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?
Still no word on Jens Voight.
Slight change in last 5 of top 1o. Frank Schleck moved up nicely.
BTW, Good to see you tody sb! You’re on the oing list, right?
Yes, just been really busy, and not have had time to watch any of the previous stages.
1. CONTADOR Alberto 21 ASTANA 67h 33’ 15”
2. ARMSTRONG Lance 22 ASTANA 67h 34’ 52” + 01’ 37”
3. WIGGINS Bradley 58 GARMIN - SLIPSTREAM 67h 35’ 01” + 01’ 46”
4. KLÖDEN Andréas 23 ASTANA 67h 35’ 32” + 02’ 17”
5. SCHLECK Andy 31 TEAM SAXO BANK 67h 35’ 41” + 02’ 26”
6. NIBALI Vincenzo 95 LIQUIGAS 67h 36’ 06” + 02’ 51”
7. LE MEVEL Christophe 106 FRANCAISE DES JEUX 67h 36’ 24” + 03’ 09”
8. SCHLECK Frank 36 TEAM SAXO BANK 67h 36’ 40” + 03’ 25”
9. SASTRE Carlos 1 CERVELO TEST TEAM 67h 37’ 07” + 03’ 52”
10. VANDE VELDE Christian 51 GARMIN - SLIPSTREAM 67h 37’ 14” + 03’ 59”
11. ASTARLOZA Mikel 61 EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 67h 37’ 53” + 04’ 38”
12. KREUZIGER Roman 93 LIQUIGAS 67h 37’ 55” + 04’ 40”
13. KIRCHEN Kim 75 TEAM COLUMBIA - HTC 67h 38’ 20” + 05’ 05”
14. NOCENTINI Rinaldo 87 AG2R LA MONDIALE 67h 38’ 41” + 05’ 26”
15. CASAR Sandy 101 FRANCAISE DES JEUX 67h 38’ 55” + 05’ 40”
16. KARPETS Vladimir 161 TEAM KATUSHA 67h 39’ 11” + 05’ 56”
17. EVANS Cadel 11 SILENCE - LOTTO 67h 40’ 38” + 07’ 23”
18. SANCHEZ Luis-Leon 118 CAISSE D’EPARGNE 67h 41’ 38” + 08’ 23”
19. GOUBERT Stephane 85 AG2R LA MONDIALE 67h 42’ 29” + 09’ 14”
20. FEILLU Brice 174 AGRITUBEL 67h 43’ 15” + 10’ 00”
Pellizotti gets combative award, extend his polka dot lead immensely.
Evans took a huge hit in the GC today.
I’ll see what I can do to find detail profiles for as many of the climbs as possible.
Someone is cracking tomorrow. Just looking the profile kind of breaks me.
I think at this point by far the most compelling thing is what will Wiggins do? So far in all of the mountain stages he hasn’t seemed in any trouble, but he hasn’t made a move yet either. It makes me wonder if he is just trying for the podium (a feat no doubt) or will he make a move for the win? Where will the move come. I’m sure he could do some damage during the time trial given his background but I don’t think that is near enough.
Wiggins certainly seems to be the boy wonder here. What’s his background? I heard it, but forgot (CRS :). Pursuit?
Wiggins was 3rd in the Monaco ITT, 19” back, 1” behind Contador. I suspect that his start was fairly early, which makes it even more impressive. Love to see the start order for the 1st ITT to confirm.
He could solidify a podium finish w/ a great ITT, and a good climb on Ventoux.
Huh, 2 Garmin riders in top 10, no Columbia.
No change in the Sprint classification, Thor ahead by 18 pts!
From letour:
Mikel Astarloza – “I seized the chance…”
“I’m super happy right now. I had the strength to finally win a stage of the Tour de France. I’ve only got a small resume of results and there’s not a lot of victories on it but this goes right to the top of the list. I’m not finished with yet because I still feel like I’ve got a bit of strength in my legs and, of course, we all benefited from the rest day yesterday. But I’m always prepared to see what I can do.
“It’s never easy to attack a small group of riders, especially after such a rapid descent and against others who were also very strong. I had a look around to see how the others responded to Moinard’s attack and I seized the chance and went as hard as I could. I was in a good position for the win and this is a day that I’ll remember for a long time. “I didn’t want to risk it and have our group come into the finish for a sprint because that’s not my strength so I wanted to give it all a few kilometers before the line.”
letour analysis:
This was a stage for an aggressor, a climber and a descending specialist; that’s just what Mikel Astarloza is. He has finished in the top 10 of the Tour de France before but in Bourg-Saint-Maurice he earned a stage victory in sensational style. He was part of an escape group that formed between the two major climbs of the second day of racing in the Alps. While the Euskaltel captain was the main benefactor of an interesting days, the runner-up from the last two editions of the Tour, Cadel Evans, was the main casualty in terms of racing for general classification: the Australian finished 46th in the stage, 3’55” behind the Spanish winner. Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong continued to lead Astana’s parade in the 96th edition and they hold down first and second place overall.
He was a pursuit rider. At the least he was not the last Garmin rider as surely Vandevelde got that honor.
I couldn’t find the start order, but probably still well before the other contenders other than Lance.
Thanks, MB.
Well, I’ve found detail profiles on climbbybike.com for 4 of the 5 climbs tomorrow, only missing the Cat 2 - Côte d’Araches.
Please let me know if you find one, I’d like to include it in tomorrow’s preview post.
Perhaps 37 (just like 59) is too old for the Tour?
At least it appears to be for LA.
Too bad too.
From Lance’s Twitter:
“Making a very cool announcement on Thursday re: a new American partner for our team in 2010 (and beyond). Stay tuned!”
Anyone care to do the odds on this? Trek and Oakley would seem to be the most likely. If it is Oakley one thing is certain they will be outfitted in some sweet gear.
Interesting...
Uzbekistan?
My script: Lance and Alberto shred the competition up Ventoux. In the last k, Lance takes off, decisively winning the stage. The crowd goes wild--the legend reborn, riding alone to the top. But when the final GC clock is tallied, he's only a couple of seconds shy of Contador. Alberto is a happy man with years of racing ahead of him who is very pleased to sign with the new Livestrong-Nike team while Lance shows that he's still got it, winning the biggest, baddest mountain of all, and on the last day, no less, and leaving room for fans to speculate whether he could have won it all but was held back by being a good teammate to Contador.
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