Please FReepmail nutmeg if you want on or off the Tour de France 2006 list.
Please FReepmail nutmeg if you want on or off the Tour de France 2006 list.
Course: Although there are Cat. 2, Cat. 3 and Cat. 4 climbs in the middle section of this 197km stage from the Alps through the Jura mountains to the Saône Valley, the whole course is on wide routes nationales. The stage is likely to open with constant attacks before a breakaway establishes itself on the hills in the middle part of the stage. The last 50km are almost completely flat before the 400-meter final straightaway in the northern part of Mâcon.
History: Besides two time trials (won by Induráin in 1991 and Armstrong in 2000), the only road stage to finish in Mâcon was 15 years ago. The winner was a young Russian named Viatcheslav Ekimov, who dashed away from the peloton in the final kilometer and held off the sprinter-led peloton by seven seconds.
Favorites: On paper, this is a stage for the sprinters. But emerging from the Alps, and at the end of a debilitating Tour, none of the sprinters' teams has the strength to control a near-200km stage. Should the wind stop the break gaining too much time, a combined effort of several teams might result in a bunch finish. Behind McEwen and Freire, the possible stage winners are Erik Zabel or Bernhard Eisel.
Graphics by CyclingNews.com
Landis was an inspiration yesterday. I wish i'd caught more than the last twenty minutes. One of the best performances ever by an American athlete.
Floyd Landis bump!
And thank you OLN for the great coverage!
I was surprised by I believe the Tour Director - he compared Landis to Eddy Merckx (specifically his ride through the pyrenees).