Tour de France 2009 Thread

[edinatlanta]

Cavendish is a beast. That sprint was BAMF.

 

[Merckx]

Originally Posted by Piobaire

That doesn't sound good. Are we going to have a replay of LeMond/Hinault?
Interesting development today. Contador was caught off guard and Lance's experience paid off. I think a telling quote by Lance might somewhat answer your question.

LA GRANDE MOTTE, France -- Seven-time champion Lance Armstrong proved his Tour de France credentials once again when he climbed to third overall following a spectacular third stage on Monday. Briton Mark Cavendish snatched the stage victory after 122 miles from Marseille to La Grande Motte but the day's big winner was Armstrong, the only favorite who was not caught out by a sharp break from Team Columbia. Swiss Fabian Cancellara of the Saxo Bank team retained the overall leader's yellow jersey, finishing ahead of German Tony Martin and American Armstrong by 33 and 40 seconds respectively. Alberto Contador, who was trapped after Team Columbia's move, dropped to fourth overall. Spaniard Contador, named Astana's team leader ahead of Armstrong, slipped 19 seconds behind the 37-year-old Texan. "I am not OK with that theory saying there can be only one team leader," said Armstrong. "I have won seven Tours de France, I will have to be counted in." The peloton split into two around 24 miles from the finish after a sudden burst of acceleration by Team Columbia in strong crosswinds which surprised nearly all the favourites. "That was awesome, that was the best team effort I've been a part of in 10 years as a pro," Australian Michael Rogers said on his Twitter page. Astana's Levi Leipheimer was also trapped. "I've never seen the group split so suddenly, one second we were calm and then Columbia hit it in a very short section of crosswind," he said. Among the leading contenders, only Armstrong, back in the saddle after 3½ years in retirement, was in the front group of some 25 riders who caught four early breakaways. But the American did not help Columbia widen the gap, initially staying in the middle of the small pack with team mates Haimar Zubeldia and Yaroslav Popovych. With 9 miles remaining, however, Popovych and Zubeldia started to work with Columbia as the gap finally reached 41 seconds on the finish line. Cavendish, already a stage winner on Sunday, was the first to cross it, ahead of Norway's Thor Hushovd, who was no match for the Briton's raw power. Frenchman Cyril Lemoine was third.

 

[Tokyo Slim]

See my comment on page one. If Lance didn't think he could win, he wouldn't be there.

 

[Piobaire]

Thanks for the post, I was just wondering how the stage finished today.

 

[CBDB]

Originally Posted by edinatlanta

His team is ******* phenomenal but they have two potential leaders which is the problem. Astana may be the best cycling team ever assembled but I fear this will be the same as BMW Oracle in the last Louis Vuitton Cup. So much talent but not a real team.

Perhaps the best team since La Vie Claire from 1985 or 1986?

 

[RedLantern]

Cool stage today. Lance looked pretty tired during the post-race interview, still a badass though.

 

[edinatlanta]

Today Lance claims the Yellow Jersey. Astana is pwning this team time trial. Now will Contador nut up and deal with this?

 

[RedLantern]

!!

 

[Piobaire]

Originally Posted by edinatlanta

Today Lance claims the Yellow Jersey. Astana is pwning this team time trial. Now will Contador nut up and deal with this?

I thought he just missed getting it? Did I get bad info?

 

[4Mica]

Originally Posted by Piobaire

I thought he just missed getting it? Did I get bad info?

No, you didn't get bad info. He missed it by less than a second, tomorrows stage could be very interesting.

 

[gomestar]

this is actually turning in to an interesting race. Astana is such a stacked team, Cancellara holds the lead (by a slim margin), and then 4 Astana people right there. Incredible.



In other news, Ullrich is facing more doping probes. What a downfall for that guy, damn.

 

[Piobaire]

Originally Posted by gomestar

In other news, Ullrich is facing more doping probes. What a downfall for that guy, damn.

I have always felt very bad for Ulrich. He was a team player and gave a Tour to Riis, when he clearly was the stronger rider, then had to play second fiddle to Lance for years. But he was always a good sport and I really admire him for that.

 

[edinatlanta]

Originally Posted by Piobaire

I thought he just missed getting it? Did I get bad info?

He did, I posted that during the race. One ******* second...

 

[Etienne]

Originally Posted by edinatlanta

They counter this by monitoring cyclists' blood over time which will catch the cheats, even if they can't test for specific drugs.
There are so many things they don't catch... Auto-transfusion, steroids, growth hormon, you name it.

 

[edinatlanta]

Originally Posted by Étienne

There are so many things they don't catch... Auto-transfusion, steroids, growth hormon, you name it.

HGH has a test now, steroids is a blanket term most (if not all) can be found, the transfusions are caught all the time.

The point of the passports is that it doesn't look for drugs, it looks for abnormalities that are caused by drugs or other techniques. The best dopers can not avoid that.