Tour 2005

[leo]

Tommorow the Tour de France starts.
For the last time with Armstrong.

My forcast is that Ulrich is finaly going to have his 2nd vicotory this idition. But what's your forcast on Armstrong this year?

[James_Potter]

he'd better win, it'd be awful to go seven straight wins in a row then suddenly lose on your last chance. yeah, so not only should he win, but he should set some sort of impossible world record too.

[JJuggle]

Why isn't "Endorse more products" one of the options?

[Fuego]

That one's a given. it's already been determined.

[Borges]

I read that some "communications expert" believed that Lance would loose on purpose, in order to improve his image. By loosing he'd become more human. A real hero, rather than a super-human monster.

This makes no sense to me, but I'm no communications expert.

[jagur]

update:

Ullrich crashed today, but still will start i read.

[leo]

Originally posted by JJuggle
Why isn't "Endorse more products" one of the options? Because I use to be an insider and do know that inside the cycling world is less drugs than that there is in an average company.

Borges not understanding the loosing on purpose thing looks good on you. But maybe it's time to realize there more "bad things" than dope around in sports. The human character is just an another argument (after $$$'s). It's almost like the real world.

[tomblackwood]

Originally posted by James_Potter
he'd better win, it'd be awful to go seven straight wins in a row then suddenly lose on your last chance.
Six wins. This year will be 7 if he wins it.

[MERCYME]

Originally posted by tomblackwood
Six wins. This year will be 7 if he wins it.

Wow you just stated the obvious, Bravo!

-Dan

[bugman]

Originally posted by leo
Because I use to be an insider and do know that inside the cycling world is less drugs than that there is in an average company.

Borges not understanding the loosing on purpose thing looks good on you. But maybe it's time to realize there more "bad things" than dope around in sports. The human character is just an another argument (after $$$'s). It's almost like the real world.

I think he meant products like Trek, Discovery Channel, Subaru, Coca Cola, US Postal Service, Dasani etc...

As for drugs, he is one of the most tested and scrutinzed athletes in any sport. I doubt he does anything. I do think he is genetically gifted, and has some of the best support on his team, his coach, his strategist, designers, etc... that anyone could hope for.

I love watching the tour. Any tour for that matter, the strategy, the speed, my heart just pounds watching these guys. Scary stuff they do.

[James_Potter]

Originally posted by tomblackwood
Six wins. This year will be 7 if he wins it.

err....yeah! that's what I meant, I think....

[john_childs]

Lance is the man. Check the results for today's opening stage: stage 1 TT (http://www.velonews.com/tour2005/stage.php?stage=1)

[jagur]

what happened to the tour audio that was on the net for free?

did OLN take it down or somthing? i dont have cable or sattlite so i always listened to it live on the net.

what am i going to do without Phil Ligget and Paul Sherwan?

[tomblackwood]

Originally posted by MERCYME
Wow you just stated the obvious, Bravo!
Read the comment I was responding to, numbnuts.

[Borges]

I wonder why they started out with a real time trial this year.
Are they deliberately trying to put the climbers and sprinters lower in the overall results from the beginning?

[leo]

Sprinters and climbers don't care for the overall ranking. What the next days will only matter is the differences between the riders who go for the overall classement, regardless whetere they are 50th, 100th or whatever. Most of riders who are now on top, will be on a much larger distance in the end (if they get there...). So for the top-favorites it's matter to stay in front, as there will be many falls in the first days, when there will be most likely many mass-sprints. And so it's good to have Lance not in yellow yet, now CSC will play a defending role (and be willing to work to keep everything together).

[jagur]

i have found some live coverage on Velo new's web site. but its all refreshing print.

i think the Discovery Channel ( Lance's new sponcer) has somthing to do with this.

this freakin sucks.

[GILD]

here is a link to tour audio
http://www.eurosport.com/home/pages/v4/l0/s18/playermultimedia_lng0_rub9_spo18_ven20792.shtml

and a couple other options
http://www.cyclingfans.com/

[Borges]

The gray jersey for the most disappointed cyclist in the tour goes to David Zabriskie!

[leo]

And the mountain-classement jersey went to Erik Dekker (http://www.erikdekker.nl/), after his escape yesterday. He use to be my teammate years ago. No incredible talent, but the best example of a sportman with dedication and mental power. In 2003 I met him (and other tour riders like Aart Vierhouten (http://www.aartvierhouten.nl/) -as well ex-teammate of me- and Discovery (http://team.discovery.com/meet/meet.html) team-member Max van Heeswijk (http://www.maxvanheeswijk.nl/)) during a unicycle performance. That was a nice and relaxed reunion, where we conclude we're all doing fine.

[Borges]

Originally posted by leo
And the mountain-classement jersey went to Erik Dekker (http://www.erikdekker.nl/), after his escape yesterday. He use to be my teammate years ago. No incredible talent, but the best example of a sportman with dedication and mental power.

Dekker was absolutely amazing when he won last years Paris-Tours. That was one of the most impressive wins I've ever seen.

[jagur]

Originally posted by GILD
here is a link to tour audio
http://www.eurosport.com/home/pages/v4/l0/s18/playermultimedia_lng0_rub9_spo18_ven20792.shtml

and a couple other options
http://www.cyclingfans.com/


the euro sport link looks good but it doesnt replay later.... it just goes to the next program........OLN had it downloadable so i could freak out as the hill climbing began and the feild cracked....

this sucks.......Phil Liggget is no where in USA.

[leo]

Originally posted by Borges
Dekker was absolutely amazing when he won last years Paris-Tours. Especially when you realize he missed the Tour that year because of some broken bone or other serious injury. He took his family along on a trainings kamp on Texel, as small isle. And I have a slight idea how long and intensive his training-sessions must have been... but that finish-photo looked good and cool, especially in his national-champ shirt.
I really wonder which one he liked better, that silver Olympic medal in Barcelona (after Ullrich) in 1992, or Paris-Tours 2004.

In the last year when I was cycling (1995) our team won the national championship for clubs, he and Gert Jakobs (http://www.nos.nl/archief/specials/tour2003/paginas/nieuws/interviews/jakobs_knechten.htm) and the later Rabobank rider Marcel Luppes were the main engines.

That same mentioned OS of 1992 Leon van Bon also won silver on the track. As I liked the track a lot, I use to ride with him and his brothers now and then. Watch him closely this days. I'm pretty sure he's gonne take another stage victory that he deserves. Especially is some well-mixed 'groupe du tete' can stay away from the peleton.

[TheoELind]

has anyone noticed that on the poll, the option of lance winning is yellow? I think it's a sign... GO UNIBALLER!!!!!

[johnfoss]

Without being up on the sport, from memory I seem to recall most multi-tour winners did *not* win their final tours. Of the ones that won five, many tried for six to have the most wins of anyone. In Lance's case he has already acheived that, and announced his retirement before his 7th attempt.

So my basic feeling, without having read about his conditioning, was that he probably would not win. However after watching him in the Prologue, and listening to the commentators, I believe he will be as much a threat to the other top riders as he has been in any previous year; possibly more.

Go Lance! Every success you make in this tour will add further visibility to all forms of cycling in the United States!

BTW, re: 'genetically gifted,' I think everyone who races the tour has to be genetically gifted to even get there in the first place. Doing well requires not only the right kinds of genetic gifts, but an extremely deep well of determination. Since so many of the top riders are equipped with these things, we can only watch as the drama unfolds to see who holds together the best!

[leo]

Originally posted by leo
Leon van Bon..... Watch him closely.... I'm pretty sure he's gonne take another stage victory...Or be the evedence you never should place bets on riders, and the Tour is only for riders in top-condition, and nothing's sure untill you're in Paris.

In his first ever tour (1994) he was extremely young, and so his team-leader (Jan Raas) gave him an order to give up. Three days after that I had to ride against him on the national championships on the track. During the prelims he felt, while I was riding under him (...and you probably know what that means on a track....) I jumped up on the right moment (scary without brakes and without freewheel!), and so placed myself (and received fame on EuroSport).

[Borges]

There seems to be more punctures when it rains.
Is it just coincidence or does the rain actually somehow increase the risk?

[leo]

Originally posted by Borges
There seems to be more punctures when it rains.
Is it just coincidence or does the rain actually somehow increase the risk? Oh yes absolutly. As things stick to the wheel easily.
But also your place in the group. In the back of the group you may catch more stuff that has been sweeped up by someone in front of you. Last (but not least) factor; most roads have a bow in it, so the dirt goes to the sides by the wind and rain. But if you're in the back of the group, and want to get in the front of it, you will have go trough it or decide to stay where you are.

Hey, Danmark is doing very well, don't you think? (though Rasmussen's team is from NL, and Jens Voigt is actually German)!
I give it a good change Rasmussen finaly will keep this tricot till the end.
My all time favourite DK cyclist was Jesper Skibby. He speaks very well Dutch (as he was riding at the TVM team), and always gaved funny but good interviews.

[Borges]

Originally posted by leo
Hey, Danmark is doing very well, don't you think? (though Rasmussen's team is from NL, and Jens Voigt is actually German)!
I give it a good change Rasmussen finaly will keep this tricot till the end.

Danish team CSC got back the yellow jersey back and Danish cyclist Michael Rasmussen won the stage. Even if CSC only has one Dane in the tour and Rasmussen is with a Dutch team, yesterday was an exceptionally good day for Danish cycling. Rolf Sorensen (TV commentator and former stage winner with the Rabobank team) sounded like he was close to tears.
He seems to think Rasmussen has a chance of winning the entire tour. That's probably overly optimistic, but he has a good chance of keeping the red dots. Especially if Moreau goes after the yellow jersey instead.


My all time favourite DK cyclist was Jesper Skibby. He speaks very well Dutch (as he was riding at the TVM team), and always gaved funny but good interviews.
Jesper was everyones favorite. His sense of humor has always made Jesper very popular even if he didn't get quite the results Riis and Sorensen where getting at the time.