Stage 15: Vino Again
The attack came late, but it came. Let's face it, the top two riders in the GC are not exactly time trialing whizzes, so both Contador and Rasmussen had the incentive to attack on the Pyrenees, even though they are technically the hunted. Contador didn't make his acceleration until the climb was almost over, but he made the move and only Rasmussen could respond. And the top two put another minute into the field.
With one more climbing stage after the rest day and then a time trial, it looks like our podium is almost set: Rasmussen, Contador, and Evans. Probably in that order. Contador might be a better climber than anyone, even Rasmussen, but he's not likely to make up 2:23 on the climbs. And his time trialing skill is only slightly better than Rasmussen's. It's a tall order and he really needs Rasmussen to make a mistake, something he has not been doing. Rasmussen responded to Contador's every move.
Evans, on the other hand, needed to minimize his losses in the mountains and then blow Rasmussen away on the ITT. He's lost 3 minutes in two days, and will probably lose another minute or so on Wednesday. He needs a Vino-esque ITT as well as both Rasmussen and Contador to collapse. It's not an impossible dream, but he is clutching at straws.
Vino, for a guy having a lousy Tour, is racking up the stage victories. He dominated the ITT, absolutely annihilating the field. And now he picked up another stage win, beating the field by a huge margin again. He is having the ultimate Jekyll and Hyde Tour. He goes back and forth between the best rider on earth and terrible. If only he hadn't crashed...
Oh, David Millar is claiming Rasmussen has ruined this year's Tour because he missed a drug test, which violated exactly zero rules. I'd like to tell Millar, a guy who actually has flunked drug tests, to shut the fuck up.
With one more climbing stage after the rest day and then a time trial, it looks like our podium is almost set: Rasmussen, Contador, and Evans. Probably in that order. Contador might be a better climber than anyone, even Rasmussen, but he's not likely to make up 2:23 on the climbs. And his time trialing skill is only slightly better than Rasmussen's. It's a tall order and he really needs Rasmussen to make a mistake, something he has not been doing. Rasmussen responded to Contador's every move.
Evans, on the other hand, needed to minimize his losses in the mountains and then blow Rasmussen away on the ITT. He's lost 3 minutes in two days, and will probably lose another minute or so on Wednesday. He needs a Vino-esque ITT as well as both Rasmussen and Contador to collapse. It's not an impossible dream, but he is clutching at straws.
Vino, for a guy having a lousy Tour, is racking up the stage victories. He dominated the ITT, absolutely annihilating the field. And now he picked up another stage win, beating the field by a huge margin again. He is having the ultimate Jekyll and Hyde Tour. He goes back and forth between the best rider on earth and terrible. If only he hadn't crashed...
Oh, David Millar is claiming Rasmussen has ruined this year's Tour because he missed a drug test, which violated exactly zero rules. I'd like to tell Millar, a guy who actually has flunked drug tests, to shut the fuck up.
posted by Poseur at 11:30 AM
2 Comments:
I think it's a two man race, and I give Contador a fair chance to catch Rasmussen. I think Contador was playing with Rasmussen today. I think those attacks were psy-ops. Contador inflicted pain on Rasmussen, but he answered each challenge.
Really, I can't wait to watch Contador and Rasmussen go head to head on Wednesday.
In less interesting developments, The breakaway scooped up all the KoM points, so Soler trails Rasmussen by two. Rabobank has a tall order to prevent Soler from picking up points on the early climbs and defend Rasmussen on the Aubisque.
Astana counterpunched Discovery today and turned a 2 minute deficit into a 3 minute lead. These two teams are totally awesome.
My favorite line from Tuesday's rest-day coverage:
"My favorite shot of the Tour, meanwhile, is this one from Stage 9 when a dog wandered onto the road right in front of a T-Mobile rider. Amazingly, the dog not only walked away from the collision but just signed a three-year deal with Michael Vick."
Ouch.
You know, one wonders what might have happened if Contador had taken off with Vino, how much time could he have taken off Rasmussen?
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