2007 tour de france - Page 8

JaredL · #71 07-19-2007, 10:54 PM

[ QUOTE ]
what about moreau? he looked very strong i thought.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not after today.

Fascinating race today. You would have expected this to be a pretty standard day, maybe a breakaway or something along those lines but a team splitting the field in two due to a crosswind isn't very common. This happened in the Vuelta when US Postal/Discovery did it a few years ago, but otherwise I don't remember a flat stage where such a split happened.

I think this tour so far has been fantastic. Nearly every stage has been terrific and pretty much nothing has been decided at this point.

I think tomorrow will be won by a small breakaway group. There is a category two climb that peaks about 50 KMs from the finish which could help a group that is already away or certainly people will be launching off the front if the race is together there.

cbloom · #72 07-20-2007, 12:15 AM

That attack Vino made at the end was really bizarre. There's no chance he can hold it if the field works, did he really think the peloton would just give up and let him go and win the stage? I don't get it. Maybe he was just trying to show everyone that he's still strong.

It was kind of weird that they worked so hard to put time into Moreau too, I never really considered him a serious contender, I think he'll get destroyed in the Pyrenees.

I'm so jealous of the amazing roads they have over there. I dunno if all the roads in Europe are so smooth or if they just refinish them for the race, but man it looks like heaven. Here in the US the vast majority of non-freeway roads are full of gravel and pot holes that are just deadly treacherous traps for cyclists.

LetItBe · #73 07-20-2007, 12:47 AM

[ QUOTE ]
That attack Vino made at the end was really bizarre. There's no chance he can hold it if the field works, did he really think the peloton would just give up and let him go and win the stage? I don't get it. Maybe he was just trying to show everyone that he's still strong.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think you're right in him trying to show everyone he's still got the legs to be in this...I think it would be stupid of them to not follow Kloden but, well, it's Vino! How do you not root for the guy?

brettkc · #74 07-20-2007, 02:14 AM

They didnt go just to put time into moreau they went right after the feed zone to try and catch any big favorites they could off guard. If anyone was [censored] around and not ready then they might have got dropped which is prolly what astana was hoping for. I could see vino trying something tomorrow with a little cat 2 near the end and a downhill to the finish. On velonews.com the astana director made it clear that vino was still the captain but said they will allow kloden to ride for GC aswell. Seems like no matter what they are sticking with vino which is pretty foolish as most would agree but maybe they have something they think can get him back into the race. I just wanna see him attack people and cause some havoc since his chances of winning are very slim

gila · #75 07-20-2007, 12:29 PM

Whatever can be said about Vino, you just got to love his aggressive nature. He will flat out attack, anywhere. Remember when he stole Levi's place on the last day of the tour a few years ago, that was just plan sick. If they don't pay complete attention to him, he may well end up on the podium again.

JaredL · #76 07-20-2007, 12:38 PM

Predictions for the ITT tomorrow?

I think Vino will win the stage and Valverde will get the yellow jersey.

gila · #77 07-20-2007, 01:12 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Predictions for the ITT tomorrow?

I think Vino will win the stage and Valverde will get the yellow jersey.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree that Valverde will get the jersey. I like Kloden's chances as well for the stage win, although I would not be surprised to see Vino either. Looks like Rasmussen is taking some heat on the doping front! God I hope he is either 1. not doping, or 2. doesn't get caught; I am just so sick of all the great riders being suspended. What a disaster.

JaredL · #78 07-20-2007, 01:18 PM

gila,

The good news is that he never failed a test he just didn't tell the anti-doping authorities his entire schedule. They probably showed up at his house to test him and he wasn't there. This is a violation of the rules for sports like cycling and track and field.

Hopefully he isn't doping.

gila · #79 07-20-2007, 02:06 PM

[ QUOTE ]
gila,

The good news is that he never failed a test

[/ QUOTE ]

Yea, true, and I too hope he is not doping. The thing is, Basso never failed a drug test either, nor did Ulrich. Or Botero, Beloki, Riis, Festina ... and on, and on. Or Lance?. It is just so hard to trust these guys these days. It seems that most, or at least a good number, don't fail any tests. But, as proven by Puerto, that doesn't mean they are/weren't doping.

I am just so sick of the accusations, followed by the denials, followed by more accusations, more denials "I am feeling CALM('s)", followed by more accusations, and finally half-assed confessions. Just hard to tell who to believe, did Landis dope of didn't he? Did Basso? Apparently he "was going to"? WTF. Ulrich? Armstrong? Are these riders that are winning races not doping? Or simply not getting caught? Is it the luck of the draw?

Don't get me wrong, I love cycling. I just want to be able to watch a race, see a heroic effort, and not have doubts, or be disappointed later when it all falls apart (see Floyd, and Basso, in particular).

I would first of all, wish that they were not doping, but as I said earlier, in the absence of that, I would rather it just be the case that they don't get caught. As stupid as that sounds, at least we could live in la la land and pretend they aren't doping.

gumpzilla · #80 07-20-2007, 02:19 PM

[ QUOTE ]

Don't get me wrong, I love cycling. I just want to be able to watch a race, see a heroic effort, and not have doubts, or be disappointed later when it all falls apart (see Floyd, and Basso, in particular).

I would first of all, wish that they were not doping, but as I said earlier, in the absence of that, I would rather it just be the case that they don't get caught. As stupid as that sounds, at least we could live in la la land and pretend they aren't doping.

[/ QUOTE ]

Or, you could go to the other extreme and pretty much just assume that all of them are doping, and recognize that they are still putting forth pretty heroic efforts. Doping or no, Landis's big stage last year was crazy and awesome. I'm generally sick of the hand-wringing about doping in all of the different sports, so I'm pretty much in a place where I don't care about it anymore.