Anyone following this ?
Mark Cavendish made a really awesom finish yesterday, confirming that he is the fastest out there.
There is also the Amrstrong come back ! He is tenth as for now, this moderately well the first day, but way behind Cancellara.
Le Tour De France 2009
- Thread starter Werewolf
- Start date
Anyone following this ?
Mark Cavendish made a really awesom finish yesterday, confirming that he is the fastest out there.
There is also the Amrstrong come back ! He is tenth as for now, this moderately well the first day, but way behind Cancellara.
Armstrong in a break-away. Does he have a chance this year?
He just went from the 10th to the 3th place today, putting 38" to his teammate and rival, Contador ! Cavendish won today too, in a final sprint against Hushovd. Lance may be not as strong as he used to be, but he certainly is experienced and that showed today !
Brilliant from Lance today, deffo rooting for him !
Well, well, well. So Armstrong is in a good shout to wear the yellow after tomorrow's stage and suppose he mantains it till the Pyrenees.
What will Contador do in such case? Will he be allowed to try and attack the race leader from his own team?
What will Contador do in such case? Will he be allowed to try and attack the race leader from his own team?
I`m at a point where I hope anyone but Armstrong wins to be honest. Don`t know why, but I just don`t like him.
Cavendish was strong today as well and beat Hushovd quite easily in the finish.
Cavendish was strong today as well and beat Hushovd quite easily in the finish.
C'mon Cavendish!
In normal circumstances, Cavendish should win every sprint there is. There's just noone getting close at this moment when it comes to the sprints. And add his great team to that and it's almost a lost cause for the other sprinters.
But alot can happen, especially in the tour. Look at yesterday and today. Both special sprints where more than half the other sprinters were already missing even before the final km.
As far as the general classification is concerned, I think it will be an Astana cyclist winning it. And my preference still goes to Contador. Although I think and hope the likes of Andy Schleck, Evans and Sastre will make it an exciting Tour.
And hopefully a Belgian victory as well along the way
I guess it'll have to come from Boonen or Van Avermaet.
But alot can happen, especially in the tour. Look at yesterday and today. Both special sprints where more than half the other sprinters were already missing even before the final km.
As far as the general classification is concerned, I think it will be an Astana cyclist winning it. And my preference still goes to Contador. Although I think and hope the likes of Andy Schleck, Evans and Sastre will make it an exciting Tour.
And hopefully a Belgian victory as well along the way
I guess it'll have to come from Boonen or Van Avermaet.
I've had the same since his fifth Tour victory. I couldn't imagine or bare the thought of him beating the record of the greatest cyclist ever. But I think the chance of him winning now is still pretty slim.
I can't see Armstrong keeping up with Contador (and a few others) all the time in the mountains.
The question is however whether the latter will be given green light to attack...
The question is however whether the latter will be given green light to attack...
I don't think he'll need the green light from anyone tbh. I can see this being won on the summit of the Ventoux; and they might be a bit behind on the overall but I wouldn't discount Sastre and Schleck yet, especially Sastre - could come down to being between him and Contador on the final mountain top finish.
Time differences on the Ventoux will depend on the wind. If there's a strong headwind, the differences will not be so big since the Ventoux is very much an 'open' mountain in an open landscape, where you have very little cover from the wind.
Sneaky stuff there. Armstrong knew Contador was made the top rider of Astana because Bruyneel didn't really have much choice. He also knows it's a fragile decision and wants to stamp his mark early. Not sure he can last it, but he's certainly trying to make sure the team ends up having to support him rather than Contador. I doubt Contador will accept it, though.
ive been following this for years now. ive been thinking that the sprinters never win the whole thing.
yeah, stephen roche is going to win this bad boy easily
Suck on that, Cav!
Yeah!
1 point behind the green jersey now isn`t he?
1 point behind the green jersey now isn`t he?
So Contador went in front of Lance today... could be interesting going forward.
Looked like Lance wanted to follow when Contador pulled away today. Wonder if he could have spun away from the Schlecks and Evans and the rest. Looked a bit like he was told to let Contador go, and sit with the rest of the yellow jersey candidates.
Looked like Lance wanted to follow when Contador pulled away today. Wonder if he could have spun away from the Schlecks and Evans and the rest. Looked a bit like he was told to let Contador go, and sit with the rest of the yellow jersey candidates.
Of course he was. Astana's handling of today's stage was close to perfection.
Hushovd in green, Cav nowhere to be seen. I'm a poet.
Be interesting to see how Evans goes. He needs a big stage soon to get back in other wise its game over.
Armstrong will win. If he didn't have that 19 seconds on Contador he would have run him down I believe.
I'm torn between Armstrong and Evans.
Armstrong will win. If he didn't have that 19 seconds on Contador he would have run him down I believe.
I'm torn between Armstrong and Evans.
Does anyone else think the mountain stages are shit this year? The tourmalet is a fantastic climb, sufficiently hard to get the real contenders racing but 60k from the finish? FFS!
They messed up the mountain stages this year. Having big mountains to climb isn`t worth much if you have a downhill part after it before the finish. Any time a group gets loose in the mountains they`ll be caught up by the group before the finish.
The big climbs should be at the finish, that`s when you get exciting races.
Agreed. I have a sneaky suspicion its there to help Lance Armstrong
. Just imagine the exposure if he won!I'm a Lance fan, but he can't contend with Contador on all the Mountain stages, so by removing the finish, Contador doesn't get that chance to ride away like he did in 07.
I really hope Wiggins can keep this up through the Alps and also that it's not taking too much out of his legs for the time trail. If this form isn't flattering him I think he could be an outside bet for a podium finish in Paris.
Three days of flat stages now though, so back to Cav-watch.
Three days of flat stages now though, so back to Cav-watch.
feck off.
did anyone else today hear the tv commentators, on the tour broadcast, talk about how many times armstrong has been tested since he announced he'd race again last august? they said he's been tested like no other and it's so bad that, at times, he's been tested as many as four times a day. they said he welcomed the testing and said "bring it on!" in their words the testing had been "ridiculous!"
On the other hand, the finish on the Mont Ventoux in the last stage before Paris could be the most exciting stage ever just because of that.
I think Contador will win pretty easy in the end, riding away on the Mt Ventoux, with Andy Schleck and Sastre on the podium.
This is the hell they have to ride up.
R.I.P Tommy Simpson
Cav looks like he is in a good position for this stage
and he wins!!!!
gets the Green Jersey back
and he wins!!!!
gets the Green Jersey back
Another great win for Cavendish
The simple fact of designer drugs is that new one's are untraceable unless you know how to test for it or what you're looking for!
Regardless of Armstrong being tested 4 times a day, if they dont know what they're looking for i.e. new designer drugs, then he can say "bring it on" all day - everyday & they wont find a thing!
Anyone that blabbers on that Armstrong is clean needs to wake up. They are all at it, maybe not during this race though but many are.
I'm now resigned to just watching the tour unfold & forget about my major doubts of cleanliness - its doesnt matter anymore & its not worth thinking about. feck it!
Cav is cleaning up this year.
I wasn`t aware of that climb Rams, but like you say- that could be very interesting.
Cavendish is really doing extremely well, proved he is the fastest in the world. But credit to his team too, they are just great and provide so much support compared to what Hushovd for instance gets.
The two sprints Cav contested today were done without back up, the one to the finishing line was very impressive. He easily beat Hushovd without a team mate in sight.
I'd be interested to know if he did that on purpose because he could only really lose one point if it backfired? Maybe he wanted to prove a point and do it by himself.
He is easily the quickest in the Tour and he is also the only sprinter to have an entire team designated to helping him win stages and the green jersey in the end.
Hushovd is a bit slower, he has never been the fastest anyway, and he also only has about half of Cervelo helping him. The rest are there to help Sastre win the yellow.
Hushovd is a bit slower, he has never been the fastest anyway, and he also only has about half of Cervelo helping him. The rest are there to help Sastre win the yellow.
Cav didn't have a great lead out team last year though and won four stages anyway. Plus he's won a few spectacular races this year through his own power and talent - his win in the Milan-Sanremo show just how good he really is.
His strong lead out team are the spoils of being the best sprinter in the world.
His strong lead out team are the spoils of being the best sprinter in the world.
