time on attack after attack. Guys like Vino, Ullrich, and Julich did. It's not like the other Disco riders are looking to contend in the GC. It makes sense to conserve energy on a day like today. T-Mobile threw a lot into this stage, and they came up with nothing.
Kloden looks strong, as does Vino. Ullrich looks like Ullrich, the unfortunate guy who Lance has decided to mark ruthlessly. They dictated the action on this stage, and they luanched attack after attack. They cannot do that on every stage, they'll kill themselves. You have to pick your spots a little, but all three of their leaders attacked and at the end of the day, came home with nothing. That's not an encouraging sign.
And give it up for Rabobank! My little Dutch boys! Though I still don't believe Weening won that final sprint. Seriously, could their Tour be going any better right now? How does Erik Dekker get to wear the polka dots? And then have the nerve to wear a polka dotted helmet, like he expected to be in dots? How awesome is that?
More potshots at T-Mobile
Yes, it's not fair, and if the end up winning the Tour, I'm gonna have a whole plate full of crow to eat, but it's just too much fun.
What does Rudi Altig, German cycling great think of Ullrich. Well, let's ask him.
"He's beginning to tire me. With Ullrich, it's always the same thing. Last year, he won the Tour of Switzerland in the mountains, this year he lost it in the mountains - and his team (T-Mobile) continue to tell us that he's stronger than he was last year. I don't think they're doing him any favors."
"Jan earns 250,000 euros a month, but what does he give back to cycling? Before the Tour he didn't even bother to come and race the national championships. And the most astonishing thing is that at T-Mobile, nobody bothers to question him. In any case, no one can say anything to him. It seems he's a law unto himself."
How great is this? Who isn't taking shots at Ullrich? Zabel, his former manager, his teammates, internet jackasses, and now former greats. Ullrich can't be having a fun time right now.
Oh, the USA Today is reporting that Discovery will try and sign Vino in the offseason. Just to let you know.
The fight for Green
Husovd has emerged as the biggest threat to the seemingly invincible Boonen. But the race is moving into Thor's territory: the mountains. OK, Hushovd's not a great climber, but he's better at it than most sprinters. Meaning this is his chance to pick up some points that Boonen will not get. Or even better, maybe Boonen won't make it through the mountains at all. He's down by 5 points. He has a shot to overtake the lead in the mountains if he can hang onto the peleton while Boonen gets dropped off the back.
He's still the underdog, but he's back in the running. But we're not gonna talk much about the Green jersey for the next few days.
It's time for the GC to take center stage. Our first Category One climb is tommorrow. Stage 10 has got two of them. And stage 11? Well, the Cat. 1 is the easy climb on Wednesday.
posted by Poseur at 2:58 PM
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