Tour de France

[Capt]

discuss

[Raynoch11]

Felt bad for Zabriskie today. He and CSC were strong. Discovery was nearly flawless today, as they have been so far, finishing all 9 riders with the team.

It is now up to Lance and the team to decide whether or not to defend the yellow jersey until Sunday, or let it fall and ride safe preparing for the weekend in the mountains. Either way, Lance has a decent lead over the GC contenders already.

[Capt]

lance is for sure going to kick some serious ass in the mountains

amazing how many teams beat the time trials record this year

[iha]

i've watched it on TV some.. don't know anything about any of the riders.. besides Lance of course. i don't see how they do it though :eek:

[Capt]

i've watched it every year that i can remember

watch a few of the mountain stages and you will be hooked

[Bruce]

If any of those faggots spit on our boys this year, we need to knuckle-up.

[Joga]

:lmao:

Tour de France is so addicting... I watch it as often as possible.

[Raynoch11]

Just bumping to say that nothing has really changed in the overall time standings (GC), though Vino moved up a few seconds after yesterday's nice finish. Armstrong still holds a nice lead.

The mountains are next. There are some short small climbs early on tomorrow with the stage ending in the first serious climb, and then they really start climbing on Sunday. Armstrong could really expand his lead and hold the yellow jersey for the rest of the race. It will also be fun to see the rest of his team, Hincapie especially, show off a little in the mountains too, as this is what most of them were brought to the team to do.

[Mufumonk]

The mountain stages are his team's specialty by a huge margin.

[dionysusolympus]

The mountain stages are his team's specialty by a huge margin.

Also my team's...

http://www.chrisbean.com/Assets/FR%2004%20Aug%20Pauls39th/FR%2004%20Aug%20Pauls39th%20Cs%20boobs.jpg

[Mufumonk]

Also my team's...

http://www.chrisbean.com/Assets/FR%2004%20Aug%20Pauls39th/FR%2004%20Aug%20Pauls39th%20Cs%20boobs.jpg


!

[Capt]

lance armstrong is amazing in the mountains

i love the little look back he gives after passing as if to say 'what, that's all you got?'

ulric is a champ though, he uses long pedals and the he-man gears

[Raynoch11]

There was a move Armstrong made against Ulrich, back in 2002 I think (the years blur together) where Ulrich is out ahead during a climb, but then Armstrong out of no where goes full on and flies by Ulrich like he's standing still. Armstrong turns his head to look behind him, Ulrich is defeated and dejected, Armstrong continues to fly up the mountain. One of the more hardcore things you can see in sports, like Ali standing over his fallen opponent.

But Armstrong has shown some incredible sportsmanship as well. Ulrich crashed around a tight corner once on a descent, and though Armstrong was leading at the time and could have really opened up a huge margin, he waited for Ulrich to get back on the bike. And then the other day during the TTT, Armstrong didn't want to wear the yellow, but finally did because he had to.

[Raynoch11]

After a scare with the Discovery team on Saturday, Armstrong had them all in top form yesterday and they controlled the portion of the stage they wanted to control, while giving up the yellow jersey for the next few stages. Rest day today and then they begin the biggest climbs in the race. The peleton will be smashed into pieces and riders will not be able to continue, some will even be shaved off due to the time gap.

The current leader, Jens Voigt, is of no concern to Armstrong since he cannot climb well in the steep stages. The move to place the jersey on team CSC will help out, since now that team will be unable to attack like they would have before and Armstrong can set the pace how he wants, when he wants. CSC also has a decision to make, let Voigt keep the jersey for a while, or push to have their team member Ivan Basso take over. Basso is one of the few who can beat Armstrong in the overall race.

[Heath]

So is he going to win?

[MAGO]

of course!....he's Lance!

[Raynoch11]

So is he going to win?
Two weeks to go and he's currently 2:30 minutes off the lead, with the toughest stages by far coming up... I have no idea and I'm sure he doesn't either.

The race hasn't even really started yet, they've gone across mainly flat stages meant for sprinters and people who cannot win the overall race, they've climbed for two days with yesterday's stage being the first real climbs, though they haven't done anything really steep yet. Armstrong finished second in the individual time trial, (behind only Zabriskie who has since dropped out) passing Jan Ulrich who had a 1 minute head start, and Armstrong's team, team Discovery, finished first in the team time trial, so overall he and the team look fine, but there are 2 weeks of racing left and any of the top contenders (Armstrong, Ulrich, Basso, Vinokourov, Kloeden) could win this thing. We'll know a lot more about a week from now.

[Raynoch11]

An impressive day indeed for Lance to start the Alps. All of team Discovery pulled for him well into the stage, setting a horrid pace that Armstrong's rivals just could not match. Vino, Ulrich and Basso all fell eventually up the final climb and Armstrong finished second on the stage, content to let another rider (who cannot win the overall race) take the stage win. Armstrong is back in yellow as the overall leader, though he might not keep it the entire race as there are a few more flat stages to come. Tomorrow is right back into the mountains, a stage Lance has declared to be one of the toughest of the race. But as for now, Discovery and Lance look to be strong, very strong.

[MAGO]

maybe he'll build up enough of a lead with the mountains to stay in yellow...

[dionysusolympus]

http://www.familybicycle.com/boy-on-bicycle-and-motherweb.gif

[Raynoch11]

He could, though there are a number of flat stages ahead. He's where he wants to be though, in control and 38 seconds ahead of the next closest rider, a rider who does well in the mountains (though he was eventually dropped by Armstrong today) but who does not race well in the time trials (there is one individual time trial left, the second to last stage), he finished over 3 minutes behind Armstrong in the first TT. His biggest rivals, Basso, Ulrich, Vino, Beloki, Heras and Landis are all 2:40 or more behind now. All of those men looked silly after what Lance was able to do today. Watch the replay on OLN tonight (they show it all day), it was a great stage.

[dionysusolympus]

http://www.oprahwinfrey.de/Bilder/Bilder/bicycle%20tour_gif.jpg

[dionysusolympus]

http://www.skippypodar.net/WebGallery/Miscellaneous/bicycle-start.jpg

[MAGO]

:lmao:

[Capt]

stage 10 was impressive, just finished watching it now because i was at work when it was on tv, i taped it

team discovery set an amazing pace, can't wait to see what happens on the next few climbs

[Raynoch11]

Well, this stage was a dud. Vinokourov exploded early on and stayed away the entire time, winning the stage, getting the 20 second time bonus, and regaining time on Armstrong. After yesterday, Vino was well down in time overall, and his performance today got him some of that back, but not that much. Armstrong seemed content the entire day to allow Vino to lead and take the stage. Lance stayed with his team riders and set the pace for everyone else, in complete control of his race.

Tomorrow's stage features small climbs, nothing horrid. Some riders will still have trouble after the last two stages. Armstrong and his team will have a decision to make; keep the jersey for the following two stages (small climbs tomorrow, flat on Friday) or let it go and retake the lead in the Pyrenees and hold it until Paris?

[Capt]

happy bastille day to whats-his-name-french-guy who won yesterdays stage

[Raynoch11]

Yeah. McEwen took another stage win today, he's having a great tour.

Heading to the Pyrenees tomorrow and for the next three stages. Armstrong is still in the lead, but Rasmussen (one of the few who can climb with Armstrong) is right behind and could easily upset Lance. Expect a massive attack from that guy at some point.

[Capt]

armstrong gained 49 seconds on rasmussen today

tomorrow should be a good, appearantly its one of the toughest stages of the tour

[Capt]

poor rasmussen

armstrong wins

[Capt]

http://www.skippypodar.net/WebGallery/Miscellaneous/bicycle-start.jpg
that man is riding his bike backwards