Posted on 07/18/2006 10:11:39 PM PDT by nutmeg
Sandy Casar is the French representative in the leading trio. He has won 12 races in his seven-year pro career. He was sixth overall in the Giro d’Italia this May.
Am I missing something? The gap function has Valjevec (who's one of the front 3) at 12:15 back...
Heya commish! Yeah, we missed you yesterday! I misspoke, there are several riders in the escape that are < 20', but none are a concern to the peloton, as you said. Interesting that Rass is out there, guess they've let him go to snag some KOM points, but he's supposed to be supporting Menchov.
No, I'm missing something, iggie. I misspoke, sorry!
I have Valjevic at 12:15 also.
Garolsteiner has joined the chase with Phonak. They want Popo back to protect Levi's top 10 position in the GC.
Well the peleton has already reeled in the Popovych group as they start into the climb. Will be interesting to see if Floyd goes on this climb or if he is content to lay back for the final climb.
Ah! I just turned the 'puter on and am frantically trying to catch up...
BTW: talking about alcohol.
Wasn't there an Algerian rider in the tour who was just about dying from thirst who got some drink from some spectators (probably Swedish), and it turned out to be wine.
At the time he was in a break with a teammate far ahead of the peloton.
He gulped down the whole bottle and promptly fell asleep.
As a muslim he wasn't used to alchohol.
When he woke up, he stumbled back upon his bike and started a zigzag chase after the peloton.
In the wrong direction :-)
And the lead group is now 2. Cesar has popped and is falling back rapidly. In the Peleton, De Le Fuente has been dropped, meaning Rasmussen will grab the Polka Dots he so covets.
Most of the Popo group has been absorbed back into the Peleton but there all still 6 (including Popo) fighting to stay ahead.
WOW did Popo POP bigtime or what. Went from a minute ahead of the Peleton to hanging on for dear life at the back in a matter of minutes.
In the Peleton, De Le Fuente has been dropped, meaning Rasmussen will grab the Polka Dots he so covets.
My guess is that Rass will go for the polka dots thru the cat 2 climb, then fall back to support Menchov on the final climb. But it may be a really bad guess...
Peleton is also reeling in the leaders. Gap has dropped almost a minute in the last few KM. Looks like Phonak is upping the pace a little for this climb -- looks like they want Floyd hanging near the front when they hit the climb to La Tousuirre.
Rasmussen smells blood in the water. De la Fuente used up his entire fuel tank yesterday. It is something Bob Roll talked about yesterday...the "pain bank."
Older riders (nearing 30) have learned how to correctly make withdrawls and deposits at the "pain bank." De la Fuente, being a young rider (under 25), has still got a lot to learn. He may not be the best climber, but with more experience I definitely see him as a future KOTM winner in the years to come.
I think it seems like a good guess.
Do you think Landis will be attacked today.
If they want to wrestle the yellow from him, they pretty much have to start attacking, though I have a hard time seeing which rider who could shake off Landis this year.
I think you are right, he will grab the points here, probably stay out front to take Col du Maurienne, then he will play good little team member and let Menchov catch him on the descent.
If anyone has any hopes of catching him, they'll have to attack today, I would think. Tho' tomorrow might work too - downhill finish but very straight into Morzine, so there shouldn't be much catching back up from the final climb. But I think today.
Current standings for the maillot à pois rouge:
Pos. N° Name Surname Team Nat. Points
1 143 DE LA FUENTE David SDV ESP 108
2 058 RASMUSSEN Mickael RAB DEN 93
3 015 SCHLECK Frank CSC LUX 74
4 071 LANDIS Floyd PHO USA 63
The first man to the top of Col de la Croix de Fer scores 20 points. The first man to the top of Col du Mollard scores 10 points, and then double points for La Toussuire, meaning 30 KOTM points to the stage winner.
De la Fuente is now among the Attardes... Pokla Dots bye-bye for this year. But you're likely right about the future.
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