The pundits were right. The first prediction was that Stefan Schumacker could stay in the front group and he even looked good to challenge for the stage if it wasn't for Kim Kirchen's rear wheel obstructing the path of the leader up to that point and sendig him to the ground (that wasn't part of the prediction), and the other thing mentioned by those in the know was that the climbed suited Columbia's leader, Kirchen, well, he didn't dissapoint, although the Schumi crash bumped Kirchen's chances of riding in yellow. Ricco looked good, aided by the always in form, Leonardo Pieppoli. Caisse de Espargne looked impressive, but their leader hesitated a bit and was swamped by the charging climbers.
But what happened to Damiano Cunego? He was in all sorts of trouble when it was go time and the Lampre leader looked to be in a spot of bother, giving some time to his main rivals. Maybe he hasn't recovered from the tt just yet.
Evans in third on the stage and now second overall continues to ride the perfect race. Despite what people say about him not attacking, he is not supposed to attack just yet. Sitting six seconds behind Kirchen is where he wants to be at this stage of the game. Kirchen will have to show his cards this weekend and his team will have to continue to ride the wave of good form they are having in order for him to stay in yellow come Tuesday, but I don't think it will happen.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Getting it right..
The sprinters teams finally got it together today, but they sure left it late to close the gap to the three breakaways. And again it was the french teams on the attack, on a stage that didn't suit a break reaching the line, but since riders are making the race by taking chances, it took a huge effort to close the gap.
Columbia is riding on a high after signing their new sponsor and their riders have finished on the top spots in every stage so far, with Kirchen riding in green for a few days and Lokvist in the white jersey, no better way to grab publicity for the new boss. Gerosltiner also did itself another favor by staying in yellow on more day, helping its hunt for a sponsor.
Mark Canvendish showed once again that on a straight line, he's the fastest guy on two wheels. Each of the big sprinters was there, getting support from their teams, yet once the youngster from the Isle of Man took off, the rest were racing for second.
And today marked the end of the race for Mauricio Soler of Barloworld, who once again, managed to hit the deck. Poor guy, better luck next year. Tomorrow's stage to Supper Besse should be a dandy, a nice opening to a weekend of fireworks in the Pyrennes.
Columbia is riding on a high after signing their new sponsor and their riders have finished on the top spots in every stage so far, with Kirchen riding in green for a few days and Lokvist in the white jersey, no better way to grab publicity for the new boss. Gerosltiner also did itself another favor by staying in yellow on more day, helping its hunt for a sponsor.
Mark Canvendish showed once again that on a straight line, he's the fastest guy on two wheels. Each of the big sprinters was there, getting support from their teams, yet once the youngster from the Isle of Man took off, the rest were racing for second.
And today marked the end of the race for Mauricio Soler of Barloworld, who once again, managed to hit the deck. Poor guy, better luck next year. Tomorrow's stage to Supper Besse should be a dandy, a nice opening to a weekend of fireworks in the Pyrennes.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Surprise...
For sure Steffan Schumacker was not ranked high on the list of possible winners, with the likes of Cancellara and Millar gunning for stage 4. But the German rider set a devastating pace through the 18 mile course to take home the stage and yellow jersey. And with tomorrow's flat stage, he's assured a day in yellow, at least.
Of the main contenders for overall victory, Evans, Menchov and Sastre all did fantastic job to move up or stay within striking distance of each other. Valverde however catapulted down the general classification and now has a tough job when the race enters the mountains.
Of the main contenders for overall victory, Evans, Menchov and Sastre all did fantastic job to move up or stay within striking distance of each other. Valverde however catapulted down the general classification and now has a tough job when the race enters the mountains.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Get some!
Sooner or later it was going to happen and today four brave warriors took the bull by the horns, by staying almost the entire stage in front of the peloton and with that, a new change on GC. Here at the house we were rooting for Will Frishckorn, but to tell you the truth, any of the four deserved the stage, after a truly gutsy ride. Faillou was on a high today and almost pulled the double, by winning the stage and taking the yellow jersey, but the shortest rider in the Tour, Samuel Dumoulin was quickets to the line.
The question for me in the last 25kms was, why was Quickstep pulling?. Presumably they had itentions of pulling the break and setting the sprint for Gert Steegmans, but he himself was helping to drive the pace. Maybe it was because the crash with 22kms that set them off, but again, with no real GC aspiriations, and with the break long gone, Quickstep wasted energy on a fruitless chase.
Denis Menchov and Ricardo Ricco were caught behind the last crash of the day and had to set hot pace to limit the damage at the end. Again, Ricco's team hesitated to help Rabobank to chase back on to the leaders and their deficit went from 15 seconds to 30+ at the end. This could hurt Menchov's hunt for yellow.
The rest of the main contenders were attentive enough to stay near the front and Caisse de Espargne again did another superb job escorting Valverde through the wind and rain. Evans and Sastre are quietly within striking distance, but the real fight for GC will start tomorrow with the ITT. We'll see who is in for real.
The question for me in the last 25kms was, why was Quickstep pulling?. Presumably they had itentions of pulling the break and setting the sprint for Gert Steegmans, but he himself was helping to drive the pace. Maybe it was because the crash with 22kms that set them off, but again, with no real GC aspiriations, and with the break long gone, Quickstep wasted energy on a fruitless chase.
Denis Menchov and Ricardo Ricco were caught behind the last crash of the day and had to set hot pace to limit the damage at the end. Again, Ricco's team hesitated to help Rabobank to chase back on to the leaders and their deficit went from 15 seconds to 30+ at the end. This could hurt Menchov's hunt for yellow.
The rest of the main contenders were attentive enough to stay near the front and Caisse de Espargne again did another superb job escorting Valverde through the wind and rain. Evans and Sastre are quietly within striking distance, but the real fight for GC will start tomorrow with the ITT. We'll see who is in for real.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Thor-nder..
Making use of the excellent work that team Credti Agricole did, Thor Hushovd won the second stage of the Tour, giving his managers a boost in the search for a new team sponsor. Adding to that the green jersey for the day, and things are looking good for the boys in green.
Caisse de Espagne did their duty at the front controlling most of the peloton, keeping their leader safe and out of the blistering wind and allowing the french duo of Chavanel and Voeckler to venture ahead for most of the stage. Voeckler increased his lead on the KOM competition and Chavanel conquered the most agressive rider jersey. So far the fact that the race started without a prologue has proved a good choice. The racing, although nervous, has been exciting, especially in the last 20kms.
Cancellara did his usual trick towards the end, but unlike Milan-San Remo, Filipo Pozatto was paying attention, although both of their efforts came to nothing, as Hushvod sprinted for victory. Kim Kerchen had another good finish, but I'm wondering if his efforts will cost them later in the race. And poor Mauricio Soler had another hellish day, finishing another 7 minutes back.
Caisse de Espagne did their duty at the front controlling most of the peloton, keeping their leader safe and out of the blistering wind and allowing the french duo of Chavanel and Voeckler to venture ahead for most of the stage. Voeckler increased his lead on the KOM competition and Chavanel conquered the most agressive rider jersey. So far the fact that the race started without a prologue has proved a good choice. The racing, although nervous, has been exciting, especially in the last 20kms.
Cancellara did his usual trick towards the end, but unlike Milan-San Remo, Filipo Pozatto was paying attention, although both of their efforts came to nothing, as Hushvod sprinted for victory. Kim Kerchen had another good finish, but I'm wondering if his efforts will cost them later in the race. And poor Mauricio Soler had another hellish day, finishing another 7 minutes back.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
And there are off!!
The first stage of the Tour is in the books and it went pretty much as expected. The early break established a short lead and it stayed there. Their main concern was riding for the points and KOM jerseys, which were very hotly contested, with good ol' Thomas Voeckler becoming the first wearer of the polka dot tunic.
Crashes were the order of the day, with several minor pileups roughing some feathers. Cofidis lost Luclos-Lasalle to a broken wrist and Barloworld's attempt to the GC took a hit when their Colombian leader, Francisco Soler managed to re-hurt his hand/wrist and in the process lost a chunk of time while chasing back on.
Obviously the big winner today was Alejandro Valverde and his Caisse de Espagne team (that's one sexy looking bike he's riding). Although they will have to decide how to handle the enormous pressure of holding the leader's jersey, he has started on the right foot. On the other hand, today's loser is the aformentioned Mauricio Soler, and even though the race just got underway, he finds himself at a disavantage time wise.
Tomorrow's stage will pretty much be a copycat of today's, with the battle for the KOM's taking center stage. Ricardo Ricco is my pick for Stage 2, and with the win, he will increase his lead on the white jersey competition.
Crashes were the order of the day, with several minor pileups roughing some feathers. Cofidis lost Luclos-Lasalle to a broken wrist and Barloworld's attempt to the GC took a hit when their Colombian leader, Francisco Soler managed to re-hurt his hand/wrist and in the process lost a chunk of time while chasing back on.
Obviously the big winner today was Alejandro Valverde and his Caisse de Espagne team (that's one sexy looking bike he's riding). Although they will have to decide how to handle the enormous pressure of holding the leader's jersey, he has started on the right foot. On the other hand, today's loser is the aformentioned Mauricio Soler, and even though the race just got underway, he finds himself at a disavantage time wise.
Tomorrow's stage will pretty much be a copycat of today's, with the battle for the KOM's taking center stage. Ricardo Ricco is my pick for Stage 2, and with the win, he will increase his lead on the white jersey competition.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
It's time!!!
No..no...no, not for me to get back on the bike. That will take another 11 or so days since I'm having a great time with my two daughters so far, and to give you a tip, go watch Wall-E, it rules!!!. Not so for Kung Fu Panda, which the girls and I thought was a bit on the boring side, but Wall-E is a pretty good flick. But it's time for the big show, the mother of all bike races, no matter what the critics say, around this time every year, people just go ga-ga for Le Tour.
Since I have a little more time in my hands due to the lack of riding and the fact that both girls are into cycling, I'm going to evaluate each stage and give you my humble opinion on who rode great, average, poor and who just didn't have a clue each day. So come by and check the space now and then, leave your comments and enjoy the race.
Since I have a little more time in my hands due to the lack of riding and the fact that both girls are into cycling, I'm going to evaluate each stage and give you my humble opinion on who rode great, average, poor and who just didn't have a clue each day. So come by and check the space now and then, leave your comments and enjoy the race.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)