Tour de France: Stage 16 Live Thread (Wed, July 19, 2006) Galibier, Croix de Fer, La Toussuire

VeloNews.com ^ | July 19, 2006 | VeloNews.com

[nutmeg]

Stage 16: Bourg d'Oisans to La Toussuire -182km

Course: If L'Alpe d'Huez does not decide the Tour's likely outcome, then this even tougher day in the Alps should do the job. The survivors first ride the 34km back to the top of the Lautaret, where a left turn takes them another 8.6km at 6.7 percent to the top of the Galibier - the Tour's highest point at 8681 feet above sea level.

After the 35km descent of the Galibier and intermediate Col du Télégraphe, the next 23km is down the Maurienne Valley. Of the remaining 79km, some 47km are uphill, in three separate climbs: the 23km Col de la Croix de Fer, the 6km Col du Mollard and the 18km grind to the finish at La Toussuire. ...) At 4km longer than L'Alpe d'Huez, and at the end of a grueling menu of 17,000 feet of climbing, La Toussuire could well be the "new" Alpe.

History: A stage has never finished at La Toussuire.

Favorites: Given its length, intensity and critical positioning, this stage is almost certain to designate the final podium, so Landis, Evans and Leipheimer will again be vying for ascendancy with Menchov, Sastre, Andreas Klöden and Michael Rogers. It should be spectacular!

Graphics by CyclingNews.com

[Republicain]

I didn't knew he was called the "flying chicken".

Then the tranlation is "poulet volant".

[BaBaStooey]

Thanks.

I've never heard him referred to as that until I read it on the English version of letour.fr today. They may have been getting it wrong.

The Poulet part is definitely correct.

[BaBaStooey]

I don't have all my verb tenses down, especially the present progressive, so I was using Chicken of Flight, which sounds like crap.

[BaBaStooey]

This is the part that is really going to break your heart..


Arlene Landis, mother of bicycle racer Floyd Landis walks to watch her son on television compete in the Tour de France at a neighbor's house in Ephrata, Pa., Tuesday, July 18, 2006. Growing up in a conservative Mennonite family in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country, Floyd Landis longed to escape what he viewed as a stifling and narrow culture of work, family, church. The bike was his ticket out. Landis now, a decade later, finds himself wearing the yellow jersey at the Tour de France. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)


Arlene Landis, mother of bicycle racer Floyd Landis, seen on the television second from left competing in the Tour de France, watches her son on television at a neighbor's house in Ephrata, Pa., Tuesday, July 18, 2006. Growing up in a conservative Mennonite family in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country, Floyd Landis longed to escape what he viewed as a stifling and narrow culture of work, family, church. The bike was his ticket out. Landis now, a decade later, finds himself wearing the yellow jersey at the Tour de France. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

So the good news is she saw the L'Alpe D'Huez stage. I don't know if she was watching today.


Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, of Austin, Texas, looks on from the car of Discovery Channel team manager Johan Bruyneel, as he follows the 16th stage of the 93rd Tour de France cycling race between Bourg d'Oisans and La Toussuire, French Alps, Wednesday, July 19, 2006. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)


Floyd Landis of the U.S., center, crosses the finish line behind teammate Axel Merckx, left, and followed by David Arroyo of Spain, to place 23rd in the 16th stage of the 93rd Tour de France cycling race between Bourg d'Oisans and La Toussuire, French Alps, Wednesday, July 19, 2006. Michael Rasmussen of Denmark won the stage, as Landis lost the lead to Oscar Pereiro Sio of Spain. (AP Photo/Bas Czerwinski)


Floyd Landis of the US makes his way through reporters after crossing the finish line to place 23rd in the 16th stage of the 93rd Tour de France cycling race between Bourg d'Oisans and La Toussuire, French Alps, Wednesday, July 19, 2006. Michael Rasmussen of Denmark won the stage, as Landis lost the lead to Oscar Pereiro Sio of Spain. (AP Photo/Bas Czerwinski)


The race to succeed Lance Armstrong as winner of the Tour de France was spectacularly blown wide open after the stunning collapse of overnight leader Floyd Landis, seen here recovering after completing the Tour's 16th stage.(AFP/Franck Fife)


Rabobank's team rider Mickael Rasmussen of Denmark cycles in the Alps during the 16th stage of the 93rd Tour de France cycling race between Bourg-D'Oisans and La Toussuire, July 19, 2006. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini (FRANCE)


Denmark's Michael Rasmussen puts on the red-and-white polka dotted jersey of best climber after winning the 16th stage of the 93rd Tour de France cycling race from Bourg d'Oisans to La Toussuire.(AFP/Pascal Guyot)


Spain's Oscar Pereiro celebrates the yellow jersey after he captured the overall lead from Amercian Floyd landis in the sixteenth stage of the 93rd Tour de France cycling race from Bourg d'Oisans to La Toussuire.(AFP/Pascal Guyot)

[Steve_Seattle]

"And you were so right that Lance "No Gifts" Armstrong would never have even considered doing that, just in case something like today, or worse, were to happen.He'd have hung on to every second like a bulldog with a bone . . . "

I agree, with the proviso that the rest of the leaders also gave up all that time to Pereiro. But that did show the lack of a killer instinct, and without a killer instinct, you aren't going to win the Tour de France. As you say, they should have tried to build up some time in reserve, in case a bad day like this happened.

[dl5192]

I don't think you can underestimate the team aspect. Having a team around you on the mountains helps when someone else attacks, they can pace you back to an attacking group, they can provide drinks and food when needed, etc...

My opinion is that Floyd simply had a bad day that was made worse by not having a strong team around him. The T-Mobile guys were driving the train today on the final climb.

Floyd has had a tremendouse amount of success this year and was an outside favorite for winning even before Basso and Ulrich were tossed out. In this diminished field, saying that 5th-8th place was expected for him is totaly wrong. His extent of his implosion today was totally unexpected.

[leilani]

Somehow in all the commotion today I missed that yall had earlier given props to my man.(Dessel) He's 4th GC today! My question is, given that he's in a pretty good position, if he does really, really well tomorrow, but not so hot on the ITT like everyone is saying he's expected to do,and say maybe Kloden totally tanks, is it possible he could actually win this? Officially, he's supposedly riding for Christophe Moreau (leader of Ag2 team after Mancebo got booted), but he's riding better than Moreau is -can a measley domestique just go for it if he wants to at the end? (I know I'm grasping at straws here. But first Basso, then George & now Floyd went kaput, so Cyril is all I have left.)

[Steve_Seattle]

I don't totally discount the importance of having a strong team around you, but I think that only accounts for part of Landis's problems today; he just seemed out of gas. As for whether 5-8 would be a low finish in the Tour, it would be better than he's done before. On my personal tip sheet, I had him 5th, even after the withdrawal of Basso/Ullrich/Vino/Mancebo. And I had Hincapie even lower.

My personal hope was Leipheimer (3rd on my sheet, behind Valverde and Kloden), who seemed to be peaking at the right time. And I might sound like I'm contradicting myself, but one reason I rated Landis lower than most is that he lost two key members of his team right before the race. I also figured Evans and Menchov as top contenders, followed by Sastre. But I was dead wrong in predicting a comeback for Mayo (6th).

[luv2ski]

Somehow in all the commotion today I missed that yall had earlier given props to my man.(Dessel)

So what is it with you and Cereal? Come on, spill it! I got all my dirty laundry with Eurotwit hung out for everyone to see...

[leilani]

Your dirty laundry? But that cad just used me to make you jealous! And with the whole TdF ping list watching the sorry, sordid deed, no less. Oh, the humiliation!And now, need I remind you, I'm stuck with a whole case of geitost and a feezer full of salted cod. While he was here, he even had me participate in some odd old norse ritual & go out and bury a whole lutefisk for him - exactly what does one do with buried lutefisk anyway, I ask you? What, as long as I'm asking is a lutefisk? (It isn't illegal in the US, is it?) No, luv2ski, my laundry has been sullied beyond redemption. It may just be time for me to chuck it all & go....shopping!

[leilani]

Oh, I almost forgot to answer your question about Cer...CYRIL! I think my inordinate fascination with him may stem from the fact that he reminds me of someone from my childhood:

[nutmeg]

Wonderful collection of photos. Thank you for posting them.

You're right... the photos of Floyd's mom were particularly heartbreaking... :-(

[nutmeg]

I hadn't realized how emotionally attatched to the idea of Floyd on the podium in Paris I must have gotten until today. I actually had to go outside just now to get my breath back. Yesterday's stage was so fun, today I feel so...punctured, deflated.

I feel exactly the same way, leilani. I just watched the last hour of today's stage (for the second time - saw it live this morning also) and I am still stunned at Floyd's collapse. It's as if the wind has been knocked out of me... :-(

[nutmeg]

For those of you scoring at home, "Col de la Croix de Fer" means "Mountain Pass of the Iron Cross"

And yes, there is an iron cross at the top of that puppy.

Ah... thanks for that info. So "Col" translates to mountain pass? I guess I always assumed it meant "peak"...

[luv2ski]

LOL! Looks like you're going to have to throw a Norske party! Reindeer, salted cod, Wasa and geitost for all! All you need is a trunk full of party hats with Viking horns on them. Skal!

[Republicain]

a "peack" is a "pic" in french, with almost exactly the same prononciation in both cases

[dl5192]

Phonak lost two team members, but they weren't part of the Tour de France roster if I recall correctly. The drug scandal didn't affect the TDF team for Phonak.