Stage 2 - Monday, July 3: Obernai - Esch-sur-Alzette (Luxembourg), 228.5 km

Stage Two was almost spoiled for the sprinters. But, as so many (nine, I think) times before, Robbie McEwen came out of nowhere and beat everyone to the line. And, for the second time, Boonen was beaten to the line. Though the first time in the stage, it was Hushovd who beat Boonen to a sprint point -- and too the yellow jersey back.

The stage was a lot more eventful than Sunday's Stage One. Not only were there two young riders (David De la Funete and Aitor Hernandez) in a break for much of the stage, Boonen wanted to get the yellow jersey to wear into Belgium today. But it was not meant to be. Boonen and Hushovd went off the front of the peloton to battle it out for time. And everyone thought that one of Hushovd's teammates was racing up to keep Tom from taking the time -- but it was Hushovd himself. Battling the sore arm (it's expected to hurt for several days), he managed to ride hard enough to take back the two seconds he needed.

Not everything was that easy.



There were two crashes, one of which happened right as the sprint was going strong -- thus splitting up the peloton. Everyone did finish the stage (though Danilo Di Luca -- suffering illness -- did not start. Poor guy has had a crappy GT season), so that was good. But one of those Saunier Duval riders is the unlucky Angel Gomez. I hope everyone starts tomorrow.

The break cause a shake up of the King of the Mountains. Fabian Wegmann has the jersey yesterday, but the two breakaway riders decided to make a contest of it. It looked, of a bit, like the young Euskaltel-Euskadi Hernandez would end the day in the polka dot jersey, but that was not to be. He blew up on the second to final small climb of the day and ended up finishing about 13 minutes (14 minutes now from the Hushovd) back. But the Saunier Duval young rider (well, one of them), De la Fuente managed to hang on and win the King of the Mountains Jersey.



It was a good day for young riders. And, well, a good day for veterans. It was Hushovd's second yellow jersey of the tour and yet another win for the scrappy Robbie McEwen. Those of you who've read my blog (either of the cycling ones) on any sort of regular basis know that I don't like McEwen. I try hard to, I mean he's a great biker rider and has personality -- but I just can't like him. He does enough things that piss me off so that I can't like him. Kind of like Roger Federer, but without dominating everything.

I must admit that I did not think that McEwen was going to win -- and yet he did. He just appeared out of thin air. It looked as though Hushovd, as he crosed the line, was upset about something. I had to go to work, so I never saw the replay of the win, but I believe McEwen might have bumped Hushovd, but I'm not sure. I did read that they talked and sorted things out -- but who really knows?

Stage three is another sprinter's stage, or perhaps there'll be a breakaway that'll last. Either way, the end of the stage promises to be just as exiting as stage two.

Tags: tour de france, thor hushovd, robbie mcewen, david de la fuente, cycling, tour de france 2006

Stage 1 - Sunday, July 2: Strasbourg - Strasbourg, 183 km

The stage started out like every other flat stage. There was a break of seven riders including the eventual King of the Mountains, Fabian Wegmann and Young Rider, Benoît Vaugrenard. The break, as everyone predicted (and somehow this rarely fails) was eventually caught. And it was then that the real excitement of the stage began. Of course, no one guessed the winner or the incident that followed. Luckily, all the drama on stage one had nothing to do with doping and everything to do with the crowd and the sprinters.


It was only a matter of seconds between the Yellow Jersey of Thor Hushovd and second place George Hincapie. Hincapie, when interviewed by OLN after the stage, mentioned that he was extremely unhappy he hadn't won the stage yesterday (I, on the other hand, was pretty damn happy about that) and wanted a bit of revenge. The only way he'd get the jersey was if Hushovd finished the stage in one of the top three positions.

As the peloton rounded the final bend toward the finish line, the attacks began in earnest and no one was sure who was leading (and I was busy cursing myself for forgetting to save an excel spreadsheet and closing it without saving -- I learned my lesson). It looked like Tom Boonen was going to blow everyone away, but Robbie Mcewen (I think) grabbing Boonen's back wheel and Boonen it was then that Boonen realized he'd gone too early. Boonen, out of the sprint for the day, slipped back (eventually coming in in 13th). With that, the race was wide open.


The name on everyone's list to win if Boonen couldn't, was Robbie McEwen (I want to like him, I really do -- I just can't). But, by some miracle, it was a French rider who took the glory. Boonen had gone too early, leaving the remaining sprinters to fight it out and fight they did. The winner, Jimmy Casper of Cofidis, rode hard, powering his way past everyone else. Never far from the action was McEwen (of course) and hot on his heels was my personal favorite, Erik Zabel. It was really nice to see Zabel fighting out the sprint. I know he misses Petacchi (who doesn't? I know I do), and I was excited when Paul and Phil mentioned Christian Knees (Milram) working hard for Zabel.

There were a number of other sprinters up at the front, aside from Zabel, McEwen and Casper. But then something happened. At first, no one was quite sure, but almost as soon as Casper crossed the line, the cameras switched to show the yellow jersey on the ground, covered in blood. At first we all feared the worse, a horrible crash in the final sprint. But replays showed that was not the case. Instead we could see Hushovd crossing the line, looking down at his arm. And in later replays and pictures you can see the blood just pouring out of a cut. Though the team doctor said that Hushovd will be okay and that the wound isn't that serious, for a few minutes we were all scared.


It looks like a fan waving something, possibly one of the green hands, hit Hushovd in the arm, cutting him. Luckily he'll be okay, but he's lost the yellow jersey he wanted to hold onto for at least a few more days. The recipient? George Hincapie of course. Hincapie, who might possibly be Discovery's new leader (in their lamely titled 'Race to Replace'), took the yellow jersey when Hushovd crossed the line in 9th place.

Though Hushovd is only two seconds behind Hincapie, we'll have to see how his arm holds up to see if he'll win the yellow jersey back from Hincapie. Or if we'll have another day, such as two years ago when Thomas Voeckler made all of France proud. Today, though, it was Jimmy Casper's day. He raced a good sprint and finished on top.

Tags: tour de france, cycling, thor hushovd, george hincapie, fabian wegmann, jimmy casper

Prologue - Saturday, July 1: Strasbourg ITT, 7.1 km

The first stage of the tour should have been focused on Ullrich and Vinokourov and Basso, but instead there were others to take their place. Not to replace them (not on their teams, or even as dominate figures), but to take their place as the names we "need to know" for this years tour. The winner did not come from one of the so called "big names," but instead from a sprinter who I have affection for. The Norwegian Thor Hushovd, of Crédit Agricole, surprised a lot of people (though not OLN's own AL Trautwig).



I was one of the people who expected today's stage to suck. I didn't think that the Tour would be able to pull of an exciting stage, but as I said to my mother during one of our frequent phone calls, it was definitely exiting. I'll post about about non-stage related things in the regular cycling blog, but I just want to say that even though Phil, Paul, & co tend to annoy me, it was nice to hear their voices.

But back to what's important. Today's stage was pretty damn awesome. I really enjoyed it. One of the highlights, aside from the winner, was being able to see a whole lot of Sylvain Chavanel. Chavanel, being France's TT champion, was guaranteed to be on television, but what I didn't know is if I'd get to see him. And I did. And as he rode across the screen, I knew that my love for cycling hadn't flagged. Sure, the doping has had a huge impact (especially since my tour favorite is now out and I've lost two others who have been accused) and yet I am still looking forward to the next three weeks of cycling.

And today increased my excitement. I was yelling at the screen for Chavanel to ride harder. For Savodelli to ride faster. And for Hincapie to just not get there in time. And in the end, I got one of those three things. Hushovd did amazing and I don't know how he won. I'll be honest, I thought that Hincapie had won and I was pretty annoyed (we all know I take sports far too seriously/personally). But then I figured out what really happened, and, well, pure joy.



I know there are a lot of people (especially some over at Podium Cafe) that are unhappy with the result of today's stage. They also see Hincapie's second place as the biggest disappointment of the day. I disagree there, and I disagree with those who are unhappy with David Millar's 17th place. I think that both riders did really well. Hincapie was always a decent TT rider and has been improving, but Thor skipped his national championships in favor of training for today and, well. I think he's shown what he can do. Sure he can't keep the jersey for more than a few days, but still impressive as well.

As for disappointments? I was going to say that Zabriskie's ride was one. But then again, his forte is not short prologues, but longer time trials. If anything, the lack of Brad McGee (and others) is more upsetting than Zabriskie's third place.



Overall, I enjoyed the prologue. I'm the girl who likes every stage (though I am bitter when the boys I want to win don't) from mountains to time trials to sprinters stages. This stage, then, was fantastic and exciting. And for a couple of hours I definitely forgot about all the doping, etc. I cannot wait for the first stage tomorrow.

I am so happy that the Tour is back.

Tags: tour de france, tour de france 2006, prologue, thor hushovd, cycling, dave zabriskie, george hincapie

Stage 21 - Sunday, July 24: Corbeil-Essonnes - Paris Champs-Elysees 144 km

I have been putting this off for long enough. I think it's about time to finally post about the final stage. It was, if nothing else, not predictable -- though it seemed to be at first. It was like every other final stage for Armstrong. The mini party on the bike, the pictures and laughing. Then they got down to a bit of racing for time, it was fun to watch Vino and the Gerolsteiner riders fight for time. And then things got a bit crazy.

The weather decided not to co-operate and suddenly it was decided that the time would stop the first time the peloton crossed the finish. That was okay, I guess. It sort of ruined the chances of Vino getting fifth, but there were still time bonuses, or so we thought. As they were rounding a bend, three Discovery riders went down (and blamed it on Phil Gilbert of FDJ) and it was decided to cancel time bonuses -- at least that's what we were told.

So instead of a wild sprint to the end with Vino and Levi clashing with the sprinters, it'd just be the sprinters. Okay, I thought, this will suck. And then the attacks began. They were ruthless, nothing comes between a cyclist and his will to win. But nothing was really solid until Brad McGee went off the Front. Vino followed close behind. And I was screaming for Brad, I wanted him to ride faster. And then suddenly there was Vino and I couldn't believe it. I was yelling for Vino (GO GO VINO BIKE! as my sister suggested I say, she regretted it afterward) to and he did. And, honestly? Two days later, I still can't believe it.

I thought the stage was going to suck, what with Armstrong having won his seventh and the fact that Robbie would probably win the stage and take the green. But sometimes things work out a bit the way I want. And this stage made up for all of that. I am so proud and pleased that Vino won the stage. I just hope that he can find it in him to win the tour.


(yahoo)

Just amazing. So, okay, everything this tour was, in some ways, amazing. The fact that one of Lance's teammates, Yaroslav Popovych, could work for Lance and still win the white (best young rider) jersey, still blows my mind. And then there's Thor Hushovd, the first man from Norway to wear the green jersey. And the fact that he beat out Robbie and never won a stage. And, of course, there's Michael. Amazing and wonderful Michael. He tried so hard, not unlike Voeckler last year. But completely unlike Voeckler, he was able to keep his jersey and he deserved it.



I suppose I should talk about Lance, but I'm not ready yet. Let's talk about Basso and Ullrich. I am very happy that Basso was second. I think he'll win next year, even though I'll be rooting for Vino. I think he's strong enough and smart enough. He's the only guy who could, the past two years, consistently ride with Lance. But I think he probably has to worry about Ullrich. But if he doesn't win next year, he will win, but only as long as he stays at CSC. I think Riis knows how to get him to win and I'm glad he chose not to go to Discovery.

Now, Ullrich. This man is, as I told my dad yesterday, amazing. He's ridden in 9+ tours and has never, NOT EVER, finished lower than fourth. And in 1997 he won the tour. I am tired of everyone (I know that I'm generalizing, so shush) saying how much he sucks. If there's one thing these seven years of the tour have proved about Ullrich is that he does not, under any circumstances, suck. He never gives up, he has always been there. It'd have been nice if he'd been able to win once, but sometimes it's just not meant to be. Ullrich became a tour contender at the wrong time. If it wasn't for Armstrong, Ullrich would have dominated the tour. I honestly believe that. And I think he has a strong chance of doing it now that Lance is gone. I'm not sure I want that, but I think he will be able to. Especially now that Vino's gone from T-Mobile.



See the daddies? Or, as cyclingnews called them, 'tour daddies.' So cute.

Now, one more thing before I talk about Armstrong. There is one team that, no matter how many times I think about it, does not scream 'team' to me. There is in fighting and it seems there always has been. Certain riders are left to go on their own and others go on their own. And the past three years of my watching? There's been no real team to support their team leader. And yet, this year? They won the team competition.



Somehow, T-Mobile beat Discovery by fourteen minutes in the team competition. The most unlikely team to slip past CSC (they were in third) and Discovery. But they struggled had men in breaks and Ullrich, Vino and Kloedi were always near the to ten, if not part of the top ten. But, good for T-Mobile. It's too bad Erik wasn't there, though.

But, now, Armstrong.



We were all witness to history. Unbeatable history, or that's how it seems. As much as I didn't want him to win, I can't say that I was sad he won. It's nice to witness history, I just wish it wasn't at the expensive of my boys. But then again, that'll always happen.

I must admit that his kids (and Basso's) were darling. I thought it was cute how he brought them on the podium with him. And his speech was nice, though I wish he would have spoken a bit of French, if even to say 'thank you' to the city and the country. But it was nice of the tour organizers to let him speak. I doubt they will ever do it, or have the need to do it, again.

As for the man himself? I don't know. I'm glad he's gone, I'm glad his reign, so to speak, is over. I'm ready for more excitement, a tour de France on part with the Giro or the Vuetla. I'm ready to move on, but I fear the cycling world is not. And in some ways that's okay, because the more Lance does for cycling in the states, the more OLN will cover cycling events.

So, Lance, thanks for your run. Congratulations on winning seven Tours de France. You've proven that you're the best Tour rider ever. Thank you for introducing me to cycling, now go home. I'm ready for someone else to win.

Stage 20 - Saturday, July 23: Saint-Etienne - Saint-Etienne ITT, 55 km

(yahoo)

I suppose this picture of Jan Ullrich sums up the stage for a lot of people. All work and second place. It was, well, possibly one of the worst, stress-wise, stages I've ever seen. Of course, as I've said before, I'd already accepted that Armstrong will win the tour for the seventh time, so that was not my concern.

But I feel like I should have known disaster was going to happen. I'd already spent at least ten minutes being annoyed at the TV for the lack of Sylvain coverage. He's the national time trial champion of France and yet there was all of, oh, two seconds or some crap like that. But they showed him twice and that was better than nothing. And then Rasmussen rolled up to the start.

There were moments of amusement before then (mostly via cyclingnews) and then there was the scare that Savoldelli was going to fall. So right as Rasmussen started, I said something like "please don't fall." I don't, of course, believe that what I say has any effect on what happens, but man. I feel like I shouldn't have said that. It was disaster, almost from the start. My mother and I loved his gloves and socks, all in the polka dots. And then it all fell apart.

I've seen Rasmussen fall and switch bikes more times than I'm willing to admit and I still haven't been able to watch that first fall all the way through. I always turn away at the last second. It hurt too much. It chipped a bit off of my heart. Not completely heartbroken, as it were, but sad. Very sad. I really wanted him to remain in third. I'd almost accepted that it wasn't going to happen, but I didn't want him to lose time like he eventually did. As someone said to me, if it hadn't been to tragic, it would have been comedy. But, oh Michael, I'm so sorry.



But, of course, Rasmussen wasn't the only story (or even the main one, but I'll get to that in a bit). Ivan Basso wasn't able to keep up his extremely high pace throughout the stage. As much as I don't like to say this, I am inclined to agree with Phil and Paul. I think Basso started too fast, but I suppose no one learns that lesson, except perhaps Zabriskie, who is just amazing. Speaking of amazing, both Bobby Julich and Alexandre Vinokourov were amazing. And had both of them not had to race against Armstrong, I think both would have been higher, if not on the podium.

Of course, Rasmussen's horrific ride benefited several cyclists, including Jan Ullrich. He rode what was probably the best time trial of his life.



Except that it wasn't enough. I've never said this before, mostly because I never quite thought it was true, but I think that no one wanted to win this tour more than Lance. Sure, Basso and Ullrich want it badly, but not like Armstrong did. He was willing to throw it all away and he did -- and came out on top. As much as I don't like it, I have to respect him. He's pulled it off, like no one else. And, honestly, I doubt anyone else will be able to do it again. But, still, more on that later. Back to Ullrich.

He is not the prettiest cyclist to watch (I think that goes to Paolo Salvodelli), but he is powerful. And he proved today that he still has the ability to win. If it wasn't for Armstrong, he would have. He smashed everyone's times below his. And, after I was able to control my anguish for Rasmussen, he was fun to watch. He just powered his way along. I really hope he keeps racing for at least another year. He will win the tour, I really believe that. Especially once Vinokourov is off the team.

And now, back to Armstrong.



It's over. Unless something truly horrible happens, this time it's really over. He's done it, seven in a row. No one will even come close, at least as long as I live. But, in all honesty, it doesn't make him the best cyclist around. It just makes him the best Tour de France cyclist. Eddy Merckx will always be the best cyclist, at least to me and many others.

I didn't want Armstrong to win, but I'm not sad he did. He is, and has always been, a pleasure to watch. I might not like certain things about him, but he does flow on the bike. It's like as beautiful as Savoldelli, but it is amazing. I'm glad I got to see it, and I'm glad it's over. Next year will be a lot more interesting, I just hope I get to see it.

As for tomorrow? Thor all the way. At least, that's what I hope.

Stage 19 - Friday, July 22: Issoire - Le Puy-en-Velay, 153.5 km

(yahoo)

In case you were wondering what an almost perfect win from a break looks like, now you can say you've seen one.

I did not pay much attention to this stage. After all, I just finished watching it and it's one am. But there were a few things that caught my attention. Sylvain Chavanel, for one. Like with Paolo Savoldelli, I enjoy watching Sylvain ride. I especially like the way he descends. I am sad, though, that there are so few pictures of him doing the weird mostly off the bike descent thing. If anyone knows where I can get some, hook a girl up, please.

But, moving on. Once again FDJ failed to get a stage win. No matter how hard they try, just like last year, they can't do it. This year I blame the lack of Matt Wilson. Last year I blamed Brad riding too hard in the Giro. And I am sad that Cookie just isn't fast enough, and not doing so well health-wise. I hope that next year they can get it back together again. Or maybe FDJ's time has come and gone, though I certainly hope not.

The stage itself wasn't that interesting to me, I think that's because I had so much going on today that I kept getting caught up in trying to catch up with everything. I did find it interesting how Paul and Phil made sure to mention how Discovery and Lance had no need to catch the break and reel them back in. Not just because I think they're right, but because it showed the lack of Petacchi in the tour. Not just his team around him, because a lot of them are there, but Petacchi himself. Even though he didn't usually make it this far into the tour, his team usually set an example of how to catch a break and sprint to win. So, even at the end of the tour, teams were able to pull it off. This year, though, it's failed at least half of the time, if not more.

So now we're left with an extremely close green jersey race.



Current standings - Points classification"

1 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Credit Agricole 175 pts
2 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 160
3 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto 154

Any of them have a chance. Today just opened the field a bit more with Robbie taking the points ahead of Thor and Stuey. Who do I want to win? Thor, of course. Who do I think will win? Robbie. I can't imagine it any other way. He did it last year -- against Thor as well -- and he's just as fast. As long as he doesn't do anything wrong, he'll ride away with the stage win and the green jersey.

The rest of the jerseys seem to be knit up quite well. No one can challenge Rasmussen any more.



He'll be in the KOM jersey on the podium in Paris. Now he just has to worry about keeping third. Tomorrow will definitely determine that place. I don't think that Basso will be able to gain any more time. And, barring some sort of accident, Lance will be in yellow come Paris. Tomorrow will be all about time, of course. I really, really hope that Rasmussen will be able to keep his third, but I honestly don't know if he can. He's good in the mountains but has said that he's not that great on the time trials. We'll find out tomorrow, I guess.



The younger rider's jersey is another no-challenge contest. Discovery's Popovych has run away with it. He had a few really brilliant days up at the front and has pretty much taken over completely. The top two:

1 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Discovery Channel 81.38.12
2 Andrei Kashechkin (Kaz) Credit Agricole 7.47

At one point Kashechkin trailed by only a handful of seconds, but has since lost a lot of time. And the next closest? He's 41 minutes behind. Discovery will have at least one of the jerseys in Paris. And, well, I guess that's a good a way as any to transition.

While they won't win the team competition, they are 15 minutes behind T-Mobile (oddly enough), they will have put two men on the podium in Paris. Lance will, unless something horrific happens (which is highly unlikely) ride into Paris in the yellow jersey. I have accepted this and moved on, my concern, as stated above, is with third place. And, of course, what will happen next year. I think Basso will probably win, or maybe Ullrich. But not Vino, unless he finds a team who can keep up with him.



But back to today's stage. Giuseppe Guerini was amazing. He surprised the rest of the men in the break and took off. It was perfectly planned and a lot of fun to watch, even though I'd already read who won today's stage. It was also really good for T-Mobile, who hadn't won a stage since '03 and now they've won two. And the team competition, and maybe if they're lucky, Ullrich will race himself onto the podium and they will have proven that they are, as always, a team to reckon with.

I hope that next year will be exciting, now that Lance will be gone. The field will be open to everyone, though I hope that people will avoid 'the next Lance Armstrong' comparisons. But, that's not for another year. So, here's to tomorrow. I hope that it's as exciting as the first tour that I watched (though that was only '03 and I was actually rooting for Lance). While I am not happy he won, I am not sad, either. If anyone proved that one cause build themselves up to win just one stage race, it's Lance. He'll never be Eddy Merckx, but then again, that was never his goal.

I look forward to the last two days, to updating my blog two more times. And, of course, I look forward to the rest of the season. My boys will still be racing and I'll still be following them.

But, now for tomorrow. I do love time trials.

Stage 18 - Thursday, July 21: Albi - Mende, 189 km

(yahoo)

For some people (aka Armstrong fans) this was not a stressful stage. Not even when Armstrong, Basso, Ullrich, and Evans were pushing toward the end of the stage. But for me, it was exceedingly stressful.

Why? Ullrich was in that break of four and he's fourth, not far behind Rasmussen. And we all know that I want Rasmussen on that podium in Paris. He ended up losing 36 seconds when Basso started the attack. I know Rasmussen worked hard, trying to get Vinokourov and Leipheimer to work. Eventually they also gathered up Mancebo, from where I don't know. But still, 36 seconds is a lot in the tour. Especially since Rasmussen isn't a time trialist. I mean, sure, he's got the KOM jersey, but I wanted him to be third. I'll just have to cross my fingers.

Back to the rest of the stage.


(yahoo)

It started like yesterday's, with a bunch of little attacks. And then Carlos Da Cruz finally made one stick and was eventually joined by 10 other cyclists (including Axel Merckx and Xabier Zandio).

At one point, Zandio was up to 20th place, but the breaking of the peloton bought back a bit of time and so he ended up 21st instead. But, good news for T-Mobile. Kessler was in the break, so T-Mobile is, oddly enough, leading the team competition. Or maybe it's ironic that they are, considering they've lost Kloden and Vino is off on his own. But I guess it's all about things adding up and not if you're actually functioning as a team. But I'm not actually bitter about that, just observing. Discovery (wow, I almost typed Postal and then USPS, huh) had it last night because of their two men in the break, but it's nice for T-Mobile to get something (since I'm hoping Ullrich doesn't make the podium) and I hope they keep it to Paris.


(espn)

The break was fun to watch. A lot of boys in it that I hoped would win. Sadly, none of them did. But that was okay, because this was Marcos Serrano's eight tour and his first stage win. And his team, Liberty Seguros could always use the win. And it's always nice to see how happy some of the cyclists get when they win stages. Serrano was no exception.

So, over all, I wasn't disappointed in the break. And they didn't really have much of an effect on the overall GC, except for Zandio moving to 21st over all. But the GC did shift a bit on the last third category climb. Those attacks messed with things a bit and along with Rasmussen losing points, Vino did too, I believe. The top ten ended up looking like this:

General classification after stage 18

1 Lance Armstrong (USA) Discovery Channel 77.44.44 (41.664 km/h)
2 Ivan Basso (Ita) Team CSC 2.46
3 Michael Rasmussen (Den) Rabobank 3.46
4 Jan Ullrich (Ger) T-Mobile Team 5.58
5 Francisco Mancebo (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 7.08
6 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Gerolsteiner 8.12
7 Cadel Evans (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto 9.49
8 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) T-Mobile Team 10.11
9 Floyd Landis (USA) Phonak Hearing Systems 10.42
10 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Credit Agricole 13.15

During the stage Vino went from 8th to 7th and back to 8th again. Evans moved a few places and Landis slide back. We'll see if tomorrow's stage has any impact, though I doubt it will. Perhaps a sprinter's day, finally. Or maybe we'll have another breakaway. I won't know until the evening, though, as I'll be out of town.

The real damage, I imagine, will be done during the time trial on Saturday. I hope it's exciting. I doubt Lance will lose the jersey, but you never know. It is the tour, after all.

And, of course, I hope this boy is on the podium in Paris. Not to be biased or anything.

Stage 17 - Wednesday, July 20: Pau - Revel, 239.5 km

(yahoo)

Well. Today's stage made up for yesterday's. It wasn't that much different, in that it started with a break. But it was the fact that the break was so far ahead, even at the end (the biggest time gap was near 30 minutes and at the end, it was about 22). And of course the fact that there were two Discovery boys were in the break.

Again, though, there isn't that much to talk about. The biggest move of the day was Oscar Sevilla, who was in the break. He moved up to 15th place. There were a few moves at the front of the peloton, long after the break had crossed the line.

Vinokourov, of course, attacked (after all, he has nothing to lose now) and there were a few more. But eventually Armstrong, Hincapie, Popyvoch, Ullrich, Basso, Rasmussen and several others had powered their way off the front. Among those left were Evans and Landis (which sparked a lot of discussion and it seems Armstrong did very few interviews, I guess he didn't want to answer questions about his history with Landis leaving the team -- but I don't really know). It was kind of fun to watch them ride against each other, fighting their way to the finish.

There was also a small crash involving one of my boys (of course), Francis Mourey. But he seemed to be okay (I do hope he is). T-Mobile lost a man, sadly Kloden retired because of his broken hand. Sad to see him go, but as my sister can attest to (she broke her little finger) there's sometimes not a lot one can do right away. I hope he, and everyone else (especially the Australian women's cycling team) recovers fast.



Today was supposed to be a sprinter's stage. We were all expecting big things from Thor and Robbie and Stuey (among others). But the break, and the poor chasing of the peloton, ruined that. So there were no truly thrilled peloton sprints to the line. The most interesting thing involving Thor was watching him ride across the tracks as the barriers were coming down.

Of course, I was really happy with the reason the sprinter's day was spoiled.



As much as I am not a fan of Lance or much of Discovery, I am unabashedly a huge fan of Paolo Savoldelli. I was rooting hard for him during the Giro and was completely thrilled that he won (not that I've rambled on about that before or anything). I find him to be darling and I really love to watch him ride the bike. So seeing him in the break was really exciting.

I'd gone to work by the time the stage was over, so I didn't know he won until I got home. And let me tell you, watching him win was pretty fun.

I know quite a few people have compared his win to that of Hincapie's, but I disagree. Hincapie sat on the back most of the way to the line, but Savoldelli did not. He did quite a lot of work, and not just in the main break. He and Hinault did a lot of fighting to catch up with Kurt-Asle Arvesen. And while Savoldelli did wait a bit on the back of Kurt, it was more that he finally caught him, then caught his breath, and finally sprinted for the win.

I know a lot of people think Kurt-Asle Arvesen should have won. Well, unlike with Hincapie, I think that the right guy won. And I'm really happy it was Savoldelli. Il Falco indeed.

Stage 16 - Tuesday, July 19: Mourenx - Pau, 180.5 km

(espn)

I really don't have much to say about this stage. Nothing really happened, aside from the very end of the stage. There were attacks, but nothing happened. The overall GC stayed the same.

There were some strange events, like Andrey Kashechkin being hit in the face and riding backwards through the peloton. And the whole thing with Cadel working so hard and then Oscar beating him, in a similar way to what George did to him on Sunday.

I did have a bit of fun yelling for Phil Gilbert when he was racing to fifth place. But other than that? It wasn't that interesting of a stage. I don't if it was because I was in a foul mood or if it was just a stage where nothing happened. All Phil and Paul could talk about was how this was Lance's ride through the mountains in a yellow jersey. And how we should get our look now, because this was it. And, honestly, that didn't really interest me that much.

Aside from cheering for Pereiro and Gilbert, I enjoyed learning about Xabier Zandio. Not only is he adorable, but he almost won the stage. He started his attack just a bit too late. Not bad for a guy in his first tour.

But back to the stage. It was really nice to see Pereiro win and it was nice to see him so happy to win.

"I am delighted to get this after my disappointment the other day," said Pereiro, his dark brown eyes and big, friendly smile gleaming in the afternoon sun. "I dedicate this win to my wife who is pregnant, where we are expecting a child at the end of October, and also to my family and friends.

Again I say, good for him! I hope tomorrow proves to be more interesting. Although I highly doubt the GC will change at all. And I think that's one of the problems with the tour. This year's Giro was uncertain for as long as it could be and it was amazing, although quite stressful for me. I was rooting for Paolo, of course. But at the same time, it was exciting and a lot of fun to watch. As I've said before, I hope that next year's tour will live up to this year's Giro.

One more picture of Pereiro and I hope I have more to say tomorrow.

Rest Day #2

Another set of the top ten.

1. Michael Rasmussen. He's ... I think, for me, he's given me something to root for. I mean, I really like Basso, but Rasmussen is something else. He's that underdog, not the 'dark horse' but someone known really sees until it's almost too late. He's good in the mountains, and I think he can be better. I think that Paul and Phil keep calling him young because they believe he has more potential in road racing than his age (31) would seem to let him have. I think we'll see him for a few more years, at least. I do hope he stays in third, though.

2. Jan Ullrich. He crashed. And then he crashed again. And then suddenly he's in fourth place. How did he do it? He's Jan Ullrich. I think that answers it. Sure, Lance Armstrong is tough. But Ullrich? He might not even make the podium, but he's been one of the most consist cyclists, especially during this second week of racing. He's managed to keep up with Lance almost the whole, even though he feel extremely hard during one of the early mountain stages. I'd like him on the podium, but not at the expensive of Rasmussen.

3. Georg Totschnig. There's not really a good reason for this. He doesn't lead the tour, his team isn't doing that great -- they're working for Levi, but he probably won't make the podium. But watching him cross that line, it was just amazing. Not just because he's 34. The way he reacted, how amazingly happy he was. It reminded me why I love the sport. And what makes the Tour de France, and all of the grand tours, so special. It's moments like these (and like when Rasmussen won, and even when Hincapie won), when these boys who you never really think about as stage winners cross the line. They remind us what this sport is really about. The joy of riding and the joy of winning. Thank you, Georg, for reminding us.

4. T-Mobile/Discovery. When they work together to attack, T-Mobile almost brought down Armstrong. And that's all I have to say on that until I discuss them again, below. As for Discovery? They have proven, day after day, that they are in this for the long haul, that though they aren't the same team Lance had last year, or the year before, they are strong. Perhaps not as strong, but they don't give up on their leader. It's impressive, as always.

5. Sprinters. I'm sorry Tom dropped (again, more below), but he turned this thing upside down. I like it. I don't like that Robbie is back in it, but I like that it's close and every sprint now really counts. It's exciting and that makes me happy. I hope that Thor wins, but who knows? It's a toss up and that's awesome.

---

6. Alexandre Vinokourov. I adore him. I really do. I want him to win the tour. But this year is just not his year. Though he was in peak condition, he just hasn't been able to keep his form. And instead of working with his team, he works against them (or so it seems). I think he needs to get out, to leave T-Mobile. I know he's been rumored to have said he'd only go to Discovery. And honestly? As much as I don't want it, I want it. He needs to lead a team, and he'll never be able to do that at T-Mobile. They won't give up Ullrich again. So, if it's Discovery? So be it. Just as long as he has a team to support him.

7. T-Mobile. For yet another year, they lack the team part of cycling. Though they attacked together a few times, they didn't really take advantage of it. And although their riders have, separately, proven that they can ride hard, they haven't accomplished much. If Vino and Kloden had been working for Ullrich, perhaps the top of the GC would be different. But, once again, too many leaders have ruined yet another chance at the yellow jersey for T-Mobile. Maybe next year will be different, especially if Vino leaves.

8. The "Rivals". They are not living up to expectations. Basso has the best chance and yet he's more than a minute back. And then there's Rasmussen, who no one expected. Ullrich is barely hanging onto fourth. And while the top ten has three Americans and a few other 'top Tour de France contenders' it's not at all close. Armstrong has once again seemingly walked over the rest of the field. Perhaps next year things will be different, now that he'll be gone. At least, I can hope they will be. I want truly exciting racing back. A GT akin to that of this year's Giro would be best.

9. Tom Boonen. Such a sad sight. I had wanted him to remain in green, but he, like Petacchi before him, just couldn't make it. Unlike Petacchi, though, Boonen was not brought down by too much racing in a season. Instead, he was brought down by falls and too much back pain and knee pain. Luckily, he'll be okay. I hope he'll race again next year. The tour could certain use him, as he's one of the most popular cyclists in Europe.

10. Doping. I don't have a lot to say on this, except that once again it happens. And I suppose that it will keep happening. I hope that something will change, only I don't know what that something is. But as long as they keep testing, they'll find people because they will always dope. Such is the nature of sport.

Stage 15 - Sunday, July 17: Lezat-sur-Leze - Saint-Lary Soulan (Pla d'Adet), 205.5 km

(espn)

This was the hardest stage of the tour this year. But looking at the winner (pictures below) you wouldn't think so. Why? Because for the first time in ten tours, George Hincapie won a stage. He's not normally the kind of cyclist to win stages of the tour or even climb away from everyone. And yet he did it. But, more on that in a bit.

The stage was like all mountain stages. A break got started, but unlike most breaks in the tour, this one had one of the Discovery boys, none other than George Hincapie. The break rode away and was never really caught, at least not in the complete catch sense. They were broken apart as they rode up the mountains. And as the peloton chased after them, they too split apart. But before that happened, the break had at least 20 minutes on the rest of the peloton. It was crazy.



But, of course, it didn't last. The attacks on the yellow jersey were not quite as put together as yesterday's, but there were strong. And they definitely kept coming. The peloton was splitting just as the break was losing cyclists. As the yellow jersey group kept dropping riders, they'd momentarily pick up one or two strays from the break, then drop them as well.

Unlike yesterday, though, Discovery managed to stick around with a few riders until they finally ran out of steam. Luckily for Armstrong, he was prepared and managed to do everything just right. Ullrich didn't stay with Basso and Armstrong, but he did manage to move into fourth place. And although Armstrong didn't win the stage, he did put time on everyone that mattered (and even those who didn't). The GC looked like this after stage 15:

1 Lance Armstrong (USA) Discovery Channel 62.09.59 (42.309 km/h)
2 Ivan Basso (Ita) Team CSC 2.46
3 Michael Rasmussen (Den) Rabobank 3.09
4 Jan Ullrich (Ger) T-Mobile Team 5.58
5 Francisco Mancebo (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 6.31
6 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Gerolsteiner 7.35
7 Floyd Landis (USA) Phonak Hearing Systems 9.33
8 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) T-Mobile Team 9.38
9 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Credit Agricole 11.47
10 Andreas Kloden (Ger) T-Mobile Team 12.01



But, of course, the stage wasn't just about putting time on the rest of the peloton. Stage 15, called the 'queen stage' of the '05 tour, went up the same mountain that claimed the life of Armstrong's teammate, Fabio Casartelli ten years ago tomorrow. His family were at the stage today.

Rumor had it that Armstrong would do anything to win this stage, but watching it, I didn't think that was the case. The peloton wore armbands in memory of Casartelli, but it wasn't Armstrong who won the stage. It was, instead, another former teammate of Casartelli, George Hincapie.

Hincapie ended up in the break to help Armstrong, but ended up doing something even more extraordinary. He won the stage.

"I kind of decided on my own to go on my own in one of these breaks, get a gap, and be there when Lance needed me," said Hincapie on his earlier motives. "But we ended up getting 18 minutes and once Johan saw that, he said: 'Listen George, you're probably not going to come back here now, you can do your own race.' From then on, I started thinking about the win and thinking it was possible, and for it to work out is a dream come true." (cyclingnews)

It was, as Paul and Phil would say, quite unbelievable.



But, of course, my cheering was focused elsewhere. I was fighting a futile battle with Vino. I cheered for him, but of course he spent most of the day helping T-Mobile or struggling to keep up. He did manage to keep in the top ten, but didn't gain any more time. It seems, much to my chagrin, that Vino's chances to be on the podium, much less win the tour, have all but vanished.

But all was not, in fact, lost. The rest of the time I spent cheering on Michael Rasmussen. I know he couldn't hear me, but I was yelling at my TV all over again. I really didn't want him to lose second, but seeing that he couldn't keep up with Ullrich, Basso and Armstrong, I realized that third was going to be his best bet. And so I shouted, sitting on the edge of my bed, and held my breath.

And then the most amazing thing happened. Ullrich had been dropped, eventually to be picked up by his teammate Sevilla, and as they were approaching the finish, the camera pulled back a bit. And who was there, closing in on Ullrich and Sevilla? Michael Rasmussen. He'd ridden with Vino, then past him. Then he'd slowly picked up the pace and there was no way he wasn't going to be in third at the end of today's stage.

"I wanted to stay in the race for the podium, but at first, it was a matter of controlling at not letting any dangerous people get away as far as the [mountains] jersey goes," Rasmussen said after the stage. "It's almost practically impossible that I lose the jersey right now, so yes, I can focus 100 percent on the podium. I'm very happy with the way things are going." (cyclingnews)

I do really hope he can pull it out.

But now all was happiness today. And I'm not talking about all the cyclists who had to suffer through the attacks and road the stage out at the back of the peloton. Instead, I'm talking about the rider who wanted to win the stage almost as badly (or maybe even moreso) than Hincapie. That would be Oscar Pereiro, who Hincapie battled it out with (or, rather, sprinted past) to win. Perhaps it should have been Pereiro who won, as he did almost all the work after the rest of the break faltered around the two of them.

Said a rather pissed Pereiro at the finish line: "I asked him [Hincapie] to work, as we had to collaborate to battle it out in a sprint - but he didn't. Sometimes it's not the strongest that wins. I think I showed I was one the guys that wanted this stage the most. I thought there was victory in it for me, but that's life... I'll continue trying and one day I hope to be rewarded. Now, I'll continue to help Floyd [Landis] get on the podium." (cyclingnews)

I'd be pissed, too. It was obvious what Hincapie was doing, but then again, would Pereiro have done the same thing if he were in Hincapie's position? Probably. As he said, that's life. And, well, it is. I hope that he finds a stage win soon, if only to ease the irritations of this one.

Well. It was a wild stage, not nearly as exciting as yesterday, but just as interesting. Tomorrow is the rest day, then only six more days of racing. I can't wait.

One last thing, probably one of the coolest pictures I've ever found. And so I thought I'd share.

Stage 14 - Saturday, July 16: Agde - Ax-3 Domaines, 220.5 km

(espn/yahoo)

Today was, well, quite an interesting day, to put it mildly at least. It started out like any other stage, with a break. But, thanks to T-Mobile, the break didn't last. For a detailed play by play of the stage -- well, not a very professional one -- check out this, which I wrote during the stage this morning.

What did I think of Vino's attack? I assumed he was working for Ullrich, and I still believe that. And while I liked that he attacked on the last climb, I can totally understand those people who think that Vino was not being loyal to his team. I also believe that, even if he wasn't loyal, Klodi and Ullrich should not have chased him down. Perhaps they ought to have left it to the rest of the leaders instead of spending themselves up before the finish.

It hurt Klodi and probably Ullrich. It was hard to watch Michael Rasmussen struggle. I really wanted him to keep up with the leaders. And, though he ended up losing time, he managed to keep second, which was what I wanted.

As for the leaders? In the end it was only Basso, Armstrong and Ullrich.



Yes, that's right. Ullrich. Somehow (I don't know how) he has managed to recover and overcome the crashes and the bad days. Out of everyone on the stage, save Georg Totschnig, it was Ullrich who tried the hardest and, while he didn't gain the most, he did prove that, as either Paul or Phil put it, 'Jan Ullrich is back.' Even though he couldn't stick with Armstrong and Basso (and Basso didn't quite make it, either), he did his best and came in a respectable fourth.

The GC, though, was shaken up a bit.

General classification after stage 14
1 Lance Armstrong (USA) Discovery Channel 55.58.17 (43.32 km/h)
2 Michael Rasmussen (Den) Rabobank 1.41
3 Ivan Basso (Ita) Team CSC 2.46
4 Jan Ullrich (Ger) T-Mobile Team 4.34
5 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Gerolsteiner 4.45
6 Floyd Landis (USA) Phonak Hearing Systems 5.03
7 Francisco Mancebo (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne
8 Andreas Kloden (Ger) T-Mobile Team 5.38
9 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) T-Mobile Team 7.09
10 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Credit Agricole 8.37

Vino lost more time, but moved up. Ullrich is in fourth. There are three Americans in the top ten and none of them are Bobby Julich. It's nice that two of Lance's former teammates have proven their worth, to both their teams and the peloton at large. I am very pleased that Rasmussen is second and that Basso is third. I don't think that Lance will lose his lead, in fact I'm almost certain he'll win the tour, but it's fun to watch the others try. I just wait for next year, when everything will be completely different.



But, of course, the real hero of the day was 34 year old Georg Totschnig.

"Today, I said to my director I wanted to attack and get in a break that would make it the finish. I had a little bit of luck, but also a lot of strength. Today's victory is better than finishing 10th in the [final] classification," he said.

He did exactly what he wanted to do, but I doubt he had any idea that it would be so amazing. The look on his face when he crossed the finish line was worth waiting for. Of all the wins, even better than Rasmussen's -- and that's saying something, Totschnig's was the most emotional. At 34, who could have imagined winning a stage of a grand tour, and the Tour de France, no less? Probably not Totschnig. But now there he is, a winner of the 14th stage.

I was rooting for him to cross that line first. Rooting hard, I might add. He deserved that win more than anyone else. I hoped and was glad I was right, that Armstrong's group wouldn't be able to catch him. And, hard as they rode, they didn't (couldn't?). And, well, that was how it should be.

As a side note, I'm happy to say that today totally made up for the crappy stage that was stage 13. As I am getting up at seven am tomorrow, I expect good things from stage 15, but I'm not keeping my hopes up. This is the tour, after all. One never knows what can happen.

Stage 13 - Friday, July 15: Miramas - Montpellier, 173.5 km

(espn)

I don't think I have a lot to say about today's stage. I mentioned in a post at Wannabe that I am really biased about today's stage. As I told a number of people, if it had anyone (with a few exceptions) instead of Sylvain, I probably wouldn't have gotten so, well, worked up. But it was Sylvain and I think he should have, and could have won.

That being said, no one did anything wrong. As much as I'd like to (and do) blame Chris Horner, he didn't do anything wrong (except in my eyes). He just hung onto the back of Sylvain's wheel, slowing him down (and thus preventing Sylvain from winning). He tried to wait for the right tactical moment, but as OLN said, he waited too long. And, in the end, the peloton caught both the original break (which included Thomas Voeckler, in case you were curios) and Horner (who was in that break) and Sylvain. As a side note, it was quite fun to watch Sylvain ride across the break so close to the finish. I can't fault him, he did everything he could.

But, in the end, it was Robbie McEwen who won. And we all know how I feel about that.



I had hoped that Stuey or Thor would be able to power to the win. But, of course I was wrong. What it proved was that Robbie is probably the strongest sprinter in the field, now that Boonen is gone. I think Petacchi is probably stronger, but obviously he isn't racing. What also impressed me (once I was able to step back) was that Lotto was able to race at such a high pace even after working yesterday. I do wonder, though, if they'd have caught the break a lot sooner if Robbie hadn't made them work so hard yesterday.

But, of course, we'll never know. Up until the last 30 or so kms, it looked like the break would make it. Especially when Discovery moved to the front and weren't working hard. But then the chase started, and for a bit, especially after Sylvain bridged the gap, it seemed that the break might really have a chance. But as usually happens, they were caught. The stage wasn't really that exciting until the end. But I think a lot of my feelings about the stage were muted because of the result. Such is the life of a cycling fan, I guess.



Even though Robbie won the stage, Thor is still in green. Stuey was second and Thor fifth. I hope that Thor can hang onto the jersey. The current standings are as follows:

Points classification
1 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Credit Agricole 164 pts
2 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 150
3 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto 142
4 Robert Forster (Ger) Gerolsteiner 84
5 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) T-Mobile Team 81
6 Peter Wrolich (Aut) Gerolsteiner 79
7 Gianluca Bortolami (Ita) Lampre-Caffita 75
8 Allan Davis (Aus) Liberty Seguros-Wurth 73
9 Baden Cooke (Aus) Francaise Des Jeux 73
10 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Francaise Des Jeux 71

It's suddenly an even closer race. I'm rooting for Thor! The yellow and KOM jerseys stayed the same, but the young rider did not. And that's because poor Valverde had to retire due to a knee problem.



I hope that he's all right. It seems it's been hurting for a while and with how hard he's ridden, it's not surprising that he retired. Just really sad. Hopefully everyone else will be able to make it to Paris. On Sunday, we'll have one week left. Amazing. Even though I didn't really like today's stage, I do love the tour.