# The offical 2005 Le Tour de France thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 2, 2005, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-offical-2005-le-tour-de-france-thread/310808 "2005-07-02T05:02:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-offical-2005-le-tour-de-france-thread/310808/61 "2005-07-06T11:43:23Z")
> [@Mycroft Holmes](#): > > Hey, you wouldn’t happen to have an extra copy of your crystal ball lying around would you? You had it exactly right! Although I think CSC might have pulled out the win if there hadn’t been that nasty fall near the end. Pulled that out of my ass, I did. :eek: I was as shocked as you are. 🙂 Yeah, it was too close to call with CSC and they might have won but the fall didn’t slow down the first five riders noticeably. Didn’t seem to phase the guys who damn near rolled over him either. But two seconds… hard to know for sure. My heart goes out to DZ. Rotten luck that. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-offical-2005-le-tour-de-france-thread/310808/62 "2005-07-06T11:50:03Z")
> [@Boo Boo Foo](#): > > As it stands, Armstrong is (yet again) already effectively in yellow, as has been the case after the Team Time Trial for the last, oh, 4 years now. And by extension, it’s been a bit like watching Schumacher win all his F1 World Championships. That is, intellectually thrilling, but not emotionally so. > > The last time Armstrong had a REAL threat was Pantani, and Marco’s love of drugs put an end to that, sadly. But Pantani could take minutes out of Armstrong on a climb, and Armstrong knew it. He hasn’t had that threat since 2000, and certainly, with the possible exception of Aitor Gonzales, it doesn’t exist this year, either. I don’t know. Pantani didn’t strike me as a good sport. In 1999 when Lance and Pantani crossed swords in that big climb, didn’t Lance let Marco cross the line first because he respected the man’s effort. Armstrong clearly could have taken the finish line before Pantani? And in return, Pantani began to talk smack about Lance. ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_Holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a5b964/32.png) [@Mycroft\_Holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_Holmes)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-offical-2005-le-tour-de-france-thread/310808/63 "2005-07-06T11:53:27Z")
So, how about today’s stage? I think we might well see a successful breakaway, because I don’t think Discovery wants to be protecting the yellow all the way to the mountains. It wouldn’t surprise me if someone like Voigt or Dekker pulls of the win and even gets the yellow jersey today. If that scenario doesn’t work out, it would be nice to see Boonen win again. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-offical-2005-le-tour-de-france-thread/310808/64 "2005-07-06T12:27:56Z")
> [@Mycroft Holmes](#): > > So, how about today’s stage? I think we might well see a successful breakaway, because I don’t think Discovery wants to be protecting the yellow all the way to the mountains. It wouldn’t surprise me if someone like Voigt or Dekker pulls of the win and even gets the yellow jersey today. > > If that scenario doesn’t work out, it would be nice to see Boonen win again. Perhaps. I don’t know if you’ll see a “name” like Voigt or Dekker stay away though. If a break sticks, I’d bet it will be (relative) no-names again and give us something like Voeckler last year. Maybe that’s just wishful thinking. I thought Voeckler’s run was great last year. I wanted to see him keep the polkadots this year, too. However, Voigt is aggressive and I do think we’ll see strong riders try to attack Lance this year. Could be a fun one. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-offical-2005-le-tour-de-france-thread/310808/65 "2005-07-06T12:32:09Z")
I should have checked my updates. It sounds like Flecha is off the front, and he’s a big name. Dekker tried to bridge, but the pack sounded like they were having none of it. That guy Bodrogi who is bridging was in the break with Voeckler the other day. He’s having a good tour. Speaking of Flecha, they said on the TV yesterday that Fasso Bortolo is dropping their sponsorship next year. (I just get my updates from velonews, by the way) ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-offical-2005-le-tour-de-france-thread/310808/66 "2005-07-06T12:53:01Z")
I would not write off Disco’s desire to dominate the tour from here on in. Lance won’t be sprinting across the finish lines this week ('cuz he’s not a sprinter mostly) but he’s going to want to keep that yellow. This being his last time around and all. He won’t risk exhausting himself early but he’ll do his best to hang on to the jersey just the same. He’s a conservative racer and a smart strategist, but I think he’ll be taking some risks this tour. Like many have speculated… it depends on how aggressive the breakaways are and how hard they’ll need to work to chase them down. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-offical-2005-le-tour-de-france-thread/310808/67 "2005-07-06T12:53:31Z")
Flecha could make that shit stick. It’s raining there and conventional wisdom says the break has a better chance of sticking in the slop. He’s done it before, [too](http://www.velonews.com/tour2003/details/articles/4559.0.html). ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-offical-2005-le-tour-de-france-thread/310808/68 "2005-07-06T12:55:44Z")
Just re-read my post. Talk about stating the blindingly obvious. :rolleyes: Everybody on three: … 1… 2… 3… “DUHHHH!!!” :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_Holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a5b964/32.png) [@Mycroft\_Holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_Holmes)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-offical-2005-le-tour-de-france-thread/310808/69 "2005-07-06T13:11:09Z")
Well, it looks like the peloton is starting to reel in the breakaway. Also, there was just a crash with Basso, Guerini and McGee involved. ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-offical-2005-le-tour-de-france-thread/310808/70 "2005-07-06T13:12:38Z")
Watching it on German satellite TV at the moment… Looks like CSC were involved in the crash a few mins ago - their whole team were hanging around waiting for their captain to get back on the road? Complaints too from the rider censured for head-butting - he’s claiming he was elbowed first, but that the TV cameras only replayed his offence. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_Holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a5b964/32.png) [@Mycroft\_Holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_Holmes)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-offical-2005-le-tour-de-france-thread/310808/71 "2005-07-06T14:12:38Z")
> [@e-logic](#): > > Watching it on German satellite TV at the moment… > > Looks like CSC were involved in the crash a few mins ago - their whole team were hanging around waiting for their captain to get back on the road? That was because one of the people involved in the crash was Basso, the team leader of CSC. If your team leader drops off the peloton you leave some people to help him catch up, because it’s a lot harder on your own. It’s one of the perks of finishing third the year before. Compare that to poor Guerini from T-Mobile. He is only there to help Ullrich and Vinokourov in the mountains, so he had to work his way back on his own. For more examples of what it means to be a team leader look at the post from **QuickSilver** yesterday about one of the Gerolsteiner riders elbowing Armstrong in the peloton. You can elbow Beltran and Landis, but you do not elbow Armstrong! ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-offical-2005-le-tour-de-france-thread/310808/72 "2005-07-06T14:16:25Z")
Similarly, I was watching on Monday when Dekker was off on a break, stealing the KOM points. Well, Voeckler’s team (bouy-telecom is it?) was chasing hard so that he could retain the polkadots when Lance stopped to take a leak. Well, no attacking when the _patron_ is peeing, of course, and it killed V’s chances to get the polkadots. ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_Holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a5b964/32.png) [@Mycroft\_Holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_Holmes)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-offical-2005-le-tour-de-france-thread/310808/73 "2005-07-06T14:24:44Z")
For more interesting tactics, take a close look at how some riders from QuickStep will work to bring Tom Boonen to the front of the peloton just before the sprint finish. Ideally one good sprinter from the team should also lead him until he makes his break. It is lot easier to break of the back wheel of one of your teammates. Even a great sprinter needs his teammates to help him be successful. ---
**Author:** ![BF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5ac83/32.png) [@BF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BF)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-offical-2005-le-tour-de-france-thread/310808/74 "2005-07-06T15:04:21Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > (I just get my updates from velonews, by the way) Ditto. While at work I follow the Velonews live update, which is pretty entertaining with some of the comments provided. Then it’s home to watch the re-broadcast at 5:30 EST on OLN. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-offical-2005-le-tour-de-france-thread/310808/75 "2005-07-06T15:11:40Z")
From my favourite tour coverage [cite](http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2005/tour05/news/?id=/news/2005/jul05/jul06news5): > [@](#): > > **Inside the Gerolsteiner TTT** > The rules say that five riders have to finish the team time trial, and one assumes that the teams will start with nine riders. One assumes that all nine riders will be at the start…and not left sitting at the hotel, right? Well, sometimes it doesn’t work out that way. And apparently even the riders aren’t sure who was where. > > “In all the excitement we totally forgot three riders,” notes Ronny Scholz on his website, [www.ronnyscholz.de](http://www.ronnyscholz.de). According to him, Robert Förster, Paco Wrolich and Sebastian Lang “sat in the car in front of the hotel and waited for someone to come and drive them away. When nobody came, Frösi (Förster) got behind the wheel and drove away.” > > Förster remembers it differently, as he related to [www.radsport-news.com](http://www.radsport-news.com): “Zberg, Fabian and I came a little later out and got in the fourth car. The first three cars drove away - we don’t. Someone said, hey, who’s driving us, anyway? Oh well, they won’t start without us, someone will be here in a minute. Ha! They forgot us! We laughed ourselves silly. We couldn’t reach anyone over the radio. I said, come, Paco, turn the navigation control on, we’ll drive ourselves. We just started to program it when they called us over the radio, said they had forgotten us, could we come by ourselves?” What a great story for their grandchildren. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-offical-2005-le-tour-de-france-thread/310808/76 "2005-07-06T15:13:02Z")
Or _site_. Whichever… :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![GLWasteful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f05b48/32.png) [@GLWasteful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GLWasteful)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-offical-2005-le-tour-de-france-thread/310808/77 "2005-07-06T15:19:14Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > I don’t know. Pantani didn’t strike me as a good sport. In 1999 when Lance and Pantani crossed swords in that big climb, didn’t Lance let Marco cross the line first because he respected the man’s effort. Armstrong clearly could have taken the finish line before Pantani? And in return, Pantani began to talk smack about Lance. If I remember correctly, there was an issue with Armstrong attempting to speak Italian (badly) and Pantani misunderstanding what was being said. Well, according to Armstrong, anyway. As to subsequent smack-talking, both of them were guilty. The ways of the cycling world, and all like that. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-offical-2005-le-tour-de-france-thread/310808/78 "2005-07-06T15:41:09Z")
Interesting mini-controversy today involving Lance’s desire NOT to wear the Yellow Jersey. He wanted to make a gesture towards Zabriskie, but the powers that be told Armstrong that he HAD to wear _le maillot jaune_ today, or not be in the race tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-offical-2005-le-tour-de-france-thread/310808/79 "2005-07-06T16:07:07Z")
Rom OLN’s newsflash page > [@OLN](#): > > 13:10:15 - Riders Asked To Stop At 0km Mark > The race organizers have asked the riders to stop at the site of the official start. Usually the peloton just rolls out of the neutral zone and the start of racing is signaled when a white flag is dropped from the race director’s car. No reason has been given for the request today. > > 13:18:04 - Peloton At Site Of Official Start > The peloton has come to a halt at the site of the official start. There is still no explanation for the stop. > > 13:24:52 - Racing In Stage Five > The official start time for stage five is 1.21pm. The reason for the stop at the 0km mark is because Lance Armstrong didn’t want to wear the yellow jersey during the neutral zone. He wore his Discovery Channel outfit for the 5km ride to the site of the official start. The peloton then came to a halt so that Armstrong could don the yellow jersey for the stage. It was a sign of respect for Dave Zabriskie who lost the overall lead after crashing in the final 2km of stage four. Seems like a classy gesture to me. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-offical-2005-le-tour-de-france-thread/310808/80 "2005-07-06T19:26:15Z")
Just curious. Do they use any special gearing on their bikes for those Alpine climbs? On the one hand, I would want a bike that had about 40,000 gears on it before I’d try one of those suckers. On the other hand, I’m not a human engine who can consume 9,000 calories a day and burn it all up. Maybe they don’t NEED especially low gears. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-offical-2005-le-tour-de-france-thread/310808.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-offical-2005-le-tour-de-france-thread/310808.md?page=5)