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.
From the Tour site:
17:44 - The Top 10 In General Classification
The top order of the general classification received a big shake up after today’s time trial. The biggest loss was sustained by Mickael Rasmussen who dropped from third to seventh. The new top 10 is:
1. Lance Armstrong (USA) DSC – 3,463.5km in 82h34’05”
2. Ivan Basso (Italy) CSC – at 4’40”
3. Jan Ullrich (Germany) TMO – at 6’21”
4. Francisco Mancebo (Spain) IBA – at 9’59”
5. Levi Leipheimer (USA) GST – at 11’25”
6. Alexandre Vinokourov (Kazakstahn) TMO – at 11’27”
7. Mickael Rasmussen (Denmark) RAB – at 11’33”
8. Cadel Evans (Australia) DVL – at 11’55”
9. Floyd Landis (USA) PHO – at 12’44”
10. Oscar Pereiro Sio (Spain) PHO – at 12’44”
So four w/ 30 sec in-between. 30 is WAY too much for a sprint tho', and Ras can't sprint, so effectively it's between Levi and Vino.
Lance is comfortable around everyone. You should see him w/ the President.
'Sheryl Crowsfeet...' lmao!! Jean Francois is truly in his element--doesn't Teresea own a mansion there or something?
Lance's mom is only 17 years older than he is! She had him at 17 and she was married at the time. She looks great.
Cute image of one of Lance's daughters hugging the Credit Lyonnais lion... is that lion #82? ;-)
Mais oui! Chateau Gigolo, I sink eet eez called!
Meanwhile Lance cruises to #7...
How about USA's Floyd Landis trying a breakaway to move from 9th to 5th? Should be some interesting sub-plots tomorrow...
I pulled them off the official site.
You're welcome... my pleasure. I had hoped to do much more this year than just usually post the live thread of the day, but didn't have as much time on hand as I had expected. Thank you, Aeronaut, for backing me up on the days I was out of town.
I'll still look for any interesting TDF articles for a few days after tomorrow and ping the list to them. At least I won't have to worry about giving away any results... ;-)
Thank you Nutmeg. I'll be here next year, and I'll be glad to sub if you have to miss a day or two. Bravo Lance! Big boo to the Lance bashers.
Yippee! Usually there's not much point in watching Sunday. But this year there's a reason to get up early one more day!It's not going to be the same without Lance, but if Levi can finish well tomorrow, maybe we can get a lot of zeese fickell americains who've been caught up in TdF fever because of LA to come back again next year.
LOL! ;-D
I'd wear it out clubbing! The fan there looks like he just walked off the set of 'Deliverance'...
AMEN to that.
I'd like to see Floyd Landis do a 'Cutters' move out of the movies and go on a breakaway tying Levi for 3 Americans in the top 5, but it is usually not protocol to do that on the last stage.
Thanks so much for all of your help with the TDF list. Next year will be interesting without Lance in the race...
Careful around the pets! My dog is deathly afraid of my (regular road) helmet - haven't figured out what exactly she thinks it is -but she'd be freaked beyond belief by one of those ITT jobbies.They look like they could eat small children for breakfast!
I read an article that this years ITT bike cost Lance and the developers $250,000.00 to produce. Unreal!
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