Tour de France 2009 - Guaranteed doping free thread

[runningman]

Up in Whistler yesterday, I bought a book called "We Might As Well Win" by Johan Bruyneel.(named for what he told Lance when he first decided to coach him).
Really good read so far. He certainly is as competitive as Lance and you can see why they mesh so well.
The chapter I'm reading currently talks about the cars and what occurs in all of the different cars during a race, not just the team cars but sponsors, etc. He describes it as a demolition derby. Over 40 cars often on the course right with the riders.....really interesting.

[DeltaTrev]

I think it was the 2006 Paris-Rubaix where there was a 10 car pile up, including at least 3 cars into a farmers field.......Hey this could be a new reality TV show.....OLN presents "Team Cars", uncensored, uncut, and in original langauge


Well, at least the French have one stage win this year


I'm really looking forward to the next stage, from my Mothers family home town Girona, thru an area I know quite well, and have actually ridden on some of the roads......hopefully see one of cousins "dressed as Elvis"....in a group of 30 Elvi, just outside the city

[MINITEE]

I was super happy to see the French win last night, now I can wear my Bouygues jersey and get more than a funny look.

Today's finish - Nail.biter. Man, the "rain in Spain" took a lot of the contenders out of the mix though on the crashes. As for the overall standings.. Astana - need I say more!

Line of the day: Millar's legs are probably burning like a bonfire right now

[DeltaTrev]

.......and now to the mountains......the overall should look a lot different this time tomorrow.

177 riders started today.....I wonder how many will start towards the mountains ?, some big time road rash for too many riders after today, Tom Boonen didn't look good after getting up from his hard hit on the tarmac.

[La]

I'm happy that my boy, Ryder, is still in 25th place, two spots (and 12 seconds) behind Sastre. Of course, everything is meaningless until after today's stage. Following it on-line right now...

http://www.letour.fr/us/homepage_courseTDF.html

[La]

.......and now to the mountains......the overall should look a lot different this time tomorrow.

177 riders started today.....I wonder how many will start towards the mountains ?, some big time road rash for too many riders after today, Tom Boonen didn't look good after getting up from his hard hit on the tarmac.

From what I could see on-line, everyone started. No overnight abandons, even Mick Rogers who crashed pretty badly yesterday.

[La]

Check out the profile of the finish of today's stage:

[jonovision_man]

Check out the profile of the finish of today's stage:

The chart is misleading - the words say 7%, but they draw it at like 50%!

I guess it's accurate to how they'll actually feel.

Should be a great stage... love mountain finishes.

jono

[Sir Crashalot]

Gotta love AG2R!!!!
Bravo!!!

[jonovision_man]

Lance was a good teammate today... the temptation to respond to Contador's attack must have been huge.

jono

[DeltaTrev]

Lance was a good teammate today... the temptation to respond to Contador's attack must have been huge.

jono

I not so sure he could of responded, the Lance of old would have least lead in the group trying to gain another second at the line, but he looked pretty much on the red line when Contador went, in fact "went" is not strong enough Contador was "gone" as soon as he jumped out of the saddle, even the Lance of old might have had to let him go, kinda reminded me of Pantini when he was great.

2 stage wins for France......a yellow jersey for Italy, and somehow I get the feeling the chance for Lance to be in yellow may have just gone, now that Contador is ahead.....still going great for a 37 year old though.

[jonovision_man]

Lance was a good teammate today... the temptation to respond to Contador's attack must have been huge.

jono

I not so sure he could of responded, the Lance of old would have least lead in the group trying to gain another second at the line, but he looked pretty much on the red line when Contador went

He isn't supposed to lead the group trying to catch his teammate in the GC, quite the opposite. As soon as Contador went, his job was to make that gap as big as possible and to respond to any new attacks that could catch him.

I'm sure it killed him to play the role of the domestique... but he'll probably get his chance another day, and it will be Contador who will have to suck it up.

jono

[Spirit Unleashed]

To me, its not whether Lance Armstrong wins. It seems he did already stick to his job of domestic and that is winning in my book.

Anyone with the heart of a champion or the heart of an athlete and carries out their passion is a winner. The paraplegic who masters typing with a stick is a champion.

Lance is a champion. I have a yellow LiveStrong hat. It reminds me that I have the heart of a champion and an athlete and I do what ever is within my capability to let my heart expand.

[Nicholas]

Nice quote from the BBC live text feed this morning, talking about Cav and other cocky athletes:
"It's not that easy to be outwardly cocky and brash as a marathon runner, because even if you win you generally finish a drooling, wobbling and slightly emaciated mess!"

[HCcD]

I like what the commentators said yesterday . Astana is a sure bet to win this year, as they perhaps, have 4 of the Top Riders on their Team ... and, the only way that they could lose, heaven forbid, is if they start to in-fight and implode, and allow the other Team(s) to benefit ...

In a perfect world, Lance and Contador should/could each share the stage wins in the mountains, and let the final Time Trial dicate the winner of the Tour ... May be Best Rider Wins !!! and, such the case Astana would sweep the Top 3 Podium spots and Top 4-5 Overall GC ..

[La]

I don't think there is a final time trial this year. The second-last stage is the big climb up the Mont Ventoux.

[HCcD]

I don't think there is a final time trial this year. The second-last stage is the big climb up the Mont Ventoux.

Ooops, you're right, Final TT is Stage 18 this year ...

Individual time-trial - A sporting perspective
In this gorgeous setting, the Tour’s last time-trial often marks the end of the struggle. But the 2009 Tour is not over yet because the loop around Lake Annecy is approximately just 40 km long, and above all because the final battle is still to come.

[La]

I don't think there is a final time trial this year. The second-last stage is the big climb up the Mont Ventoux.

Ooops, you're right, Final TT is Stage 18 this year ...

Individual time-trial - A sporting perspective
In this gorgeous setting, the Tour’s last time-trial often marks the end of the struggle. But the 2009 Tour is not over yet because the loop around Lake Annecy is approximately just 40 km long, and above all because the final battle is still to come.

I guess we're both right: there is one more time trial, it's just not on the second-last day (as in years past).

[Spirit Unleashed]

Cycling is what it is...but it sure doesn't seem right that the team gets so little credit for producing the individual overall winner.

I'm glad drafting is illegal in tri because it means the individual has to do all the work themself.

[Jwolf]

I'm glad drafting is illegal in tri because it means the individual has to do all the work themself.

Drafting is legal in ITU triathlon (and the Olympics follow this fomat), which, like cycling, is really a team effort. Ironman and other triathlon organizations have a no-drafting format.

What doesn't seem fair about drafting in triathlon is that if you're behind the lead pack out of the swim, you don't have a chance. That's why it seems that ITU triathlon is really a spin-off of pro-cycling.

[eljeffe]

I'm glad drafting is illegal in tri because it means the individual has to do all the work themself.

Drafting is legal in ITU triathlon (and the Olympics follow this fomat), which, like cycling, is really a team effort. Ironman and other triathlon organizations have a no-drafting format.

What doesn't seem fair about drafting in triathlon is that if you're behind the lead pack out of the swim, you don't have a chance. That's why it seems that ITU triathlon is really a spin-off of pro-cycling.

I think it’s more of a “SWIMBIKERUN” race, than a bike race, all parts are kind of important in the end, but it’s all “fair”. True, you can’t win the race in the swim, but you can lose it if you don’t get onto the bike fast enough. Once on the bike in an ITU race, the distance is so short that even if you are a strong cyclist, or a sprinter and you get ahead of the pack, you’re still very unlikely to get far enough ahead to be a factor. EVERYONE there is a strong cyclist, so you might pocket a minute or two with a breakway. It’s a running race, and the fastest runners will always win no matter what happens on the bike. Just ask Sarah Haskins who breaks away in every race on the bike, only to be run down… or the 2 guys in the Men’s Olympic race last summer. It all comes down to how fast you can run, off the bike.

[La]

Cycling is what it is...but it sure doesn't seem right that the team gets so little credit for producing the individual overall winner.

Oh, they do!

In the years that Lance won (1999-2005) he distributed his prize money evenly among the other eight riders on the team.

[Spirit Unleashed]

Cycling is what it is...but it sure doesn't seem right that the team gets so little credit for producing the individual overall winner.

Oh, they do!

In the years that Lance won (1999-2005) he distributed his prize money evenly among the other eight riders on the team.

oh...thanks!

Well, not having any media coverage could be a good thing. Or maybe in Europe they do get recognition. The US media wouldn't be able to grasp the team concept!

[La]

Cycling is what it is...but it sure doesn't seem right that the team gets so little credit for producing the individual overall winner.

Oh, they do!

In the years that Lance won (1999-2005) he distributed his prize money evenly among the other eight riders on the team.

oh...thanks!

Well, not having any media coverage could be a good thing. Or maybe in Europe they do get recognition. The US media wouldn't be able to grasp the team concept!

There is much better/comprehensive coverage for cycling (and every other sport!) in Europe than in North America, which is dominated by football, baseball, hockey (in Canada only), NASCAR and golf.

[La]

Leipheimer is out! He had to abandon due to the crash yesterday in the last 3K of the race where he broke his scaphoid bone.