The first day in the Pyrenees
I was kind of wrong about window dressing being over, as Schleck just stayed on Contador's wheel and they finished with the same time. I was definitely wrong about the strength of Astana, who were just great setting the pace on the two big climbs in stage 14. Meanwhile, Saxo Bank was AWOL. The funny thing is, Astana got nothing for their efforts and Saxo Bank wasn't burned. If anything, it is a morale blow to Astana in that they executed their plan well and got nothing. If I understood Schleck's post-race interview, he planned on playing defense in stage 14, but he hinted that he'll attack on stage 15.
As those two guys were watching each other, they let Menchov and Sanchez ride ahead, so the guys in positions 3 & 4 in GC picked up a few seconds on the guys in 1st & 2nd. It wasn't enough to put either of them in real threatening position (Sammy Sanchez is 2 minutes behind Contador), but if this game repeats itself, Schleck and Contador could find that they've shot themselves in the feet in letting these two guys get too close.
The team race had more drama, and Banesto took the overall lead back from RadioShack by 8 seconds. For a while it looked like Banesto would take the race by the throat when Kiryienka was in the group ahead of the peloton and Armstrong got popped off the peloton while Kloden and Horner struggled to stay with the peloton on the penultimate climb. By the time the race ended, though, Leipheimer had passed all the Banesto guys. Kiryienka, Moreau, and Luis Sanchez finished together a few seconds behind Leipheimer, with Kloden and Horner recovering to finish just a few seconds behind them. It's amazing that the team race is so close that a few seconds here and there are making the lead change hands so frequently. The current 8 second margin is virtually nothing, although RadioShack's advantage in the time trial is such that I think Banesto would need 3-4 minutes margin heading in to the time trial.
As those two guys were watching each other, they let Menchov and Sanchez ride ahead, so the guys in positions 3 & 4 in GC picked up a few seconds on the guys in 1st & 2nd. It wasn't enough to put either of them in real threatening position (Sammy Sanchez is 2 minutes behind Contador), but if this game repeats itself, Schleck and Contador could find that they've shot themselves in the feet in letting these two guys get too close.
The team race had more drama, and Banesto took the overall lead back from RadioShack by 8 seconds. For a while it looked like Banesto would take the race by the throat when Kiryienka was in the group ahead of the peloton and Armstrong got popped off the peloton while Kloden and Horner struggled to stay with the peloton on the penultimate climb. By the time the race ended, though, Leipheimer had passed all the Banesto guys. Kiryienka, Moreau, and Luis Sanchez finished together a few seconds behind Leipheimer, with Kloden and Horner recovering to finish just a few seconds behind them. It's amazing that the team race is so close that a few seconds here and there are making the lead change hands so frequently. The current 8 second margin is virtually nothing, although RadioShack's advantage in the time trial is such that I think Banesto would need 3-4 minutes margin heading in to the time trial.
posted by uberschuck at 7:56 PM
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