Tour de France: Stage 8 Live Thread (Sunday, July 9, 2006)

VeloNews.com ^ | July 9, 2006 | VeloNews.com

[razzle]

I'm surprised Hollywood hasn't done a movie on Virenque. He has all the right qualities: French, druggie, cheater, liar, nice smile, loser. Needless to say not one of my favorites (sorry). I was really sad that Ullrich and Vino have missed this Tour however.

On another note: its amazing that riders keep killing themselves on breaks like they do when very few succeed. It great for the audience (and maybe the sponsors also).

[Ready4Freddy]

That seems unlikely, a team would be unprotected on the flats w/o sprinters. LA had complete control of team selection, curious that he never put together his 'dream team'...

I heard Lance say his dream team includes no sprinters, he only wants mountain men.

[Ready4Freddy]

Define 'succeed' - note that the usual suspects in the escapes are the leaders for the maillot vert.

On another note: its amazing that riders keep killing themselves on breaks like they do when very few succeed.

[Ready4Freddy]

Also - it depends on who's in the escape, and if teams in the peloton care to pursue. It's looking more & more today like the teams leading the peloton don't care enough about Calzati to try to reel him in...

[luv2ski]

although what happened to Levi Leipheimer? He lost like 3 minutes.

He lost more than 6 minutes! The worst part is that he said he doesn't know why. He said he "just didn't feel well on the bike". Very troubling.

[Ready4Freddy]

A bit unusual to see the Combativité awarded prior to the finish.... (not that Calzati isn't the obvious candidate today, of course!

16:40 - 5km To Go...

Calzati appears destined to win his first Tour de France stage. He is less than 5km from the finish. He began the stage in 76th place on general classification and has just been awarded the Most Aggressive Rider prize by the jury. He was 7’12" behind Gonchar.

[luv2ski]

I am sorry to sound like a hard a** but Julich should have known that that tight left hand turn was there. He misjudged it on the fly but had he done his homework, he would have known exactly how to approach and negotiate it safely. He was the only rider who fell in that turn yesterday. Landis rode the entire course with his coach in the morning before the stage. He was the only rider on the course.
I remember an ITT a couple of years ago when Ullrich had a chance to catch Lance. It was raining and nasty. Ullrich tried to take a roundabout too fast and crashed into the hay bales. Lance went on to win (the day and the TT). Afterward, it was clear why it happened the way it did: Lance had ridden and studied the course on his bike. Ullrich had watched a video of it on the TV in his nice warm, dry room.

[Vision]

He's not a winner. Just happy to be there.

[Ready4Freddy]

I'm thinking that Jullich's diary on ESPN the day before said that he was going to drive the first 15km of the ITT course, then ride the rest.

[Ready4Freddy]

Yup, see nutmeg's link in post #4. Dunno if he did it, but perhaps just seeing that turn from a car window wasn't enough?

My pre-stage plan will also be important. For me, it's about as much relaxation as possible. Relax, think positive, go to bed early. I elected not to go see the time-trial course Friday night, so I didn't have the pressure of having it all on my mind. In the morning, I'll have a little breakfast, drive the first 15 kilometers of the course, then ride the rest of it. Riding the course is the only way to get a true taste of what it will be like at race time. If it was up to me, I'd like to ride the whole course, but there might not be time.

[LK44-40]

I've been trying to see, in the sprint finishes, exactly how much the riders were deliberately crowding each other. Today, although one might say "no harm, no foul," it seemed clear to me that McEwen was deliberately moving to the right (actually LENGTHENING his line by a minute amount) to cut off the next closest rider. I don't imagine that this is anything exceptional at all but the cameras gave us a rare, clear view from above and slightly behind the finishers.

It is exciting to watch Robbie even if he is a feisty little bastard! They all are, I suppose. There are no shrinking violets in the TdF.

[Ready4Freddy]

Yeah, it's more like the maneuvers in the key in International Basketball rules (NBA having dispensed w/ even their own rules against pushing & other contact :)

exactly how much the riders were deliberately crowding each other....

[Ready4Freddy]

That article is a good description of the tactics the teams employ when considering what to do about an escape. One important thing to note was that yellow jersey-wearer Gonchar's T-Mo team had Matthias Kessler in the break, so they were protected somewhat - a rider on the GC leader's team is under no obligation to assist w/ a break (since no one is expected to attack his leader), he gets to tag along w/o taking his turns at the front.

[HangThemHigh]

I read in Velo News that Gontchar (sp?) was pulling a 55-11 top gear in the ITT! It was easy to see he was crunching a big gear, but that is huge.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2006/tour06/?id=results/tour067

[nutmeg]

Stage 8 results, stats, injury reports, etc:

VeloNews.com

CyclingNews.com

[nutmeg]

Photos from Stage 8:

George Hincapie of the US, left, and teammate Paolo Savoldelli of Italy talk prior to the 8th stage of the 93rd Tour de France cycling race between Saint-Meen-le-Grand and Lorient, western France, Sunday, July 9, 2006. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati)

Spectators play bagpipe music as the pack rides through the village of Plessala, western France, during the 8th stage of the 93rd Tour de France cycling race between Saint-Meen-le-Grand and Lorient, western France, Sunday, July 9, 2006. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati)

Stage winner Sylvain Calzati of France, left, and Mario Aerts of Belgium, second left, climb Mur-de-Bretagne ascend, passing under a French and Brittany flag during the 8th stage of the 93rd Tour de France cycling race between Saint-Meen-le-Grand and Lorient, western France, Sunday, July 9, 2006. Sergiy Gonchar of the Ukraine retains the overall leader's yellow jersey. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Didi Senft of Germany, aka "El Diablo", holding the French and the Italian flags and a placard encoutaging the French soccer team, urges riders near Lochrist, western France, during the 8th stage of the 93rd Tour de France cycling race between Saint-Meen-le-Grand and Lorient, western France, Sunday, July 9, 2006. France will play Italy in the soccer World Cup Final in Berlin later Sunday. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati)

Sylvain Calzati of France reacts as he crosses the finish line to win the 8th stage of the 93rd Tour de France cycling race between Saint-Meen-le-Grand and Lorient, western France, Sunday, July 9, 2006. (AP Photo/Vincent Michel)

Overall leader Sergiy Gonchar of Ukraine waves from the podium after the 8th stage of the 93rd Tour de France cycling race between Saint-Meen-le-Grand and Lorient, western France, Sunday, July 9, 2006. Sylvain Calzati of France won the stage. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

[nutmeg]

Fellow "devils": Check out that red devil in #38! He shows up at the Tour de France every year. Maybe we can recruit him if Hillary runs in '08... ;-)

[nutmeg]

Tour de France ping!

Stage 8 results, stats, injury reports and photos posted in #37 and #38.

Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my Tour de France 2006 list.