Posted on 07/22/2005 10:14:20 PM PDT by nutmeg
Stage 20 - Saturday, July 23: Saint-Etienne - Saint-Etienne ITT, 55 km
The showdown! All things being equal (and even with a few inequalitites) the individual time trial should provide a great spectacle at the end of a gruelling three weeks - Armstrong thrives in this race against the clock, and his dominance is well documented. But if we have a situation like 2003, this could be the clincher for the leader going into the stage, or it could provide the challenger with a whisker of hope. Here's hoping the weather stays fine and we get Ullrich out firing and witness Basso's improvement in time trialling, which has also been well-documented. The distance suits Armstrong, but the undulating terrain suits Ullrich's ability to push the big gears and power along. A surprise may be in the works, but chances are it'll come down to these two, regardless of where they are on GC - but it's also likely they'll both be at the pointy end of the field.
Ullrich across the 49.7-km mark in 1st-so-far at 1:06.27. Basso/Armstrong/Rasmussen left to go.
Not a problem.
Nascar should have loaned them TP for the day.
1;12? Lance gets 1:11 something (my guess)
Definitely. Ullrich stopped the clock at 1:12:09.09.
Lance is up again!!!!!
Ullrich finishes at 1:12:09!
Armstrong dominating, crosses the 49.7 mark first at 1:05.51, 35 seconds up on Ullrich.
LA TALAUDIERE (D.3-N.498) - km 49.7 154riders
Last rider : 001 ARMSTRONG (USA, DSC) - 1st in 01:05:52
1- 001 ARMSTRONG (USA, DSC) 01:05:52
2- 011 ULLRICH (GER, TMO) 01:06:27 35"
3- 019 VINOKOUROV (KAZ, TMO) 01:07:13 01' 21"
4- 023 JULICH (USA, CSC) 01:07:29 01' 38"
5- 021 BASSO (ITA, CSC) 01:07:42 01' 50"
Lance is up 35 seconds at the last check.
Jean looked so much more interested in Edwards though.
Levi loses 1:58 to Vino at the end, still something like 0:30 up for a top 5 spot to Paris.
because Edwards has better hair then Sheryl
HOLY COW! Ivan's 2 minutes slower than LA. Even giving up the fact that Lance was (obviously) saving the best for last, that's not good for the future GC champ Basso. I think a lot of these riders were really spooked by the technical aspects (tight curves etc) of the course. It all comes down to preparation and once again Lance Armstrong blows 'em all out of the water on that score.
30 up on who?
Basso stops the clock at 1:13:40.33. Armstrong steaming to the finish.
Armstrong pumping it!! 1:50 ahead of Basoo...
Lance stops the clock at 1:11:46.06 to win the time-trial.
Basso now sprinting, searching for extra seconds to hold off Ullrich for 2nd place.
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