Tour de France -- Stage 8

Tour de France Website ^ | 7/9/2005

[Aeronaut]

Live thread for your comments.

[Eurotwit]

hehe.

When I lived in the states I was an MGD man.

Right now though, I'll have to get by on Norwegian Pilzners.


I'll survive :-)

[Eurotwit]

Well, he just expressed his opinion. Wasn't rude or anything.

I never followed the tour closely until when Hushovd emerged a few years back, and then I only watched to see if he could get first across the line in some stage.

However, as you get more into it, the whole team aspect, strategies and tactics, it adds a whole new level to it all. Now it's one of the sporting highlights of the year as far as I am conserned.

Cheers.

[SALChamps03]

I was offering my opinion., which I'm allowed to do.

[SALChamps03]

I was giving my opinion. That's not against the rules.

[SALChamps03]

I felt like it.

[SALChamps03]

In my case, that isn't true.

[Carling]

And I was offering mine, which I'm allowed to do.

[NittanyLion]

You know, I'm sure it's great and all for those of you who like it, but I just can't get excited about a bicycle race. It just doesn't do anything for me. I know, I know, these are all great athletes, and it's a test of endurance, guts, etc...etc. Sorry, doesn't do a thing for me.

Thanks so much for coming on a cycling thread and taking the time to proclaim how unexcited you are.

[Aeronaut]

I was giving my opinion. That's not against the rules.

I was offering a helpful suggestion. Neither is that.

[luv2ski]

whoa! Vino scared me today! He is always aggressive but with Lance left alone, it was particularly bad. What the heck got into Kloden? He had a terrible spring (Paul said he looked and rode like a "sack of potatoes"!). He sure reversed that trend today! I am hoping that this is a wake up call to Team Discovery and not a revelation of the weakness there. Tomorrow will be interesting, indeed! It's a good thing I have Tivo this year. In Colorado I'd have to get up at 4:30 for the coverage!
ps. .0002? You've got to be kidding!

[Eurotwit]

Just give it up already.

The tour this year belongs to Basso...

I wish :-)

It'll certainly be interesting to follow this.

Cheers.

[Aeronaut]

I am hoping that this is a wake up call to Team Discovery and not a revelation of the weakness there.

Could be a fake-out, too. Remember about three years ago Lance was riding like he could barely stay upright, then he shredded the field.

[luv2ski]

Just give it up already. The tour this year belongs to Basso... I wish :-) It'll certainly be interesting to follow this. Cheers.

What you mean is next year belongs to Basso :-D.

[luv2ski]

I am hoping that this is a wake up call to Team Discovery and not a revelation of the weakness there. Could be a fake-out, too. Remember about three years ago Lance was riding like he could barely stay upright, then he shredded the field.

Yeah, I know- I remember that- I'm not buying it today, though. LA looked pretty vulnerable to me today (of course, he did that day, too, so what do I know?) The end result is that the other teams think he is attackable anyway, whether he is or not. They will all be after him tomorrow.

[NittanyLion]

Could be a fake-out, too. Remember about three years ago Lance was riding like he could barely stay upright, then he shredded the field.

Seems a little risky to leave Lance all alone..one flat tire could've cost him bigtime. I think it was just the (relatively) low gradient; the field was able to hang with the quick pace longer than usual. Doubt that'll be the case when the real climbing begins, and I suspect that's when Discovery will assert their dominance.

That said, I could see where Beltran and Azevedo may have been told to take the day off, on the assumption that someone else could hang with Lance. Or, maybe the team got some bad food - that would explain the weak effort by everyone.

[luv2ski]

I can't imagine Johan telling any of them to take the day off when they have the yellow jersey to defend but who knows? BTW, anyone else wondering about the call of the stage winner? It is hard for me to believe that Weening really won by .0002. It makes a big difference to Lance b/c of the time bonus (not to mention the potential boost to T-Mobile from the stage win). Do any of you think that the judges threw LA a bone today?

[Melas]

I understand completely. Someone gave me two tickets to the baseball game where Arod (sp?) made his return to Texas, on the other team. My daughter and I left in the 3rd inning, bored to absolute tears. I find hockey, basketball, and football to be every bit as boring as baseball, but I love bicycling and boxing. It's all about what you personally find entertaining. I don't get the attraction to ball games myself.

[truth_seeker]

"You know, I'm sure it's great and all for those of you who like it, but I just can't get excited about a bicycle race."

Why don't you share with the group about which sports get you excited?

[NittanyLion]

Based on the footage, I actually thought Kloden had him beat. But that may just have been the camera angle. Darn close, that's for sure.