But did he really gain 58 seconds, or was a lot of that a time bonus for winning the trials? And was congratulating Greg on being second done before Greg went, as a mental game thing, or meant to be real?
There are no time bonuses in time trials, so he actually gained 58 seconds in 24 and a half kilometers. :eek: In fact it is still the fastest time trial ever in the Tour de France (54.54 km/h), but that record is hard to compare to others, because most other time trials are twice as long, and on different kinds of roads. Still, he absolutely demolished Fignon, which was the only way he could win. The whole Tour was amazing in 1989. Like I said, if Delgado shows up on time for his start in the prologue, he finishes a mere 42 seconds behind Lemond.
As to whether Fignon’s congratulating Lemond was just an attempt to psyche him out, my guess would be no. Fignon was well known for being a very proud and vain man (a lot of people would even go so far as to call him an a**hole) and I really think he thought Lemond didn’t have a chance.
Well, I guess yesterday’s stage showed us who’s boss. Unless Basso performs a miracle on the Alpe d’Huez, it’s pretty much a done deal by now. Feh.
Yeah, I’d agree there Coldy.
As I said last night, full credit to Lance Armstrong. Once again, he’s shown how to prepare perfectly for the Tour, and when all’s said and done, nobody pushes the pedals but him.
Still, it would have been nice to have seen someone really give him a scare, you know? I mean, just like last year, effectively after the Team Time Trial he was already in a defensive position insofar as he really only ever needed to “mark” his main rivals as averse to having to make up time on them - and it’s just a shame that from a “spectacle” point of view that he hasn’t had to work harder for the win.
Interestingly, next year it might be a different proposition however. The UCI have changed the structure of the annual calendar apparently. I might be wrong here and please correct me if I need to, but my understanding is that next year you won’t be allowed to ride in the Tour de France unless you’re in a Cetegory One team and you’ve ridden a certain number of Spring Classics and the Giro. If that’s the case, that’ll put a totally different spin on how Lance Armstrong is allowed to ride his season.
In some quarters there are people who would argue (with some merit I might add) that currently, Lance Armstrong is taking more from the sport than he’s giving it. The Credit Lyonnaise people don’t mind too much, nor do the organisers of le Tour, but the sponsors and organisers of the rest of the season certainly do. There’s only so much you can take when you’ve got a situation where somebody’s effectively coming out to race and win the Indy 500 in isolation and not racing the rest of the season - analoguously speaking.
If memory serves me right, Lance Armstrong didn’t even compete in last years Vuelta nor in the World Championship Road Race. And this year he’s turned down the Olympics some two weeks after the Tour. My observations might sound a bit like sour grapes here, and fair enough - I can cop that sweet. Still, I know for a fact I’m not alone in making them. At some point Lance Armstrong has to ask himself, is riding the Tour de France in exclusion to pretty much everything else a totally honourable thing to do?
My conversations with the likes of Robbie McEwen at the start of the year would indicate that he’s not held in overly high regard amongst the peloton it seems. Depending on whether you’re American or not kinda determines one’s position I would venture to say.
I like those proposed rules, if that’s indeed what they are. If things stay the same, Lance can easily win the tour another 3 or 4 times. He’s 31 or 32, right?
WRT McEwen: he cracks me up. He speaks fluent Flemish. Every night he’s interviewed on Dutch TV, and it’s like hearing a born and bred Belgian. How long has he lived there? Must be at least 10 years - almost NO Aussie accent. Remarkable.
I also like those rules.
The mind boggles at how many Tours racers like Anquetil or Merckx might have won if they had prepared exclusively for the Tour the way Lance does. It’s also the main reason I don’t think Armstrong is as great as Merckx, Anquetil, Hinault, or even Indurain. Even Big Mig raced in the Vuelta and Giro (which he won twice) along with some spring classics.
I’ve read somewhere that Lance Armstrong even speaks a few words of Flemish thanks to Johan Bruyneel. I read that he is especially fond of the word “volplank” which translates roughly to “pedal to the metal”. 
Looking at the people who stand in front of the cyclists and pretty much block their way and then jump out of their way at the last second, I have to wonder: is there any kind of sanction applied to the people who actually do get run into by a cyclist because they’re crowding the street?
I mean, what happened to that stupid bitch whose purse strap caused Lance Armstrong to crash? I’m sure she didn’t MEAN to make him crash, but let’s face it, if she’d had ANY concern for the riders’ safety she would have taken a little more care with her purse standing that close to the course.
I think some jail time for stupid louts like her is totally appropriate. Does it happen?
Also, re: Armstrong. I like the Tour itself a lot more than I care who wins it. I like getting a cyclist’s eye view of all those beautiful rural roads and towns in France. I like the cultural aspects of the Tour. The race itself is quite dull visually, like most races. If it weren’t for the scenery and the fact that I like cycling, I don’t think I’d watch it. In short, it’s not Lance Armstrong that gets me watching the Tour.
Actually, in the instance you mention I’d say Lance was just riding too close to the spectators. This picture gives you an idea. As you can see, the spectators are only barely on the tarmac, and the available road is at least 4 meters wide. It was just Armstrong, Mayo, and Ulrich at that stage, all seen in the picture. Ergo: Lance’s fault, he shouldn’t have taken the turn so “tightly”. In fact, I recall him saying as much in the post-stage interview.
The incident mentioned earlier in this thread can be seen on this screen cap. Basically, this guy was looking through the lense of his camera, in the middle of the road, and gauged the true distance wrong. Meanwhile, Guerini was in full climb mode, minutes away from what is probably the greatest stage win in any multiple day race: getting to the top of Alpe d’Huez first. He was focused, but empty, and was staring at his wheel rather than the road.
Crash.
Obviously, it was all at very low speeds, and Guerini was able to climb back on within seconds, sporting only minor bruises and scratches. He won the stage.
Two days later, there was an item on TV about the young man who caused the crash. He had gotten in touch with Guerini’s team, and offered his apologies. The two met before the cameras and shook hands. Guerini told him it was no big deal. The guy felt awful, quite visibly so.
I’ve never heard of any fines or worse applied to supporters who got in the way. Although I do recall a policeman being disciplined when he caused a serious crash in a peloton sprint, during a Tour a few years ago. Basically, he was standing on the wrong side of the barriers as the peloton dashed its way to the line at 70+ km/h. He tried to climb on the fence backwards, but it was too late: a rider’s bike got caught in his shirt, and a horrendous mass crash was the result. IIRC, several riders broke bones there. I’ll try and look up some info.
Well, it looks like Lance has done it again. A full minute faster than Ullrich who finished second! :eek: Unless he’s involved in a crash and has to withdraw, he’s sure of winning his sixth Tour in a row. Congratulations!
I thought I would use a spoiler box just in case someone doesn’t know the results yet.
So, how about those crazy fans, huh? That must be scary for the riders.
I think Lance can officially change his last name to Legstrong now. Or maybe Lungstrong. He certainly doesn’t have strong arms. He may be the greatest athlete in history, and I’m pretty sure I could beat him at arm wrestling.
If you watched the OLN live coverage, I had to laugh at the words someone had written on the road (in BIG CHALK LETTERS) on the last kilometer or so. OLN was showing Lance from the helicopter view right as he went over this statement:
RIDE THEIR
BALLS OFF
LANCE
Of course, that got me thinking about how OLN (and the FCC) would handle issues like if someone wrote “FUCK YOU” or if some woman bared her breasts as a rider passed (which, although I’ve never heard happen, I wouldn’t doubt that it has).
I’ve seen many instances of chalk drawings of massive phalluses (phalli?) done on the road. I’ll assume these are meant as symbols of masculine strength, pointing out the way to victory for the riders . . .
And I’ve heard of, though not seen, streaker-style runners appearing now and then to run along with the riders.
I noticed in today’s coverage a selective camera shot which showed the road saying:
FUC
LANCE
(I don’t know how to align things while typing here, but it was cut off on the right, if you get my point.)
I saw it as “RIP THEIR BALLS OFF”. And well done Lance, either way…
While I must say “Go Lance!” I noticed he was complaining about the German fans today. Was their anything that specifically happened that ticked Lance off so much?
Don’t know about Germans, per se, but here’s a start:
I think it was two years ago on the stage into Mont Ventoux that a certain Australian fan showed why we Aussies are regarded as being a “breed apart”.
It was on a flat section rounding a left hand bend and the shot was captured by the helicopter camera. This Aussie dude was standing on the side of the road with his Aussie flag stuck into the ground about 5 feet high. Just as the riders came by he turned around and dropped hs duds and flashed a magnificent grin painted on his bum. No malice. No anger. Just a wicked sense of humour.
Apparently the whole peloton cracked up.
OMG! :eek: That is so cool. (I know I sound like a 13 year old here, I’m not I’m 20…)
I’ve been rooting (;)) for Robbie, he’s doing so well! I watch the highlights at 7am every morning. I was looking at who’s on the Aussie cycling team for the Olympics today, I think it’s awesome he and O’Grady and Cooke and McGee are in the Olympic team. (Unlike Lance…)
What happened with McGee? Do you know? I read a news report saying something about his back, and that he would be fine by the Olympics.
I could’ve sworn Baden Cooke was doing really well in the race for the sprint jersey last year, but I haven’t really heard much this year.
What do you think of the whole Mark French/ Sean Eadie fiasco? Do you think he’s guilty? I feel a bit sorry for Kersten, on the team, not on the team…
(Can you tell I’m a sports freak? I’m just obsessed, especially with the Olympics :))
Oh, and I like the little wheelie Robbie does when he crosses the line (when he’s not sprinting!) Showman! 