Posted on 07/04/2009 8:09:14 AM PDT by Mom MD
Today is day one! Armstrong riding. Astana is back! Predictions? Other comments? Does someone have the ping list from last year?
I can’t believe thats true. I don’t think Astana wants a real contender (other than one of their boys) in yellow at this point in the race....
The next few days promise to be exciting. I haven’t looked yet, but I better be off on the Ventoux!
Dont run away baynative
We will always find a venue for discussing the race, and hopefully everyone can leave the baggage behind. I value your comments and hope you stick it out!
Seems like you are getting a little sick, I would hate for that to come to a head next Saturday. ;)
Unfortunately, I don’t get sick days. If I am dead, my body has to make rounds anyway!
As a team strategy, they probably don’t want Hincapie in yellow, but, Armstrong made the comment with real feeling. So I don’t doubt that he wanted Hincapie to pull this one out. Longterm, Hincapie isn’t going to be a threat to them.
Since Armstrong left, I haven’t paid as much attention to the Tour. And his being back definitely seems to have upped the game, so to speak. The other teams seem to toddle along.
Agreed. If it were up to Lance alone, he’d see George in yellow.
As close as this race is, the team directors are calling the shots, and the real action should start in the upcoming mountains.
Is the Ventoux climb a TT ??
No, but there’s an ITT 2 days before Ventoux, in Annecy.
From Lance’s twitter:
“St14 done. Sounds like there’s quite a bit of confusion over this one... Noone, and I mean noone, wanted George in yellow more than me.”
“Our team rode a moderate tempo to put him in the jersey by at least 2 mins. Ag2r said they would not defend then they started to ride.”
“Until 10km to go he was solidly in yellow until GARMIN put on the gas and made sure it didn’t happen.”
“And I reiterate. @ghincapie deserves to be yellow tonight. He deserves more than that. Look to who pulled the last 50k to see who to blame..”
A few fellow tweeters have tried to blame Astana for taking away Yellow, but I just didn’t see it. And Lance has made clear to them that it isn’t the case.
Someone has said that Lance does best when he is mad. Well, he seems pretty fired up now and we have a climb to the finish tomorrow. If he decides he wants to take yellow there might not be much anyone can do about it.
OK, so who wants to post results through Stage 14? I’ll get a Stage 15 Preview together (unless Mom MD wishes to) and post later tonight so the Stage 14 talk will have settled down before the Stage 15 Preview is posted. I’ll ping all to the Preview as the ‘starting point’ for Stage 15 posts.
I will have the Preview vetted by Alberto Gonzalez, Mike Nifong, and Willie Gary.
The way teams work in this sport are very interesting. Ag2r would not “defend” the yellow? Really? Very complex sport.
And if the riders with the group Hincapie was in would have stayed together until the last few hundred yards, he most likely would be in the yellow. They could have raced out their order in those last few yards, but held onto the time lead. Instead they were so competitive miles out that they didn’t keep a formation.
Add to that from Johann Bruyneel:
“Bummed, really bummed about George Hincapie not getting yellow. Won’t elaborate on the strategies but what Garmin did was just BS. Sorry!”
post away. I stink at graphics and don’t have the time anyway. You are now the official thread host (unless someone else wants to help)
I believe LA, Mr B, he’s said in several interviews how much he misses George on his team, both as a rider and a friend. They came up through the US ranks together, Lance 1 year ahead of him.
Well I am curious about the rules for posting after seeing all the talk on the last thread. Can we or can we not post jpgs of the results from wherever Leilani (?) was getting them?
Here is the top 10 stage and overall after Stage 14
Top Ten Riders Stage 14 Results:
1. Serguei Ivanov Team Katusha in 4:37:46
2. Nicolas Roche Ag2r La Mondiale at 00:16
3. Hayden Roulston Cervelo Test Team in 4:38:02 at 00:16
4. Martijn Maaskant Garmin - Slipstream in 4:38:02 at 00:16
5. Sébastien Minard Cofidis Le Credit En Ligne in 4:38:02 at 00:16
6. Daniele Righi Lampre - N.g.c in 4:38:02 at 00:16
7. Christophe Le Mevel Francaise Des Jeux in 4:38:02 at 00:16
8. George Hincapie Team Columbia - Htc in 4:38:02 at 00:16
9. Daniele Bennati Liquigas in 4:38:02 at 00:16
10. Gerald Ciolek Team Milram in 4:38:08 at 00:22
GC Standings after Stage 14:
1. Rinaldo Nocentini Ag2r La Mondiale in 58:13:52
2. George Hincapie Team Columbia - Htc at 00:05
3. Alberto Contador Astana in 58:13:58 at 00:06
4. Lance Armstrong Astana in 58:14:00 at 00:08
5. Christophe Le Mevel Francaise Des Jeux in 58:14:35 at 00:43
6. Bradley Wiggins Garmin - Slipstream in 58:14:38 at 00:46
7. Andréas KlÖden Astana in 58:14:46 at 00:54
8. Tony Martin Team Columbia - Htc in 58:14:52 at 01:00
9. Christian Vande Velde Garmin - Slipstream in 58:15:16 at 01:24
10. Andy Schleck Team Saxo Bank in 58:15:41 at 01:49
The official results for the other jerseys aren’t up yet on the letour site, but I don’t think there are any big changes.
Green - Hushovd
Polka Dot - Pellizotti
White - Martin
Team - AG2R
OK, Mom MD. I’ll keep it simple, profile & map from letour, preview from Versus, that kind of thing.
If anyone has ideas / suggestions on what we should include, please let me know. Post, PM me, or call me at BR-549.
Thanks, Mr. Blonde.
Serguei Ivanov – Today I can appreciate it…”
When a stage of the Tour last began in Pontarlier, Serguei Ivanov led an escape to the finish as a 26-year-old. The Russian champion has won again with Pontarlier providing the launch pad for an attack that would remain alive all the way to Besançon. The veteran from the new Katusha team can now appreciate the value of a win at the Tour…
“I have been relatively quiet in this year’s Tour because I was waiting for the right moment to show myself. Nobody would have seen me in the finish of stages until now because I’ve been saving myself a little. Today there was a good opportunity and I decided in the morning that I had to go on the attack. The weather was quite good for me but at the beginning it was very hard. We had been attacking for a long time but the peloton was always just about 20 seconds behind. We were all thinking, ‘Oh, we still have to push.’ I had nothing in my legs anymore but then suddenly the time checks started showing that our lead was going up and up. “Everyone saw that there were 12 of us in the break and we were all waiting for the final kilometers especially because there was a headwind and no one tried an early attack. The group started to accelerate about 15km from the finish and I waited patiently for my moment. I thought it would be a very hard final because of the wind and a little hill but I timed the move well.
“This is the first Tour de France stage victory for Katusha and it’s a great one and it makes me very happy to deliver a win for the team. This is not the same feeling as the first time I won a stage of the Tour; back then [2001] I was young and I didn’t understand what it was all about… I was just flying. Today I can appreciate it. It’s incredible.”
Rinaldo Nocentini – “There was a big risk of losing the yellow jersey…”
Another day, another stage in yellow for Rinaldo Nocentini. He admitted to his troops that he wasn’t fussed if they surrendered the lead in stage 14 but the Italian is grateful for the help he received in defending the yellow jersey…
“It was a very difficult day today because we’re getting tired from all the effort in the last week. We had a rider [Nicolas Roche] up front so we didn’t have to ride but because [George] Hincapie was in the move there was a big risk of losing the yellow jersey. Eventually, with 50 kilometers to go, our directeur sportif Vincent Lavenu said, ‘Okay, let’s go! Let’s catch the guys…’ Okay this wasn’t possible but we had to limit our losses and keep the jersey.
“I told the guys, ‘Listen, I don’t mind. If you want to go for it and defend the jersey, that’s great. But if you don’t want to, that’s okay. You’ve already worked so hard over the last few days so it doesn’t really matter.’ “Eventually I’ve kept the lead by just five seconds, so I’m really pleased with how this Tour has gone for me so far. And I’m really grateful for the commitment from my team.”
Accident on the 14th stage (Colmar – Besançon)
After the first results of the inquiry of the national police of Wittelsheim, the circumstances of the accident which occurred at Kilometer 38 of Stage 14 are the following:
A member of the Garde Republicain on a motorcycle was riding behind the breakaway group when he hit a 61-year old woman who crossed the street suddenly. After the crash, the motorcycle slid further and injured two other spectators. The medical service of the Tour de France immediately took charge of the injured people before emergency personnel took over. Despite the intensive treatment, the 61-year-old spectator did not survive her injuries.
The two other victims of the accident are a 36-year-old who is suffering from neck pain, and a 61-year-old who has a broken leg. Both were transported to the hospital in Mulhouse.
Deeply affected by this tragic accident, the Gendarmerie, the Garde Republicain and the Tour de France organization offer their condolences to the families and friends of the victim and promise their full support to those who were injured.
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