TDF Stage 10

[glademaster]

He doesn't look thrilled in that shot, but he doesn't look like he's really hurting either, like he did when he was dehydrated two years ago, or bonked and got dropped a year or 2 before that. I've seen him look better, but I've also seen him look far worse. Today was an amazing stage and tomorrow should be even better. Alarm clock set for 6:20 so I can catch all 5 hours of coverage.

[cj001f]

I evaluate based on performance. Hard to do much better than he did today.

But like he said, "lot's of racing left".

All could change in the coming stages and weeks.

Who said anything about an altar.

Fuck Man. I was responding to snowsliders post about ullrich's face - or did you miss that?

He did damn good. If he keeps up it's his. It's still a long tour.

[Stu Gotz]

Historically, it seems that if Lance does the work, he makes damn sure that he gets the win. I didn't see the race, but the look on his face may be more a fact of not winning the stage rather than being put in a lot of distress by today's ride.

One man's opinion.

[Trackhead]

Basso did the same to him last year too. Winning at the sprint on a mountain top finish. He finished 3rd.

Time will tell. And in the meantime, I will be on the edge of my seat.

[Telephil]

Time will tell. And in the meantime, I will be on the edge of my seat.

Me too, other guys I'm psyched for...Rasmussen of course, I'm sure he never thought he would be 2nd overall in the GC, it would be cool to see him podium if he can TT well. Also Chris Horner, 24th overall and 1st for the Saunier Duval team.

EDIT: and Levi Leipheimer, 6th in GC, had a great race today with his family in attendance.

[freshies]

i think LA is as strong as ever, that dude pisses ice water, he looked pretty calm and collected today. i don't think he really cared about winning the stage in the end, it almost looked like he backed off at the last second...i think he was mkore concerned w/putting time on Vino, Jan, Baso, etc, and he ahd done that once it was only 2 of them left at the end.

just my opinion, but baring illness or a crash, LA is on his way to 7. He looked unbeatable today. If Disco stays strong over the next few mountain stages, its over. Only chance others have is if Disco is cooked, and Lance has to cover all the attacks himself...but even then, with that last TT, well....its hard to believe he will lose. Great race so far, tmrw should be epic.

[Trackhead]

Rass was something like 3 minutes slower than LA in the opener this year. So who knows if he can TT to save his arse.

[snow_slider]

Lance wasn't looking too hot either.
We'll see tomorrow - if they can't improve....

Yeah, ok, so Lance looked a bit tired. Jan looked like his eyeballs were trying to escape their sockets - like maybe without the rest of Jan, they had a chance at catching Lance.

[Telephil]

Yeah, ok, so Lance looked a bit tired. Jan looked like his eyeballs were trying to escape their sockets - like maybe without the rest of Jan, they had a chance at catching Lance.

I'll agree with that. I think everyone looked tired today, some more than others, but there is NO way anybody was holding anything back for tomorrow. The way I see it, they're probably all pretty hammered so they're going into tomorrow's stage on a level playing field, at least as far as feeling tired goes.

[gonzo]

This is why Lance powered through today. He saw this guy and received devine motivation.

[Telephil]

This is why Lance powered through today. He saw this guy and received devine motivation.

AND divine intervention, a mean combination.

[gonzo]

spellchecker

Hey man, I'm just a stone-cutter's kid. Get off my back.

[scoober]

AND divine intervention, a mean combination.

I dunno.... Dan was a pretty inspirational guy.

[Telephil]

I dunno.... Dan was a pretty inspirational guy.

Yes, that's what I'm saying, Devine and Divine inspiration, how could it be any better.

And gonzo, I'm just messin'.

[Cornholio]

Has anyone else been training harder over the past 11 days?

[freshies]

that Cutters shirt is a classic....

check our Bobke's report from today, funny stuff:

2005 Tour de France: Stage 10
By Bob Roll

Cruising and predatory, Lance Armstrong asphyxiated the field and left in his wake, not just some, but all of the pre-race favorites. Basso was ruined. Ullrich, Klöden, and Vinokourov, the Team Mobile leaders, were annihilated.

Roberto Heras, Iban Mayo, Floyd Landis, Levi Leipheimer, Bobby Julich -- all great athletes, well-paid on the best teams. But you don’t tell Godzilla, the monster of the Tour, how to kill. You just step back and watch the destruction.

Discovery -- criticized just a few days ago for isolating Lance -- have come back strong and today set a bruising, spirit-crushing tempo. Lance had two teammates left after Ullrich, Vinokourov and Klöden were already dropped. The only men capable of matching Lance today were Alejandro Valverde, Michael Rasmussen, and Francisco Mancebo.

In the sprint, Alejandro Valverde got the better of Lance by a little, tiny bit. But the GC is litany of despair for everyone else in this field. The wienerschnitzel is bitter indeed.

[Crinkle]

fkna, those guys are studs. put 15+ min on Voit on one climb. Reminds me of a thread i read somewhere a while ago "should i train harder to climb or descend to make up time racing" well you be the judge. Basso wasn't that far away, he'll still be a threat. Lots of racing still to go. just.....wow.

[Lunch]

I dunno.... Dan was a pretty inspirational guy.

Wow, that really jogged my memory. I grew up in South Bend and I remember after the national championship there were signs around town that said "Devine is Divine".

[UTdave]

Wow, that really jogged my memory. I grew up in South Bend and I remember after the national championship there were signs around town that said "Devine is Divine".

So I'm not the only person here who grew up in South Bend then got the hell out of town?

[Stu Gotz]

Although the writing is always a bit flowery, I really like SI and its sports coverage. Good article on Stage Dix.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...age/index.html

[Artie Fufkin]

Lance the weight weenie, as he has in the past outfitting his bike for the hill stages with Dura Ace downtube shifter for his front derailleur and the old school brake lever(photo from GrahamWatson.com):



Edit: Watching the stage again, it's great the second time around, even though Lance didn't win the sprint, it's impressive how he dictated and controlled the the whole stage. I thought initially he could have burnt himself out today, but even though he put forth a hard effort, he looks like he wasn't going 100%, just a hard steady tempo. Two extra hours of coverage tomorrow, 4:30AM MST.

[Nohillsnearby]

So I'm not the only person here who grew up in South Bend then got the hell out of town?

And then there are those of us left behind....

[SquawMan]

this is funny.....




CROW PROVES LOVE WITH GRUELING BIKE TRIP

Musician Sheryl Crow proved her love for her pro cyclist boyfriend Lance Armstrong by accompanying him on a grueling bike trip around the famous Tour de France route.

The 43-year-old singer cycled the most difficult leg -- climbing the difficult hairpin bends of L'Alpe D'Huez -- with the six-time champion in preparation for his final year in the competition.

Crow says, "I did the whole stretch even though I might not have set a new record. It was extremely difficult."

[Plakespear]

Lance fuckin' SLAYED his competition today. I wouldn't worry about him spending all his ebergy today. He knows exactly how hard he can go and still recover for the next stage. I just finished reading his second book, and he is so in tune with his body that he knows exactly how hard he can go before he burns up. And apparently it's a lot harder than the rest of the guys.

When he says there's a lot of racing left, it really means that Ullrich's going to suffer a lot more (he looked like shit today, and I doubt he was just playing poker)

[Stu Gotz]

Yowza. I read about the Popovych acceleration, but seeing it on TV was awesome. Lance pulls up along side, asks for a bit more tempo, and va-voom! the pack disintegrates. Its amazing that anyone was able to stay on his wheel. Lance really has a "feel" for his competitors and knows exactly when to put the hammer down.

In tonight's OLN broadcast, Al T. ask Chris Carmichael (sp?) if Lance would attack. Chris C. didn't think so because the road wasn't steep enough to put significant time between Lance and his rivals. I guess Lance thought differently today as the race progressed.

And as a side note, does anyone else find it strange that guys that used to drive the train for Armstrong now cannot keep up. Heras was off the back while Discovery still had 5 guys pulling.