That sort of takes the punch out of it
When I left for work in the morning the race was still about 40 km from the finish, so I made a great effort to avoid seeing the results online so that I could watch the replay and pretend it was live. Then, as Leipheimer and Contador sandwiched Rasmussen at about the 3km marker, Vs. flashed the news that Rasmussen had been withdrawn by Rabobank and fired.
So, I guess I can't dwell on what a great job Rasmussen did to defend his race lead, because up until that moment, I was really impressed.
But I'm not going to fail to mention the great efforts of athletes who have not been kicked out of the race.
1) Levi Leipheimer has now had his best two TdF stages in the same week. He was outstanding. I hope he gets the official credit for the stage win, because he's such a good rider having a great tour. Plus, he was a team player for Contador, who just didn't have the same explosion today as he did Monday.
2) Carlos Sastre went on a suicide mission. Naturally it didn't work, but he still finished 8th on the stage, just over 2 minutes behind. It's hard to keep a good pace once the breakaway has been snuffed out, but he was great.
3) Same thing for Soler, who did enough to overtake Rasmussen in the KoM points. With Rasmussen out, Soler is going to win the KoM, unless he gets disqualified.
As for Rasmussen, what we know now is that his own team pulled him from the race, saying that he lied to them about his whereabouts in June.
Huh?
I cannot believe that is all of the story. If Rabobank is willing to sacrifice their only yellow jersey ever because they are all about the letter of the law, well, then good for them. Let everyone know that the Dutch really are hard core disciplinarians. There has got to be more to this than lying about where he was training in June.
The race directors are quite pleased, but then, they've been railroading Rasmussen for weeks now. Of course, they'll be really upset when they realize that the credibility of the Tour has sunk to a new low.
As for the race...
1) Contador
2) Evans +1:53
3) Leipheimer +2:49
4) Sastre + 6:02
Evans has a fair shot at catching Contador in the time trial (he was 91 seconds better in the first TT). Leipheimer isn't likely to catch Evans unless Evans falls off his bike a couple times, but his podium spot looks secure. Of course, all of this is contingent on the dope tests of the coming days.
So, I guess I can't dwell on what a great job Rasmussen did to defend his race lead, because up until that moment, I was really impressed.
But I'm not going to fail to mention the great efforts of athletes who have not been kicked out of the race.
1) Levi Leipheimer has now had his best two TdF stages in the same week. He was outstanding. I hope he gets the official credit for the stage win, because he's such a good rider having a great tour. Plus, he was a team player for Contador, who just didn't have the same explosion today as he did Monday.
2) Carlos Sastre went on a suicide mission. Naturally it didn't work, but he still finished 8th on the stage, just over 2 minutes behind. It's hard to keep a good pace once the breakaway has been snuffed out, but he was great.
3) Same thing for Soler, who did enough to overtake Rasmussen in the KoM points. With Rasmussen out, Soler is going to win the KoM, unless he gets disqualified.
As for Rasmussen, what we know now is that his own team pulled him from the race, saying that he lied to them about his whereabouts in June.
Huh?
I cannot believe that is all of the story. If Rabobank is willing to sacrifice their only yellow jersey ever because they are all about the letter of the law, well, then good for them. Let everyone know that the Dutch really are hard core disciplinarians. There has got to be more to this than lying about where he was training in June.
The race directors are quite pleased, but then, they've been railroading Rasmussen for weeks now. Of course, they'll be really upset when they realize that the credibility of the Tour has sunk to a new low.
As for the race...
1) Contador
2) Evans +1:53
3) Leipheimer +2:49
4) Sastre + 6:02
Evans has a fair shot at catching Contador in the time trial (he was 91 seconds better in the first TT). Leipheimer isn't likely to catch Evans unless Evans falls off his bike a couple times, but his podium spot looks secure. Of course, all of this is contingent on the dope tests of the coming days.
posted by uberschuck at 6:28 PM
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