Posted on 07/19/2006 9:15:41 PM PDT by nutmeg
Stage 17: St. Jean de Maurienne to Morzine-Avoriaz -200.5km
Course: This is almost identical to the stage in 2000 when Marco Pantani attacked on the first climb (the 15km, 6.4-percent Saisies) and forced Armstrong's U.S. Postal squad to chase for 100km over the Aravis, Colombière and Châtillon climbs to the foot of the day's main obstacle: the mighty Col de Joux-Plane (11.7km at 8.7 percent). It was partway up the Joux-Plane that Armstrong bonked and could only watch as Ullrich and others rode away from him, and he conceded almost two minutes by the finish in Morzine.
History: Morzine has seen 13 finishes of the Tour, including that one six years ago, which was the last time the ultra-steep Joux-Plane was climbed in the Tour. The only Tour winner to win a stage into Morzine was Pantani, who scored a solo victory here in 1997, the year before he won the Tour. Morzine's mountaintop neighbor, Avoriaz, has seen stage wins by two other Tour champions, Lucien Van Impe and Bernard Hinault.
Favorites: If riders are still battling for podium spots, then the Joux-Plane climb and descent suits Leipheimer and Landis. But it's more likely that a long-distance break will succeed, giving a rider like Michael Rasmussen a chance to win the stage and the King of the Mountains competition.
Graphics by CyclingNews.com
The two stage leaders are less than 1,000m away from the top of the Col de la Colombiere. Sinkewitz has not done a turn of pace but he is the only rider able to match the incredible tempo being tapped out by Landis...
[Well, duh -- lie he's going to help Landis?]
Wow
7'32"
T-mobile would absolutely crucify Sinkewitz if he took a turn at the front at this point.
Landis has reached the summit of the Mountain Pass of the Big Fat Hairy Columbian.
The lead has reached the magic 7:39 needed for Floyd to take yellow, as long as he wins the stage and picks up the 6 second sprint bonus. Sinkewitz may try to disrupt that, though.
Floyd now over 7:30 and the Peleton is making no move to chase. What the hell are they Thinking????
this could be a legendary stage
I wonder how many people dropped a few quid on Landis overnight?
7'52" -- GO LANDIS!!!
8 Minutes now.
Over 8 Minutes now.
Floyd is the virtual leader of le Tour at 8:01 because he is pretty much guaranteed no worse than a 4 second bonus at the sprint point.
Floyd is a killer descender - skills left over from his days as a mountain bike racer.
This has to make one wonder how many pints of fluid Floyd got pumped into him last night? I was sure he was completely finished yesterday. this is amazing.
LeTour.fr recently spoke to Bernard Hinault who is following the action in an official car again today. We asked the five-time Tour winner for his thoughts on Landis’ aggressive approach to the stage.
”He is just showing that he’s a real soldier,” said Hinault. “I still believe that he was hunger-flat on the final climb of the 16th stage. His attack can work. He has the keys to the race lead now because he’s forcing the others to attack and only then will we know what will happen to the other title hopefuls.
“I’m a big fan of Floyd today because I like the way he races. He’s got an aggressive streak. He’s just saying, ‘I was bad yesterday but I’m the best and I’ll prove that today’. It can work, it’s like a Hinault Coup.”
Floyd looks more like Hinault today than Armstrong. Hinault made his legend out of suicide solo breaks like this. Armstrong won his Tours differently.
Another thing - that flat before the final climb may be just what Landis needs, he mentioned yesterday that he didn't have any time to recover from the previous climb b4 the last one where he cratered. May be long enough to recover, but not long enough for the peloton to take time away - that descent is steep steep steep, and Landis will put more time on the GC leaders on the way down.
Peleton still not over the top. Amazing.
Landis leads the TdF.
Peleton Crests at 8:33. Floyd is in "Virtual Yellow"
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.