Posted on 07/12/2006 9:40:51 PM PDT by nutmeg
Stage 11: Tarbes to Val d'Aran/Pla-de-Beret - 206.5km
Course: Any Pyrenean stage that goes over the mighty mountain passes of Tourmalet, Aspin, Peyresourde and Portillon merits the greatest attention from the race favorites - even though this one then continues into Spain for another 40km to finish on the long, but gently graded climb to the Pla-de-Beret summit. If this Tour is going to be a free-for-all, then climbers who want to shoot for the polkadot jersey or a high GC placing must attack on this challenging day. So look for likely KOM candidates to infiltrate the breaks that are bound to form on the narrow, winding roads that precede the Tourmalet. If GC contenders wait until the final climb (13.5km at 5.4 percent) before making a move, they will end up gaining (or losing) very little time.
History: This is the first time that a Tour stage will finish at Pla-de-Beret, but stage 8 of the 2003 Vuelta a España completed a similar course (except for the Tourmalet). At the Tour, the Tourmalet stage in this more difficult west-to-east direction (18.4km at 7.7 percent) has almost always caused major upsets.
Favorites: A stage finishing in Spain has to motivate the Spanish riders. Should a breakaway succeed, look for the Euskaltel team's Iban Mayo, Gerolsteiner's Georg Totschnig or Rabobank's Rasmussen, whereas a larger group arriving at the foot of the Pla-de-Beret will favor Valverde.
Yea, verily, Hell hath frozen over! Bob Roll posted his Stage 11 report before Phil Liggett, I am sure that's never happened before!!!
Bleah!!! Did you see the pic of Floyd on the podium? Yellow jersey w/ bright green tights - I'm gonna hurl! Phonak needs to change its colors if they're going to wear yellow...
Yeah, but the stuffed lion sure is cute....
Good Landis article in the WaPo - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/01/AR2006070101109_pf.html
Landis long ago reconciled with his parents. In 2004 they took their first trip overseas to witness the peloton racing up a peak in the Pyrenees. There the route was clotted with screaming, liquored-up, flag-draped Basques, who had poured in from Spain by the busload. Amid this rowdiness, clustered together in their high-necked frocks and crisp white bonnets, sat Landis's mother, Arlene, and three of his sisters, holding up a hand-painted banner. On it was the modest assertion: "We Support Floyd Landis."
I'm hoping that Eurotwit (or his twin brother :) wasn't doing the bare-butt run on that climb, Momma Landis would have been scandalized!! ;>)
Yeah, leilani, I thought it was a great article. Looks like it was written well back in the Spring & held for the start of the Tour, but it's clear that he didn't let on about his hip, eh? I've known for years that he'd had to leave Lancaster County, PA to ride bicycles the way he wanted to, but this article really fleshed out some of it for me.
Thanks for pinging nutmeg, I looked at the names I'd put in the To: field and was thinking I'd missed at least one. I've been deliberately not including nutmeg so her ping page wouldn't be filled w/ '25km, to go, so & so's got it!!!', etc crap, but definitely wanted her to see this one.
Our Stage 10 thread was the first to go over 100 (131), this one the first to hit 200/250 posts. LOL!!! on the '...and without post after redundant post...", I'd thought of that, too, when looking over the threads and their post counts last night as I added the keyword 'tdfstagethread' to all the Stage threads. Between all the '...that scumsucking scumsucker left his wife & kids!!...' and the '...that home-wrecking harpy harlot cheryl crowe sux rox!...' posts we probably are having more active ingredient posts, and certainly more fun, this year! ;>)
Great article. Thanks for the link R4F.
(Sorry I could not find a photo of Stage 11 winner Denis Menchov to post here. All were Getty Images or other photos that just would not post here correctly for some reason):
Levi Leipheimer of the USA, foreground,and compatriot David Zabriskie wait by the start line prior to the 11th stage of the Tour de France cycling race between Tarbes, southwestern France, and Val d'Aran (Pla-de-Beret), Spain, Thursday, July 13, 2006. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
The pack approaches the Tourmalet pass before entering Spain. (AP)
The early break on the Tourmalet (photo: Graham Watson)
Leipheimer overcomes the problems of the past few days. (photo: Graham Watson)
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AP Photo
Landis becomes the second American in this Tour to pull on the leader's yellow jersey (photo: AFP)
Stage 11 results, stats, injury reports and photos posted in #275 and #276.
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A great article from the WaPo....Thanks for the link. I will be cheering for Floyd even more after reading it.
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