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Tour de France: Stage 17 Live Thread (Thursday, July 20, 2006) Col de Joux-Plane
VeloNews.com ^ | July 20, 2006 | VeloNews.com

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


TOPICS: Sports
KEYWORDS: cycling; greenmachine; miracle; tdf; tdfstagethread; tourdefrance
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To: joanie-f; Husker8877; Minuteman23; Eurotwit; leilani; luv2ski; BaBaStooey; Vision; green iguana
Landis' move when he dropped the rest of the GC Top 10 on the first climb was armstrongian, then his suicidal break after that initial drop was hinaultian, and the way he chewed up everyone else in his path after that was positively merckxian.

Taken all together, we have a new superlative - landisian! ;>)

581 posted on 07/20/2006 11:42:56 AM PDT by Ready4Freddy (Ever had Vuja de? That feeling that you've never ever been here before? :)
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To: joanie-f; Husker8877; Minuteman23; Eurotwit; leilani; luv2ski; BaBaStooey; Vision; green iguana

Even more encouraging for tomorrow, I think, is the performance of Phonak as as a team today - they set up the entire saga today by staying together and setting a grueling pace to get Landis up to the front where he could launch against the original break of 11... their efforts helped to ensure that no one from the peloton was going to follow Landis.


582 posted on 07/20/2006 11:56:42 AM PDT by Ready4Freddy (Ever had Vuja de? That feeling that you've never ever been here before? :)
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To: Ready4Freddy
In the Velonews write-up they expect all of the GC guys to rest up tomorrow to save themselves for Saturday. A "normal" day for a very abnormal Tour...
583 posted on 07/20/2006 12:09:10 PM PDT by green iguana
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To: Ready4Freddy

He definitely looked more like Bernard Hinault today than Lance Armstrong.


584 posted on 07/20/2006 12:15:58 PM PDT by BaBaStooey (I heart Emma Caulfield.)
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To: green iguana
In the Velonews write-up they expect all of the GC guys to rest up tomorrow to save themselves for Saturday. A "normal" day for a very abnormal Tour...

Not to be too cynical, but did anyone over at Velonews predict Landis was going to go "banzai" today?

585 posted on 07/20/2006 12:27:02 PM PDT by kevkrom (Posting snarky comments so you don't have to)
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To: Ready4Freddy
'Even more encouraging for tomorrow, I think, is the performance of Phonak as as a team today - they set up the entire saga today by staying together and setting a grueling pace to get Landis up to the front where he could launch against the original break of 11... their efforts helped to ensure that no one from the peloton was going to follow Landis.'

Ditto!

586 posted on 07/20/2006 1:08:38 PM PDT by gopwinsin04
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To: BaBaStooey
He definitely looked more like Bernard Hinault today than Lance Armstrong

Yes. He also looked more like Lazarus than Lazarus did!

587 posted on 07/20/2006 1:23:44 PM PDT by leilani
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To: gopwinsin04
We could be looking at a match race to Paris on the Champs with 3 guys within 20 seconds of the lead...whoa Nelly!

That would be wild, huh?! 3 or 4 guys sprinting for the time bonuses + McEwen et al! Hold on to your shoelaces!

588 posted on 07/20/2006 1:40:59 PM PDT by luv2ski
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To: kevkrom; Baynative; NittanyLion; nutmeg; Eurotwit; leilani; luv2ski; Vision; BaBaStooey; ...
Time to take another look at Stage 7 (ITT) vs GC Standings after today's Stage 17. I think it was Baynative who did this a few stages ago, and it was quite instructive:

Red means - in the Top 10 GC now, but didn't make the Top 15 in Stage 7 (only their mothers & lovers think they still have a chance! :)

Green means - in the Top 10 GC now, and also in the Top 15 in Stage 7 (but look at the overall times of Moreau & Rogers - not even their mothers think they have a chance! :)

Overall GC after Stage 17 - Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne > Morzine-Avoriaz - 200.5km

1 097 PEREIRO SIO Oscar CEI ESP
2 014 SASTRE Carlos CSC ESP 00' 12"
3 071 LANDIS Floyd PHO USA 00' 30"
4 021 KLÖDEN Andréas TMO GER 02' 29"
5 061 EVANS Cadel DVL AUS 03' 08"
6 051 MENCHOV Denis RAB RUS 04' 14"
7 035 DESSEL Cyril A2R FRA 04' 24"
8 031 MOREAU Christophe A2R FRA 05' 45"
9 129 ZUBELDIA Haimar EUS ESP 08' 16"
10 026 ROGERS Michael TMO AUS 12' 13"

Stage 7 - Saint-Grégoire > Rennes - 52km ITT

1 023 HONCHAR Serhiy TMO UKR
2 071 LANDIS Floyd PHO USA 01' 01"
3 044 LANG Sebastian GST GER 01' 04"
4 026 ROGERS Michael TMO AUS 01' 24"
5 156 LARSSON Gustav FDJ SWE 01' 34"
6 027 SINKEWITZ Patrik TMO GER 01' 39"
7 042 FOTHEN Marcus GST GER 01' 42"
8 021 KLÖDEN Andréas TMO GER 01' 43"
9 051 MENCHOV Denis RAB RUS 01' 44"
10 057 POSTHUMA Joost RAB NED 01' 45"
11 061 EVANS Cadel DVL AUS 01' 49"
12 096 KARPETS Vladimir CEI RUS 01' 52"
13 018 ZABRISKIE David CSC USA 01' 57"
14 024 KESSLER Matthias TMO GER 02' 03"
15 031 MOREAU Christophe A2R FRA 02' 04"

23 097 PEREIRO SIO Oscar CEI ESP 02' 41"
18 014 SASTRE Carlos CSC ESP 02' 11"
38 035 DESSEL Cyril A2R FRA 03' 42"
36 129 ZUBELDIA Haimar EUS ESP 03' 32"

589 posted on 07/20/2006 1:43:13 PM PDT by Ready4Freddy (Ever had Vuja de? That feeling that you've never ever been here before? :)
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To: Ready4Freddy

It was another of your girls: moi. ;-D Funny, I thought of that list this morning- how they dissed everyone except for Floyd and then he bonked. It's clear there is just no predicting this race!


590 posted on 07/20/2006 1:44:02 PM PDT by luv2ski
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To: leilani
Yes. He also looked more like Lazarus than Lazarus did!

CLASSIC!

591 posted on 07/20/2006 1:48:13 PM PDT by luv2ski
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To: luv2ski
Heya, luvvy, that's right! LOL, I went back & looked at that list, there's so many 'Top 10 probably, but not Top 5' that it'd be very lonely for whoever does snag the maillot jaune!

It was another of your girls: moi. ;-D

592 posted on 07/20/2006 1:50:24 PM PDT by Ready4Freddy (Ever had Vuja de? That feeling that you've never ever been here before? :)
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To: Ready4Freddy
Last night I went for a run with my husband. In talking about the Tour and all that had happened he said that he was excited that it was so close this year (he's just as much of a fan as I am). I said I didn't mind that it was close, I just wished SOMEONE would take a leadership role.

Then came today. I am so proud of Landis for what he did today. He could have quit easily and said his hip was bothering him but he didn't. He took his frustration from yesterday and turned it into power and determination. It's the American way! Go Floyd Go!

593 posted on 07/20/2006 1:54:28 PM PDT by luv2ski
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To: luv2ski
Classic? Classic? Yeah, the classic Minute Maid® Limeade-all-over-the-desk-spew classic!!!!

Yes. He also looked more like Lazarus than Lazarus did!

CLASSIC!

594 posted on 07/20/2006 1:54:35 PM PDT by Ready4Freddy (Ever had Vuja de? That feeling that you've never ever been here before? :)
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To: Ready4Freddy; nutmeg

We are nearly at 600 for today! Woo Hoo! Wait until Nutmeg hears this!


595 posted on 07/20/2006 1:55:46 PM PDT by luv2ski
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To: leilani

Meant to send #594 to you, too, leilani! fookin' hilarious!


596 posted on 07/20/2006 1:57:32 PM PDT by Ready4Freddy (Ever had Vuja de? That feeling that you've never ever been here before? :)
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To: luv2ski
I especially liked Paul's stage review today:

Stage 17 Report
By Paul Sherwen

The end of the Landis dream.!!!! Did I actually write that yesterday! How good it feels to be wrong. I have just witnessed one of the greatest racing days that I have ever seen. Yes, there was Claudio Chiappucci in 1992 on his way to Sestrieres but that wasn't the day after he had cracked and lost ten minutes.

I was so confident this morning that Landis wouldn't come back into this race- yesterday his team sucked, he blew up, race over, yeah! - WRONG. Today the team rose to the occasion and set a pace from hell to set up this attack from Floyd on the first climb of the day, the Col de Saisies.

He knew that everyone was afraid of this final stage, but he wasn't, he had nothing to loose. His first attack blew away the yellow jersey and when he saw the damage he was doing, he took off on his own chasing an 11 man group which made up the early breakaway. Once he caught them he blew them away one by one.

I have seen a similar move on this same route before, it was in 2000 and the attacker was Marco Pantani. He was upset with his battle of words with Lance Armstrong, but after leading over a couple of cols Pantani blew up and abandoned. Pantani's attack did however set up for an incredibly bad ascent of the Joux-Plane for Armstrong who like Landis yesterday had forgotten to eat because of the pressure of the chase and blew up.

I was wondering if that would happen to Floyd. His coach Robbie Ventura gave us some insight. He said Floyd had done rides like this in training and could survive. However until the final climb of the day I never believed it- what a great day- now if nothing else goes wrong he should win the Tour and twenty four hours ago I wouldn't have put much money on that.

597 posted on 07/20/2006 2:02:13 PM PDT by Ready4Freddy (Ever had Vuja de? That feeling that you've never ever been here before? :)
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To: leilani; luv2ski
He also looked more like Lazarus than Lazarus did!

I disagree. Lazarus always bonked in the mountains. Did most of his best work on a cold flat surface...wrapped in a shroud.

598 posted on 07/20/2006 2:05:02 PM PDT by Husker8877
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To: Ready4Freddy
Speaking of Pantani.... on one of the stage preview pages for Stage16, they had a list of the fastest Tour ascents of L'Alpe d'Huez (had to adjust for different starting points, etc, yada yada yada, but).... Pantini had the Top 3 - 4th was Armstrong's solo ITT ascent in 2004(??)! Marco (RIP) was a troubled soul, for sure, but he was a climbing mofo!

...and the attacker was Marco Pantani

599 posted on 07/20/2006 2:08:42 PM PDT by Ready4Freddy (Ever had Vuja de? That feeling that you've never ever been here before? :)
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To: Husker8877

Heheheh... you're cracking me up, dude!! :)


600 posted on 07/20/2006 2:10:49 PM PDT by Ready4Freddy (Ever had Vuja de? That feeling that you've never ever been here before? :)
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