2010 Tour de France- Stage 7 report; Chapeau Chavanel!

Stage 7 today ended similarly to Stage 2, with Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step) taking the win and moving into the Yellow jersey after taking a gutsy solo win. Chavanel has bounced back from a terrible crash at this year's Liege-Bastogne-Liege to take two stage wins and the Yellow jersey twice in one Tour. French cycling fans must surely be naming their young boys Sylvain for the remainder of this year at least.

The stage was billed as something of a transition stage into the mountains. The 6 categorized climbs were all relatively "safe" on their own, but with the combination of the last 3 climbs each being category 2 climbs, life was going to be difficult.
Unlike stage 2, Chavanel did not spend the entire day out on his own, but executed a perfectly timed attack to chase down a break that had been out all day. His teammate and Mountains leader Jerome Pineau was in that break and solidified his lead in the Polka Dot jersey. Even though the stage was supposed to be "easy", for a mountain stage, several riders were put into trouble as their legs (or injuries) couldn't handle the intensity of the final climb speeds. In the end, Fabian Cancellara succumbed to the pressure and finished 14+min behind Chavanel. He now switches back to his main role at the Tour of support rider for his team leader Andy Schleck.

Chavanel's victory put him back in Yellow, but it is likely to be another short stay in the golden tunic, as the real Alps are looming ahead and the real race contenders are sharpening their teeth for the battle ahead. After riding smartly today, pre-race semi-favorite Cadel Evans moved into 2nd on GC and is certainly the best placed of the true contenders for the overall. Surprisingly, Garmin's Ryder Hesjedal now sits in 3rd- and looked good on the climbs today... possibly another "Wiggins" in the making? With Schleck in 4th, Vino' in 5th and Contador in 6th, the GC is starting to really take shape. Lance is now up to 14th after looking supremely comfortable today, even when nearly completely alone towards the end. Wiggins sits in 11th, right behind Menchov (Rabobank) and just ahead of Kreuziger (Liguiqas). It's an interesting looking group...

It simply must be noted that Footon-Servetto rider Rafael Valls, a first year pro riding for the mostly forgettable Spanish team, fought bravely by himself to try to catch Chavanel and came within 57 seconds at the finish to grab 2nd and some great exposure for the team. Created from the ashes of the disgraced Saunier-Duval team of doper Riccardo Ricco, this humble team of unlikely riders came to the Tour as gigantic question marks. Valls just missed the win and true vindication for the team, but his effort was valiant and classy.

Tomorrow's Stage 8 promises to bring a lot of pain to the legs of anybody who has not quite recovered from their injuries of previous stages or from the efforts of today. 5 rated climbs, with two of them "only" being category 4 climbs, means that the hurt will last a long time. The final climb of the day- Morzine-Avoriaz- is a category 1 and 23km long, starting after 175km of racing... and the day before the first rest day of the race. Breakaways will certainly be going away constantly, but it is likely going to be the first real fisticuffs between the GC heavyweights. Astana, Saxo and RadioShack will likely all send attacks up the road to force the other GC rival's teams to chase. It was clear today that some of the GC support riders were holding back today, resting for stage 8... so the fireworks are likely to be impressive.

I expect to see Chavanel out of the jersey by the end of the day again... but who will take it from him? The final climb is one that could actually work well for Evans, since it is neither terribly long or terribly steep. It isn't really suited to the explosive nature of either Contador or Schleck, so they might not have much of a chance to get away. In the end... it's likely to be a good day for cycling fans.

Tim

2010 Tour de France- Stage 6 report

So, looks like Cav has gotten his head back in the game. After a pretty crappy season so far, Cavendish is getting up to speed and racking up the wins again. The sprints have come down to 2 wins by Petacchi, 2 by Cavendish and one by Hushovd... but that will soon change...

Stage 6 was filled with multiple rollers, including four category four climbs, but nothing was strong enough to disrupt the usual early Tour predictability; breakaway gets away and dangles off the front for much of the day, only to be swallowed up by the sprinters in the final kilometers.The stage's 225km played more of a role on the field than the course profile, especially with this weekend's stages bringing the first real taste of the mountains.

In the end, the break never had a chance and Cavendish was delivered brilliantly by his team to another stage win. Tyler Farrar, still nursing a fractured wrist, managed second on the stage with Petacchi 3rd. Petacchi is now on the heels of Hushovd and his Green jersey and Farrar looks destined to get a stage win.

The stage was made all the more interesting by the fight between Barredo and Costa, and McEwen's finish line crash. Some days it just doesn't make sense to get out of bed...

Stage 7 is the first real taste of the mountains ahead, but I expect some fireworks will be on hand. GC riders may or may not feel safe enough to let a break get away or may overreact and begin attacking each other right away, just looking for weaknesses in their rivals. With a category two climb just before the false flat finish, things could get more entertaining. All in all, it should be an interesting stage- it will be interesting to see who shows their cards...

Tim

2010 Tour de France- Stages 4 and 5 reports

So I have two good reasons for missing my stage recap last night;

1. Not much happened in the short stage, outside of Cavendish completely screwing the pooch in the sprint that shoulda been his.
2. And this...
   

I think you can understand my situation.

(PLUS... I was speaking at my friend Becky Carroll's Marketing via New Media class at UCSD again last night. Becky is kind enough to invite me to speak to the class each year and share my Social Media experiences with them. As always, it was a great evening.)

Alright, you get a two-fer-one special tonight. Or, the inverse- double punishment.

Stage 4-
One of the shortest stages we'll see this year, stage 4 really shoulda been a slam dunk for Cavendish and Columbia. The short course was relatively flat- hilly, but nothing of major concern- and finished with little to get in the way of the sprinters teams. A small break dangled off the front for much of the day, but their chances were slim to none... there was really no way the sprinters were going to let this one get away. So the inevitable happened and the big thigh crowd got their wish and a sprint was set up. However...

... Columbia set up Cavendish for what should have been a victory celebration, but his sprint sputtered as Alessandro Petacchi took his second stage win with convincing speed. On his heels with Garmin's Julian Dean and then Boasson Hagen of Sky. Cavendish rolled across the line in a demoralized 12th... and later was seen firing his helmet out the door of the team bus in frustration, after refusing to speak to the press and heading to his quiet place immediately after the stage.

The GC was left intact with Cancellara in Yellow and Hushovd firmly in Green. All the aching bodies from the carnage of stage 3 were likely very happy that the day had unfolded with so little excitement.

Stage 5-
CyclingNews.com- Cavendish Vindicated in Montargis!
VeloNews.com- Manx Missile Launches!

Don't get me wrong- especially my friends in the UK- I like Cavendish as a sprinter. The kid has a ton of talent and speed. He's a cocky kid with a mouth bigger and faster than his legs, but he's been pretty effective at living up to his trash talking prior to this year. And, I've always respected the way he thanks his teammates and how he genuinely seeks them each out to thank them after every race he wins- since they are the ones who hand deliver him to those wins. BUT... I do think it's kind of funny that much of the cycling press, even the English speaking press, was bashing him for his stellar lack of results and now hail him as the second coming of Christ!

I could go on and on about it all, but I'd rather just get to the racing and the sprint- because they were both pretty good.

The stage was another relatively short and flat one, similar to stage 5. So, just like the day before, a break got away early... even with no chance of survival. After playing with the break, the way a cat plays with a captured mouse, the sprinters teams pulled the break back with the usual surgical precision with about 10km to go. Once the lone straggler was back in the field, Jose Ivan Guttierrez (Caisse d'Epargne), the blood was in the water and the sharks were circling... hungrily.

The finale was ready to be served, as Garmin and Lampre both battled at the front to set up their sprinters- Farrar and Petacchi. However, Columbia stayed focused with their men and it was Mark Renshaw who fought his way through the fray to give Cavendish an opening he was able to use to finish the job today. In a brilliantly timed jump, Cavendish sprang clear to handily win the sprint ahead of a strong Gerald Ciolek (Milram) and surprising Boasson Hagen (Sky). Farrar, who seems to be healing from his injuries pretty well, confessed to having messed the sprint up for himself- jumping to the wrong side of Julian Dean. Hushovd managed 5th and remains in Green... though Boasson Hagen is knocking on the door now with back to back 3rd place finishes in field sprints... from a TT and Classics specialist.

The GC is the same as yesterday, with Cancellara enjoying his final moments in Yellow with the mountains looming. Hushovd is eyeing the other sprinters because his Green jersey is safe... but only barely.

Cavendish's emotional celebrations on the podium today were clearly heartfelt. The pressure for him to perform this year, to the same or better standards as last year has taken a toll on the Boy Racer. His tears were genuine- now let's see if he has learned anything and can carry the obvious speed he has forward.

Stage 6 is going to be a long one- 225km- with four category four climbs to keep things from being "too easy". The last two climbs are near the end of the race, in the last 50km or so. This will keep things interesting at the end, but the sprinters will still be hungry for more... because the real mountains are looming large. "Breakaway" will be the word of the day and with the stage being so long, if the sprinters are lazy the break could stick to the finish. It's not too likely... but it could happen. Team like Katusha could use a win and they have the all day break specialists with all the Russians. It isn't hilly enough for the Euskaltel boys, so they'll relax and plan their attacks for the real mountains. Maybe B-Box will get active. Maybe even Ag2r... or Cofidis. Regardless, somebody will get away and stay away for a long time. The sprinters will want them to come back so that they can go for the win again... however the main GC guys might be content to let some riders low enough on the GC have the day so that they can relax before the bigger climbs arrive. Regardless... it'll be interesting.

Tim

2010 Tour de France- Stage 3 report... it gets messy

I'm not one to say "I told you so"... but...

Saxo Bank gets Fabian Cancellara back in Yellow, Andy Schleck puts time into all of his rivals (thanks to Fabian's help/ expertise/ experience), the team stamps its authority onto the race as possibly the team to beat... but also sends Frank Schleck to the hospital with a broken collarbone. Andy's brother was the main casualty of a brutally savage day at the Tour. Not unlike eysterday's bloodletting, today's stage changed the outcome of the Tour- one way or another. Andy will now have to face the rest of the Tour without the physical and on-the-road emotional support of his brother. The two brothers would have surely been a very potent one-two punch against both Contador and Armstrong, but now the Saxo script is being rewritten.

The cobbles of Northern France exacted a heavy toll and provided the Tour organizers with another day of controversial spectacle. Riders bounced around the cobbles, with crashes happening all over the route. The pace of the race was unrelenting as well, as riders and teams fought to get into position before each of the 7 sections of pain-inducing ancient road. Along the way, riders and equipment snapped under the pressure. In the end, the Tour was reshaped again, for the second day in a row.

The finish in Arenberg Porte du Hainaut, near the entranceof the infamous Arenberg Forest section of paris-Roubaix, saw Thor Hushovd sprint from a small break group and claim the win ahead of Geraint Thomas (Sky) and cadel Evans (BMC). Evans was the highest placed of the real GC contenders by the end of the day, moving up to 3rd overall. Andy Schleck now sits in 6th, with Contador in 9th and Lance Armstrong in 18th. The race is far from over, but with the way things have been going in this race, every second might become more important than in previous years.

Sylvain Chavanel began the day in Yellow, with a custom painted Eddy Merckx- signed by Sir Eddy himself- and nearly 3 minutes cushion. By the end of an horrendous day for Chavenel, he would slip to 5th after numerous mechanical issues and flats. Chavanel soldiered on as best he could, but the jersey was lost at the end of the day... as was the Green jersey that is now back on the wide shoulders of Thor Hushovd.

In all of the years that Lance has ridden the Tour, today was the first time he has ever experienced a flat tire... and it dropped him to 18th place due to the timing late in the race. Lance rode the stones as if he had been riding them for years, but in the end it was the fickle mmistress Lady Luck who forced him into a very defensive position. After flatting, he and his reliable lieutenant Yaroslav Popovych chased like hell to regain the group. Lance burned up Popo' and had to carry on by himself until reaching a 2nd chase group.

Alberto Contador once again proved that his head is as strong as anybody's in the elite group of multiple Grand Tour winners. AC stormed in to the finish, until flatting just a few hundred meters from the finish line, with the first chase group. Many predicted the ultra lean Contador would be eaten alive by the jarring of the cobbles, but he managed to prove that he is at this Tour to win again. Just as he was previously criticised for his TT abilities, which are now so good that he was able to win the Spanish TT title last year and then beat Cancellara at the tour, Contador has proven that he is a champion who can ride any type of surface.

Another hero of the day has to be Ryder Hesjedal for was in the early break all the way to the finish. He finished the stage in 4th and moves up to 5th on GC. Hesjedal has enjoyed a fantastic season so far this year and today's result is proof that he's maturing as a rider for the harder racers.

It was a day of chaos and broken dreams. Tomorrow's Stage 4 should be the "easiest" of this year's stages- at just 150km and very little climbing. I am sure many sore riders from today and yesterday will be happy to have an easier day tomorrow to recover before things heat back up in the mountains. I'd expect to see the sprinters out in force. since things should be easier... but there are so many injured riders that nothing is certain. Thor should have a shot at a second stage, but I also expect Cav to be trying to redeem himself. Sadly, with his fractured wrist, Farrar may be out of contention, but somebody always seems to rise to the occasion... so we'll just have to wait and see who it is.

Footnote; This was on Velonation.com today after the stage and is a visceral reaction to the stage, given by everybody's favorite hard man Jens Voigt; it's something to think about.

Tim

2010 Tour de France- Stage 2 report

As if yesterday's crash-fest wasn't enough, today's stage in Belgium proved to be almost as catastrophic as what many fear tomorrow's Stage 3 will be. But we haven't even hit the cobbles yet...

Today's stage was marked by a few large happenings;

• Sylvain Chavanel won the stage solo after initiating a break at around 15km into the race. Chavanel, who fractured his skull this year during Liege-Bastogne-Liege on nearly the same roads, came back strong with the goods and won a brilliantly fought stage. Chavanel is among the classiest of the French riders in the peloton and is purported to be an actually decent guy. His win, though helped considerably by the day's 2nd big event, is impressive for the courage and grit it took to survive and continue to hammer the pedals for almost 200km off the front.
  
• The day's second big deal was the crashes, most notably the blood bath on the descent of the Stockeu climb. Francesco Gavazzi (Lampre), who was part of the break that joined with Chavanel, fell out of the back of the break and then crashed on the slippery wet roads of the Stockeu descent. That seemingly minor crash of one man set off a chain reaction of events that changed the face of the 2010 Tour de France. Reportedly, one of the TV motorbikes, in an attempt to avoid Gavazzi, fell over and began to leak oil across the road. By the time the field came chasing along, the road was slickened and more than just a little dangerous. The ensuing carnage and chaos was more like an actual battle scene as riders scrambled to their feet and looked for their bikes and checked their bodies. Nearly all of the favorites were involved in the crash (or crashes) and it looked very much like Andy Schleck's Tour might be over. After getting a bike from teammate Matti Breschel though, Schleck was back in action and chasing hard to regain the field.
  
• The third major event of the day, and what truly cemented Chavanel's still impressive win, was a slowdown of the race by many of the riders- but most notably yellow jersey wearer Cancellara. Losing his jersey in the process to Chavanel, Fabian helped to orchestrate a neutralization of the race so that the chasing riders could regain the field after so many of the riders- estimated at over 60- came down on the slick roads. Even with this slowing of the race, many of the riders never regained the main field- regrettably including Tyler Farrar and Christian Vande Velde (who later abadondoned with two fractured ribs). Both riders completed the stage in great pain and covered in bandages from the race medics.

In the end, Chavanel still earned his impressive win and hardly anybody in the race felt that he should not have won. There were certainly grumblings in the field by those who thought they could've won- or should've- but the bulk of the race agreed that there had been enough bleeding for one day and out of respect for their fellow riders, the race should roll safely to the finish without anybody profiting from the day's carnage.

** And here is where I must have my rant; plug your ears if you are offended easily...**

There were many folks chiming in on Twitter after the stage, calling the riders wimps, pussies and whiners for protesting the race conditions today and neutralizing the finish to allow their fellow racers, teammates and friends to attempt to regain the group.

In my opinion, people who don't know what the fuck they're talking about should really just shut the fuck up. No, I've never held a pro license, but I have ridden with countless pros and have raced with and against many of them over the years as well. Protecting themselves and their fellow riders, or being vocally concerned, does not make them less of a man. These guys do this for a living- not because they chasing down a midlife crisis or because they have a point to prove to themselves or others. Racing is their job and their livelihood, not their hobby. Chris Horner was among those voicing concerns about the race today and I'd like to see some of the people talking shit today tell Chris he's simply being a whiny pussy. It'd be funny... believe me.

It's easy to sit in anonymity at your computer, or just snipe away from a safe electronic distance thinking you're so much better than the riders at the Tour, but until you've "been there and done that" yourself... shut the fuck up.

Alright... I'm done.

Tomorrow is likely to be an even bigger bloodbath than today- especially if it rains again. If the roads are dry, it's still likely to be brutal on the field. With just over 13km of cobbles in store for the riders in multiple chunks, Stage 3 promises to be very painful in a lot of ways; with so many riders starting tomorrow with injuries, it's only going to be worse. The chaos and nervousness of trying to avoid injury and mishap is only going to make things that much worse. With all the GC teams trying to protect their main riders, expect things to get insane at the approach to each cobbled section... and then to deteriorate immediately after.

Teams like Quick-Step, with Chavanel in Yellow, should do well since they are Belgian Classics specialists. Omega Pharma-Lotto should also be quite active, as well as Paris-Roubaix winner Cancellara and his fellow P-R winner/ teammate Stuart O'Grady. The main GC contenders have all scouted the course so that they have a little better idea of what to expect- and fear- so they will be relying on teammates and luck to get them to the finish safely and without losing time.

It is unlikely that the Tour will be won tomorrow, but it could certainly be lost. My only prediction is that there will be some really unhappy riders by the end of the stage... and possibly only one really happy one.

Tim

2010 Tour de France- Stage 1 report

Narrow roads and a nervous peloton once again lead to several riders hitting the deck during the day's stage. An early breakaway, launched at the drop of the flag by Lars Boom (Rabobank), spent much of the day out on the roads getting TV time... with never a chance of success with the sprinter's teams hungry for a win.

As is almost always the case in the first few days of the Tour, the riders were nervous and fighting for position, which lead to a few riders getting to test the crash worthiness of their bikes, helmets and Lycra. The main "losers" on the day included Mark Cavendish, who was caught up in a crash a few kilometers from the line as he and Jeremy Hunt (Cervelo Test Team) fought for position... which also brought down Oscar Freire. Not long after that, Farrar was nearly taken down by Lloyd Mondory's (Ag2r) solo crash into Farrar's rear wheel. The French rider has something of a reputation for making less than stellar decisions in the chaos of a sprint and lived down to that reputation.

Another crash just past the final kilometer mark- the "flame rouge"- brought down or haulted nearly all of the contenders and big hitters, including Cancellara, Contador and many others. Since the crash happened within the final 3km, all riders were awarded the same time as eventual winner Alessandro Petacchi.

Petacchi, using his powerful long distance sprint, timed his moe to perfection and was able to finish clear of mark Renshaw (Columbia-HTC) and Hushovd. Renshaw, who normally serves as leadout for Cavendish, was tossed into the spotlight as Cav's replacement after he became a non-factor due to his crash. Given Cav's recent spate of asphalt surfing sessions, Renshaw may get a few more chances to finish the job. Hushovd now steps a bit closer to his Green jersey, though it is now occupied by Petacchi, who has enjoyed a nice season this year. At 36, Ale Jet is a little older than he was the last time he won a Tour stage in 2003, but he's proven that he's still pretty quick for an old guy (sorta like me... huh).

Fabian gets to keep his Yellow jersey a little longer, though he'll be stiff tomorrow after his crash today. Contador looked to be unscathed, but will likely have a few bruises as well. Columbia's Adam Hansen hit the deck hard very early in the race and was off to hospital to check for possible fractures. So tomorrow's Stage 2 will see some achy bodies on the start line hoping for a slow start to the day's assault of some of the same roads used in the fabled Spring Classic, Liege-Bastogne-Liege.

Stage 2 will see the field hit lots of smaller, but punchy climbs all day. With a total of 6 categorized climbs (3-4's and 3- 3's), the day is likely to play out like an Ardennes Classic... Liege-Bastogne-Liege... so look for some of the potential GC guys to flex a little muscle to improve their position after a bad prologue... like maybe Wiggins (if he's smart) or Evans. Evans fought a tough LBL, with Vinokourov finally winning the race, so he is unlikely to be given enough freedom to do much tomorrow... but Vino is known for his brash moves and might make a go at trying to have another great day in the region this year. The last of the climbs finishes with less than 15km to the finish- which is slightly downhill- so expect things to get nutty if the field is able to stay together.

If things stay together, expect the main sprinters to be trying to get the win; Petacchi could do well again, but look for Cav and Farrar to really be looking to make a statement. Otherwise, look for a group to get away on the rolling climbs and fight for the finish on narrow roads again. Were he not a threat for the final GC, I'd pick Evans, but he'll be heavily marked. It'd be cool to see somebody like Horner, Boasson Hagen, Voigt or Stuart O'Grady get a day of it. BUT... I'm more expecting to see the Russian headbangers of Katusha flogging themselves, as well as guys like Nicolas Roche (Ag2r), Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Omega Pharma-Lotto), Alessandro Ballan (BMC), Kevin Seeldrayers (Quick Step) or possibly even Damiano Cunego (Lampre) trying to get a shot at things.

Don't be surprised if you feel like you're having flashbacks to April/ May tomorrow... it could be a very interesting day.

Tim

2010 Tour de France- Prologue report

Guess what? That huge Swiss dude, Fabian what's-his-name, sure seems good at those TT things. I'll bet he might have a future in the sport riding those funny bikes with weird helmets. I'm just thinking out loud here...

Tony Martin was really the only person who had a chance of challenging Fabian today. Tony has been riding exceptionally well and is an exceptional talent, but when Fabian has the pressure on him and is in the spotlight, he seems to nearly always come through with an exceptional performance.

The weather was certainly a factor for the contenders who chose to ride early in hopes of missing the rain that was supposed to come later in the day. The gambled and lost. The rain came earlier than predicted and made the course treacherously slick, resulting in a few nasty crashes- one leading to the exit of BMC rider Mathias Frank, who injured himself well enough to break a bone in his hand and severely hurt his thigh muscle... leaving Cadel Evans minus one rider already.

There were several shocking rides on the day, including Bradley Wiggins riding in the rain to finish well down on the day at 77th, 56 seconds down. Not a great start, for sure, but we're only beginning. But Andy Schleck finished a painful 122nd... so the mountains are already proving to be even more important for him.

Of the other main contenders- ie Lance and Alberto- the race story was a bit different as both had great rides. Lance showed that at 38 he's still a pretty good rider against the clock by finishing a very respectable 4th and Contador just 2 places back in 6th. So even though Fabian ruled the day, the two main protagonists of the race are almost exactly where they want to be... for now.

Notable rides were handed in by David Millar in 3rd and Tyler Farrar in 7th at 28 seconds out of Yellow. Garmin's leader, Vande Velde finished a less than stellar 92nd and 1 minute back... but he's a tough guy... even if fragile. Radioshack also did well to get 4 riders in the top 20- Armstrong (4th), Leipheimer (8th), Brakovic (13th) and Kloden (17th). Astana only managed to get Contador (6th) and Vinokourov (19th) in the top 20... so the pundit's tongues are all a-wagging.

Without a massive screwup/ injury, the prologue is largely pointless in regards to the final GC- usually- so this is really just an exercise in selecting the first classification leaders. However, with Mark Cavendish finishing a dismal 127th and 1:10 down, it looks like the only sprinter with a real hope of wearing yellow is Tyler Farrar... which makes tomorrow's stage important for Garmin...

Stage 1 goes through the narrow and twisty roads of Netherland into Belgium, to finish in Brussels. Netherland is famous for it's strong coastal winds and narrow roads, so you can expect the field to be hyper-nervous as they head to Belgium. The stage passes through Eddy Merckx's hometown in honor of his 65th birthday- so expect Belgian riders to be itching like hell to win the stage in his honor. BUT... it's gonna be an ugly day at 223km with a nervous field trying to minimize losses over the next few days as the race hits the cobbles in Stage 3. There's a short rise before the finish in Brussels, but the approach to the line is downhill. Expect breakaways ALL DAY LONG, but it is unlikely to work because the sprinters are going to be hungry and there are plenty of them in the race with a point to prove;

• Farrar is looking for his first Tour win and a shot at Yellow.
• Cavendish needs redemption after a crappy season so far.
• McEwen is an adopted Belgian and needs to get a win for his large pride.
  
• Allesandro Petacchi wants to show he's still fast enough to be called a Super Sprinter.

But... a wily sprinter like Oscar Freire could easily steal the show. Oscar does well in tough races and if it rains during the long stage, he's in even better shape. Thor Hushovd would love to open his Tour account early as well, since he's hoping to get another Green jersey.

I expect it to be a messy day with lots of chaos and likely numerous crashes- hopefully Vande Velde avoids them and manages to get through safely... given his brittle nature and bad luck. I doubt that Farrar will get Yellow, since fabian is just too strong to lose 28+ seconds on the first stage. I think Farrar has a shot at the win, if Cavendish and Columbia-HTC can't get their act together. I'm pretty sure Garmin would love to get their sprint ace the win he's been hunting, as well as an early Yellow... since it might be their only hope of it being in the team this year.

Today, Fabian proved the motor is in his legs, not his bike. Tomorrow is waiting to see who the new motor is.

Tim

Tour de France; Two down, 19 to go!

So we're now two stages into this Tour and we had an interesting race already- though as much from the off-the-bike dramas, as on the bike. That said, the predictable has happened, but the racing has been great just the same.

Stage 1; Cancellara wins the opening stage TT- no surprise there... I shoulda simply declared him the winner in my opening post... but alas. What impressed me most was the fact that Contador finished in 2nd, just 18 seconds off the time of the Olympic TT champ. Wiggins, of Garmin-Slipstream rode a respectable 3rd and then Kloden was 4th, Evans 5th, Leipheimer 6th and Sir Lance of Armstrong was 10th. You would think we have established something of a pecking order in the Astana camp now... but no... still rumbles of "who's the boss" floating around. Poor Carlos Sastre finised the day 1:06 down, but the plucky little climber can not be ruled out with so many climbs in this race- remember how he rode the Giro this year... Then there's Kreuziger, in 7th, who officially now carries the title of "dark horse", though since we're talking about him this much, it means the others are looking at him too. So maybe he's less of a dark horse and more of a not-so-dark-and-slightly-bright horse? BUT... can Liquigas support his efforts? Lots of talent, but can they defend a jersey if he gets it? I dunno... Oh yeah, Evans in 5th- surprised by that because he "looked" like he was going slow on the bike- his form and his pedal cadence seemed slow and labored, yet he came in very well for 5th on a day that did not really suit him that well. Could he be at the Tour to actually contend? Hmmm...

Stage 2; Cavendish wins the sprint with Farrar in second and Roma Feillu in 3rd. Feillu? A French rider in 3rd in a sprint... with other non-French riders in the sprint? Has that happened since Jimmy Casper or Jalabert? I was watching the footage wondering who the non-French guy on the French team was who was in the thick of the sprint. When I found out he was French, I almost fainted!

The day was slated and peppered with several small claimbs that kept things from being too easy, along with the heat. Peaking out at nearly 104 degrees on the road, you can bet there was lots of Evian being slurped down today. Well, some riders mighta been gargling Perrier Jouette, but none the less, people were thirsty. The big motor of Cancellara managed to stay in Yellow after all was said and done, but he was having to work a bit more than he woulda liked, simply due to the climbs and the heat. 4 riders got away and stayed out until around 10km to go- Stef Clement (Rabobank), Cyril Dessel (Ag2r), Jussi Veikkanen (Française des Jeux) and Stéphane Augé (Cofidis). At one point Clement became the new Yellow on the road, but Saxo Bank worked hard to close the gap and keep Fabulous Fabian in Yellow and then the sprinter's teams took over to set things up for the finish.

The break was caught about 10km out, then Mikhail Ignatiev of the Katusha team launched himself into a break of his own as the foursome was being caught and falling apart. He managed to stay out front and probably mouthed a few "hi mom" to the cameras, but was caught with about 5km to go. At that point, the big power men could smell the finish line and were super motivated to get to the front. Columbia- of course- had control of things largely- Cavendish IS the current uber speedster these days, after all. Milram, of all teams, was also up there- possibly trying to get Ciolek set up for the sprint, though I never saw him anywhere near the pointy end of things. Skil-Shimano got their guys up front as well- with most folks assuming it was to lead out Kenny van Hummel... which didn't happen. Cervelo Test Team scrapped it together for Thor Hushovd, who did manage to get 4th on the day. Amazingly, Garmin seemed to be NOWHERE to be seen in the closing kilometers and then- POOF!- showed up with less than 2km to go! Julian Dean deserves a medal for fighting his way to the front to drop Farrar into a position to look like he could try something. Tyler did manage 2nd in the sprint mayhem- which is admirable- but it was a forgone conclusion that Cavendish was going to get the win once his teammate Mark Renshaw pulled off the front and placed him into the driver's seat. He showed everybody a clean set of wheels as he sped to the line without ever having to worry about fighting his way past another rider. Farrar is proving to be a great talent, but is he coming into his best form as Cavendish is set to dominate sprinting for the next several years?

Stage 3; Tomorrow should be another fast finish with the stage being relatively flat. If the coastal winds pick up, look for Saxo Bank to employ its usual tactic of creating splits in the field that catch people in bad positions as the filed breaks into echelons. Riis is famous for employing this tactic, so it could come out of his playbook tomorrow. Barring anything happening, it should be a sprinter's day. With the Team Time Trial coming up the following day though, expect to see the real contenders for the GC trying to minimize losses on the day, as well as trying to stay out of trouble with crashes.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and pick Cavendish for the win. He's just too fast right now and it will take Garmin at least one more try to figure out how to fight against him and the teams with bigger sprint leadouts.

Tim

NOTE; It merits mentioning that Tom Boonen only managed to finish in 174th today. Could it be that the "gastrointestinal upset" mentioned yesterday is real? How fitting would it be that Quick-Step fought so hard to get Tom into the Tour and then he is unable to be a factor in the race? Poor Alan Davis- who was set to replace Tom; he must be pissed beyond belief.

Tour de France- It's a race

Suddenly the Tour is looking like a race. It would be unfair to say that Evans cracked as he lost the yellow to CSC's Frank Schleck, but he did at least have that dreaded "bad day" in the mountains that tend to define most Tours.

Simon Gerrans, the young Aussie on Credit Agricole, won the stage today after spending nearly the entire day in a small four-man break that also had Garmin-Chipotle's Danny Pate. Pate rode an incredible Giro as well, so his Tour performance is even more impressive for a rider who had never ridden a Grand Tour before. He finished the day in third place behind the impressive and deserving Gerrans and made the sponsors proud- I hope. Christian Vande Velde also rode very well today, slipping a few spots down to 5th overall (:39 down overall) and 10th on the stage- 3 spots ahead of Evans.

The climbs into Italy today were impressive and the break rode valiantly to stay away to the finish line as the GC battle raged on the slopes below them. Evans was isolated and surrounded by 3 CSC riders- all punishing Evans at every chance. Silence-Lotto left their leader vulnerable and in trouble today, proving the concerns that many have had for Evans. Not being a dominating rider himself, he needs a strong team to support him and Silence-Lotto proved today to not be that team. I'm sure the conversations on the team bus were less than joyous. However, now the pressure to defend yellow is on the shoulders of CSC and maybe now Evans can enjoy the view from behind their train for a bit. None of the three CSC riders can really TT very well and Evans has beaten each of the three handily in TT's before. This is far from a done deal and Evans can still think of yellow in Paris. But he's got competition and will certainly have to fight for it. Conveniently, Garmin-Chipotle is looking very good for a podium at least with Vande Velde, if he stays strong in the coming mountains. He is the superior TT rider of the main contenders at this point and looks very good so far. Could he even be a possible yellow jersey wearer by Paris?

Tomorrow is the 2nd and last rest day for the riders and I am sure there are some tired and thankful legs. Tuesday is another day of big climbs with two huge Haute Categorie climbs to deal with. Thankfully, for the GC contenders, the finish is after a 24km descent that should allow for some regrouping of the favorites... but those high speed descents have "put paid" to many a Tour. If it is once again wet and slippery, the real drama of the day could come on the treacherous descents- just ask Oscar Pereiro who crashed out of the race today after going over a guard rail and down the embankment to the road below.

Here's to an exciting (and drug free) day tomorrow!

Tim

Tour de France

I love the sport of cycling and I love the Tour de France. Mark Cavendish is one helluva sprinter- even McEwen says, he's "just too strong." That's saying a lot, considering the source. He's dominating the sprints in the way Cippolini once did.

But, the real dominator of this Tour is once again the drug scandals. It really sucks too. I am not so naive that I believed nobody would be doping at this Tour, but I hoped that it wouldn't be this bad and that it would only be riders that were clinging on for hope- the domestiques who slave away on the roads all day for their team leaders. Those drug cases seem to fade away from the press quicker since they are less sensational. But deep in my heart, I hoped nobody was doping... knowing that was foolish all along. It is a pathetic situation at the Tour, again. I still love the racing and I'm still reading the results and catching little bits of the coverage on TV... but it feels a lot like last year all over again. A little too much so. I'm not giving up, but I'm admittedly a little jaded.

The Tour rolls on towards Paris with Cadel still in yellow. Plenty of excitement still lies ahead. Maybe Evans will go down in the history books as the first Australian winner of the Tour. One thing is sure though- the peloton has gotten a little thinner because of riders taking stupid risks or just not caring about their fellow riders (or their teams) and the sport.

I'll be watching to see who gets crowned as winner this year and I'll be hoping (against hope) that nobody else is dumb enough to try and cheat. But even if they do and they (hopefully) get caught, I'm still in love with the sport. Kinda like me, it's battered and bruised but not broken.

Tim

Tour de France- Stage 8

Well, today was about what I expected to see; a break rolled off during the first half of the transitional stage through the mountains and then was caught just before the line, as the sprinter's teams wanted another shot at a sprint win.

To that end, Mark Cavendish notched win number two of this Tour and was followed directly by his teammate Gerard (Gerald?) Ciolek. Team Boring Kit is proving to be one helluva team this Tour. Cavendish is easily the best sprinter so far and Columbia has shown great depth and strength. They are riding like a sprinter's team, so I am curious to see how they expect to protect the jersey in the mountains... and they are coming tomorrow. Third was Jimmy Casper- the French sprinter who just seems to keep on going year after year. Sadly, McEwen was in 17th and is just not showing his old form... and one has to wonder now if it just is not to be for him this year.

4th was Oscar Freire and 6th was Erik Zabel; it makes my heart glad to see the "old sprinters" still in the thick of things. As one friend has said- maybe the lack of dope is keeping them in the hunt this time. (I'm not going into the whole Beltran fiasco...)

One significant turn of events was a bad crash towards the end of the day, in a roundabout, with Riccardo Ricco. Ricco was slow to get up and spent some time with the race doctors, but managed to make it back to the field and finished on same time as the winner. However, any crash like that means soreness the next day and tomorrow would normally be a day perfect for Ricco. Will he be in too much pain to go on the expected attack?

Stage 9 is going to be very hard, with 7 categorized climbs, including two Category 1 climbs; the fabled Peyresourde and Col d'Aspin. These are epic climbs with great history and I can't wait to see what happens. Will the contenders simply sit on and mark each other? Will somebody attack and stamp their name on this race? Will Cadel Evans answer his critics who say he is too conservative and go on the attack himself? Will Cunego and/ or Ricco be recovered from their recent falls and try to make an impression on this race? Can Kirchen defend on real climbs? It should be very interesting to watch. Sylvain Chavanel had the KOM jersey, so I'd expect him to be on the attack early so he can get it back from David de la Fuente (Saunier-Duval). The one saving grace for some riders is that there is a 26km descent to the finish line and a regrouping is likely... but will it be enough for riders dropped off the back on the final climb?

Tomorrow should be a very interesting stage, indeed.

Tim

Tour de France- Stage 7

I know- I skipped Stage 6 yesterday (though I did predict the winner with Ricco), but I had a good excuse; my best friend's wedding... so we'll just say that Ricco's ride was great and the little loud mouth fought hard to earn it; something tells me he won't blame his teammates for his win.

Ok, so now on to today's stage 7.

The stage was littered with climbs that split the field apart a number of times and saw a few of the contenders losing time and the others working hard to not go into deficit. About 60km into the race, Damiano Cunego crashed fairly hard. Even though "the little Prince" got help from his teammates and returned to the field after a very hard chase, he ultimately lost time today as he faded at the end of the race.

By all accounts, the stage was hard with the numerous climbs and some nasty winds. CSC tried to take advantage of the winds- as they have in other races in the past- and shattered the field with hard efforts at the front. The pace was driven hard enough that a handful of riders were forced completely out of the race due to the time cuts- including emotional favorite Magnus Backstedt (Garmin-Chipotle). France's Christophe Moreau abandoned the race and put to rest any remaining hope he would somehow ride from the near-dead to win the Tour (when will people learn he's NOT EVER going to win the Tour).

In the end, Luis Leon Sanchez (Caisse d'Epargne) ended up taking a solo win with a gutsy attack. A few moments later, Stefan Schumacher sprinted to second- just ahead of Pozzato, Kirchen and Valverde. Sanhcez was jubilant in victory and seemed to be truly on cloud nine as he took the stage. Cadel Evans finished in the main group to remain in 2nd behind Kirchen, while Schumacher sits in 3rd and Vande Velde rests in 4th. Due to his crash and time loss today, Cunego now sits in a disappointing 17th- more than 2min down.

Saturday is a transitional stage, though far from easy. The first half is littered with category 3 and 4 climbs that should further damage some legs, but the last half is nearly flat- save two "hills" 20km from the finish. The sprinters, should they make it to the front before the finish, will likely be hoping to get another shot at a stage win. Me... I'd be looking at Thor Hushovd, as he is more than capable of getting over tough climbs

Sorry for missing things yesterday and for the very late posts this week... it's been one helluva week!

Tim

Tour de France- Stage 5

I just have to say this; I picked the winner in a conversation this morning. I am SO smrt!

Today, as expected, was a sprint finish. Unexpectedly though, the drama was in the fact that the early break away was only caught in the closing meters- not kilometers- of the stage. Mark Cavendish provided Team Boring Kit (Columbia... seriously Bob, I'll help you for free) with their first ever stage win. Cavendish is considered to be the new McEwen- brash, cocky, mouthy, aggressive and damned, damned fast.

The day was marked with a long breakaway- as always- of three riders; Nicolas Vogondy- the current French National Champion (Agritubel), Florent Brard (Cofidis) and Lilian Jegou (Francaise des Jeux). Jegou was part of the stage 1 break that stayed away for the day and almost to the line- his legs obviously recovered. At a very close 1.5km from the line, the break was still just in front of the peloton as Vogondy launched himself in a last ditch effort to get his National Champion jersey onto the podium. It didn't work as the sprinters had worked their teams into a lather racing to the finish. Columbia was nearly upset in the sprint by an impressive ride by Credit Agricole as Mark Renshaw once again launched an amazing leadout for Hushovd. Cavendish, not wanting to lose this chance to win a Tour stage, launched his sprint a bit earlier than usual and won easily enough to sit up and celebrate the moment.

The sprint was a great finish and the top 5 riders was a blend of the best of two generations of sprinters with Cavenidsh winning in front of Oscar Freire and Erik Zabel, with Hushovd in 4th and a resurgent Baden Cooke (Barloworld) in 5th. Oddly, Robbie McEwen was a surprising 8th and has not shown his usual flash of sprinting brilliance... but we're only 5 stages into this race and I predict that the pocket rocket will find a way.

Sadly, after just 12km, Mauricio Soler of Barloworld abandoned the race. The wrist fracture proved to be too painful for him to continue the Tour. His presence will be missed in the mountains this year- his less than beautiful climbing style was a welcome sight last year. Hopefully he'll be back next year to contend. Gerolsteiner managed to have an easy day protecting the yellow jersey of Schumacher, since the sprinters were unwilling to let the break stay away and had their teams at the front reeling it back. Schumacher had an enjoyable first day with the jersey, but will have his hands full tomorrow.

Stage 6 is gonna hurt. It isn't the Alps or Pyrenees... but it's real climbs after a few days of not climbing and people still working their legs into the race. Expect the GC contenders to be paranoid of losing time to each other and also expect the unexpected. The first day of real climbing always seems to hurt a few people in ways nobody expected. Valverde had a crash today that might prove to be a problem tomorrow- he'll heal for later in the race, but tomorrow is gonna sting a bit. Schumacher can climb well enough that he should be able to defend, but it is not a given- especially if one of the other contenders wants to really test their legs. Of the GC contenders, I'd expect to see Cunego try something tomorrow and if not him, possibly Riccardo- nobody understands my genius- Ricco. Mr Mouth now sits over 4min down in 59th and is surely itching to pick a fight with somebody/ something.

The GC might look a good bit different tomorrow... so it should be fun to watch.

Tim

Tour de France- Stage 4

Wow! Didn't see that coming at all- I would not have believed you if you told me before the start of the TT today that we would end up with the winner we had. Pretty amazing...

The day wasn't "ideal" for a time trial, but the course offered very little resistance to the riders and the varying winds ended up helping many in the closing kilometers. The rains of earlier days played no role in the outcome as riders rolled off to fend for themselves in this Tour's first test against the clock.

Many of the usual suspects litter the top 20 finishers on the day- guys like Hincapie (9th), Kirchen (2nd), Pate (14th), Vande Velde (8th), Millar (3rd), Voigt (7th), Menchov (6th) and Evans (4th). However, two riders in the top 20 really stuck out to the other riders and to many people following the race- reigning two-time Time Trial World Champion Fabian Cancellara finished a surprising 5th (33 seconds down) on stage winner Stefan Schumacher of Gerolsteiner. Huh? Schumacher is not a terrible TT rider, but he is certainly known more for his one day race prowess and not as a specialist against the clock. By besting Cancellara by 33 seconds, he astounded more than a few observers and riders in the race.

Schumacher's ride was truly amazing and Cancellara offered little more than praise for the German rider and professed, "I’m not a robot. I'm not a machine. I don’t know what happened. I felt good, but I couldn't get my speed going. I'm disappointed. I'm the defending world champion. I'm not here just to show off my jersey. I wanted to win."

The GC was turned on it's head for now, but the real GC contenders all faired reasonably well. Valverde drops to 17th, just one spot behind Cunego, but Evans now sits comfortably in 4th and looks to be in the driver's seat after this first TT. Team Boring Kit's Kirchen now sits in second, but his overall chances really are pretty dismal by the end of three weeks. Schumacher now sits in yellow and his as-yet-with-title-sponsor-for-next-year Gerolsteiner team will be working to keep the yellow for as long as possible. For Gerolsteiner, this is a fantastic opportunity to showcase the team and help find a new sponsor, but Schumacher has a snow-cones chance in Arizona in August chance of winning the race. Still, he'll be fighting to stay in yellow and the team will slaughter itself for him, since this represents an entire season of glory for the team. In a way, that really plays into the true contenders hands, allowing their teams to rest until the real race begins in the mountains. They can't allow Schumacher, or anybody, to build too big a lead early on, but this does give them the chance to simply sit back and enjoy the free ride for a bit. Schumacher and Gerolsteiner want the jersey and many other teams/ riders do too, so they'll have to fight to keep it... but guys like Evans, Valverde, Cunego, Menchov and Sastre (23rd/ 1:43 down) can all relax a bit for now.

Tomorrow will produce a new stage winner, I'm pretty sure. The stage is pretty damned flat and straight, so it should be very fast- even as the race's longest stage at 232km. Expect to see the sprinters team's trying to make up for the their screw-up of stage 3. I'm thinking the really big boys like Hushovd, McEwen, Freire, Cavendish and other speedsters are going to be flogging their leadout trains to the finish line. Thursday brings real work with 4 categorized climbs- two of them Category 2 and an uphill finish- so the sprinters will be hungry to get a day for themselves. Look for fireworks on the day. Many will likely try to get away, but the fast guys will be wanting to show their quads and speed to the world.

Don't blink... you might miss the finish.

Tim

Tour de France- Stage 3

Sorry this is late- but hard to do these updates from work and things have been busy outside the office as well. Tour posts might be like this during the week through the tour... sorry.

Today's stage was finally won by a nice little breakaway. Four teams had a rider in the break and the quartet worked very well together to keep the field at bay until the line, by just over 2 minutes.

3km into the race today, Will Frischkorn (Garmin-Chipotle) lept from the peloton and was joined shortly by his day's companions of Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis), Romain Feillu (Agritubel) and Paolo Longo Borghini (Barloworld).

The nearly board flat stage was battered by intermittent rain and some strong winds- though that wind would come in handy at the end of the day. The peloton was just a bit too complacent and misjudged the strength of motivation in the four breakaways. Valverde's Caisse d'Epargne team was not too interested in the fight to reel the four riders back, assuming the sprinter's teams would all do the work to bring the escapees back- and in turn give Valverde a free ride to the finish to keep his yellow jersey.

In the end, the sprinter's teams did take up the chase, but just too late to bring the quartet of under dogs back in time. Once the four riders were assured of success, the attacks between them began. But it was clear that all four riders were very tired from their hard work all day. None of the four was able to shake the other three and they warily rode towards the finish line. With around 1km to go, Dumoulin took off for the line but was chased down by both Frischkorn and Feillu, with Longo getting dropped. Shortly after, Feillu launched and looked good for a moment but was chased and passed by Dumoulin who made it to the line before Frischkorn could close the gap. Frischkorn managed to hold on for sceond on the stage and moved into second on GC... meaning that Feillu slipped into the yellow jersey, which is pretty good consolation for getting third on the stage.

The big news of the day was the split that occurred in the field with a crash 25km from the finish. Riccardo Ricco, Christophe Moreau and Denis Menchov were all caught behind the crash and finished over 2 minutes down (almost 5min for Moreau). Now, that may not seem like much, but without time bonuses in this Tour... it could end up being huge. Also, Valverde's stated goal was to do Tuesday's time trial in yellow so that he could see the times of all his competitors... but now he'll be followed by the top three riders suddenly ahead of him.

Tomorrow's time trial is just over 29km and is nearly flat and not very technical at all. This should keep the main GC contenders from really hurting their rivals and should also allow the TT specialists a chance to really torch things up and get some podium time. Should be a good day for going really fast, especially if the winds and rains are in check. If not... look for some nervous GC riders trying not to crash and a few of the fringe contenders possibly riding on the edge of smart and dumb. If it's dry, I'd put my money on Cancellara... if it's wet, I'd put my money on Cancellara.

It's gonna be a cool stage tomorrow- I promise.

On a personal note- I'm very proud of the Garmin-Chipotle team. I've always thought highly of Jonathan Vaughters. He's a good guy doing some great things with his team and it's awesome to see them doing so well. JV- Good job!

Tim

Tour de France- Stage 2

Stage 2 is in the bag- a rain soaked, crash filled, soggy bag... but it's still done, just the same.

The day, as expected, was a tough one that did have the usual escape and it almost paid off for Sylvain Chavanel (Cofidis), as he was caught with about 1km to go. Chavanel and Voeckler (Bouygues Telecom) spent nearly the entire day on the attack and were joined late in the race by Christophe Moreau and David le Lay (both Agritubel). Amazingly, as the break was being caught in the closing moments of the race, it was still Chavanel and Voeckler with the most courage to keep fighting for the win as the field closed in. Hats off to both! Chavanel netted himself the Most Aggressive award for the day- his solo attempt to hold off the field was an inspired ride of courage.

But, in the end... as expected... Chavanel was caught by the hungry teams behind him. As he has done successfully in the past, Fabian Cancellara (CSC) launched an incredible last Km attack that almost worked again. He looked like he might just get the win again, but he was caught with less than 500m to go. As the group caught him, the sprinter's teams were salivating at the front- tongues dragging in their spokes as they set an unreal pace up the finishing climb. With 400m to go, Luke Renshaw of Australia unleashed an amazing leadout for his sprinter Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole), who took the win with a brutal sprint ahead of Kim Kirchen and Gerald Ciolek (both Team Boring Kit... I mean Columbia... Bob, call me).

It was a great day of racing, but there were still many crashes as the field is nervous and aggressive. The day's break rode admirably and Chavanel and Voeckler were great antagonists. It was amazingly close at the end and watching the big teams set things up for the finish was amazing. Those last few kilometers were painful to watch as you could see the break struggling and the main peloton at warp speed bringing them back. Sadly, it looks as though Soler (Barloworld) is suffering with more pain than he can handle. He bravely rode the stage with an apparent fracture of his wrist, but faded at the end and is a big question mark for tomorrow. If he can manage to stay out of trouble until the real mountains come, there is a chance he can salvage his Tour by hunting for another KOM jersey, but his GC chances are clearly over. Thus is the nervousness of the early days of the Tour.

The hunt for yellow in Paris is still handily controlled by Valverde and he looked like a possible stage winner again today. Team Boring Kit looked great with two riders in the top three and is clearly trying to stay in contention for the GC... though I have serious doubts Kirchen can make the podium in Paris. Cadel Evans continues to ride smartly with the help of of his Silence-Lotto team. He's riding like a real contender for the jersey and is staying out of trouble so far. The opening week of the Tour can be a very frightening time for all the GC riders, with all the crashes and nervousness in the field, but so far Cadel has shown that he intends to be ready for the real racing in the coming weeks.

Tomorrow looks to be a real stage for the sprinters. The green jersey is currently worn by Kirchen after his 2nd and 4th place finishes so far, but I expect Hushovd to make a real run on the jersey tomorrow. The stage is almost flat- for that region of France- and lends itself to the sprinters. Expect to see another break get away, but a field sprint is more than likely... it's almost assured. Look for Team Boring Kit to be setting up Mark Cavendish, who could very well win. Hushovd will be on his tail looking for green jersey points- as his mission is the jersey, especially after he has already netted a stage win. My "dark horse" for the stage win is McEwen (Silence- Lotto). He's one of the very best opportunists in the world and can feed off of other teams better than any sprinter I've ever seen. If Columbia doesn't shut the door on him, they'll be leading him out, as much as Cavendish, and Robbie is still one of the fastest men alive. In the end, it should be a great sprint... as long as early crashes don't spoil the day. As with the usual rider hazards, the final kilometers are littered with more roundabouts and they are notorious for causing crashes- especially when many riders are simply staring at the tire in front of them, due to the high speeds approaching the finish. I hate to say it, but expect to see more bloody riders limping across the line tomorrow.

And there you have it folks. Day two is over and the Tour has already been exciting. Looks like we might just have a race this year... and I couldn't be happier.

Tim

Tour de France- Stage 1

Wow! THAT is what the TdF is all about! Great opening stage today that netted a worthy winner in Alejandro Valverde.


The opening stage of this year's Tour was a traditional road stage, rather than the usual prologue time trial. Some purists have complained that this would remove some of the beauty of the Tour. Though I see their point, I don't think anybody would argue that today's winner was deserving. Plus, with no time bonuses in this year's race, every second truly counts and the racing was aggressive all the way to the line.


An early break of 8 riders set off for the finish line in Plumelec- which sits at the top of a challenging climb (not good for the true sprinters). Included in the break was fan-favorite Thomas Voeckler, who coincidentally won the GP de Plumelec earlier in the year on the very same roads and finishing climb. The group stayed away for most of the day and the last two riders were not caught until 7km to go... then things got heated.


Team (boring kit) Columbia took control of the pace setting for their teal leader Kim Kirchen. The pace was fast enough that nobody seemed really capable of taking things over, or they were just complacent to let Team Boring Kit do all the work. The finishing climb was challenging enough that it did a good job of breaking up the field and keeping things together for a final effort by Kim Kirchen with just 250m or so to go. Amazingly, it looked like Kirchen would win until Valverde- resplendent in his Spanish champion colors and matching bike- shot from the field and through the final turn on the climb. He made the field look sill-slow! His speed around that final turn was impressive and he overtook Kirchen and had enough of a cushion to sit up and celebrate the win. Belgian Classics specialist Philippe Gilbert (FdJ) was 2nd with Jerome Pineau (Bouygues Telecom) in 3rd. Valverde slipped on his first ever yellow jersey and also took the first Sprinter's jersey as well (though it will be worn by Gilbert tomorrow).


The ever-clever Voeckler did just enough work on the day to earn himself the first KOM jersey of the Tour and will be smiling in the polka dot jersey tomorrow. Sadly, the winner of that jersey last year, Mauricio Soler of Barloworld, was involved in a crash with less than 10km to go and had to chase feverishly with two teammates... but was unable to catch the field and lost 3:21 by the finish. As a podium contender before the race, this puts him at a huge disadvantage- he can't rely on time bonuses won on mountain finishes to close that gap. Another sad loss on the day was the abandonment of Herve Duclos-LaSalle (the son of Paris-Roubaix winner Gilbert) of Cofidis; he crashed in the very early kilometers of the race and had to leave with a broken wrist. His crash came in the first feedzone of the race with another rider's mussette bag became tangled in his front wheel. Feedzones are like minefields and you have to be extra attentive- for reasons like this.


The stage was marked, as usual, by several crashes. Some of which might prove to be very significant in the coming weeks. Soler now finds himself with a huge hole to climb out of and Cadel Evans could be in trouble, as his main support rider was involved in a crash as well. Even though Yaroslav Popovych got up and finished the stage, every crash takes a toll on a rider. With the real racing far ahead, it is possible that "Popo" can recover in time to be useful to Evans. Still, you have to believe that Cadel will be worried. As is tradition in a Grand Tour, the early stages are frequently filled with crashes as nervous riders make mistakes of inattention. Many riders, knowing they are not contenders for the GC or likely to finish strongly at the end of three weeks, will slaughter themselves to try and get a win early before they are forced into hard labor for their team leaders. The product of all that nervousness and anxious energy is endless crashes. In recent years, many riders have had their GC hopes dashed in the first week of the race. If nothing else, the main contenders this year, minus Soler, have passed the test today.


Tomorrow's stage rolls through the Brittany region- famous for being the birthplace and home of 5-time winner Bernard Hinault- over several smaller climbs. Four rated climbs will greet the riders, though three are Category 4 climbs and one is a Category 3. Still, it's enough to sting the legs of riders if the pace is high... which it will be. Expect to see another break go early and try to build a lead over the numerous hills. A perfect stage for a rider like Jens Voigt (CSC). However... the finish is flat, after a short hill, and should suit the sprinters just fine. I'd personally expect to see a break caught before the line and the sprinters out banging elbows. Some are calling it an uphill finish, but it has enough of a flat and short enough climb that the sprinters should be there... unless a suicide break makes it to the line first. So we'll see what happens.


Valverde has stamped his intentions on this race already. Cadel looked very good riding smart at the front of the field and the team looked strong supporting him. We might be seeing a nice tete a tete between these two over the next 3 weeks... I hope.


Until tomorrow, au revoir.

Tim

Tour de France- It's anybody's race...

Welcome to the 4th annual Masiguy Tour de France daily coverage. As in years past, all I do is read the same news the rest of you do- maybe watch the stage highlights on TV- and then write my coverage with my own spin... and my amazing insight and wit... or something like that. Now and again, I might get a touch of insider news from a few contacts here and there, so stay tuned for that possibility.

Today, on this fabulous 4th of July, we'll start off with a bit of team coverage before tomorrow's Stage 1.

And here we go...

In the order listed by the Tour organizers, based on their position in the Tour's finish last year and some willy-nilly, arbitrary system the ASO has put together;

Silence-Lott0: Led by Tour favorite Cadel Evans, the team shows up to this Tour ready to rumble. Sprinter Robbie McEwen will essentially be on his own this year, as the team is rallying it's forces behind the hopes of Evans. Evans was second at the Tour last year and with last year's winner, Alberto Contador, and his Astana team disallowed to compete this year, he becomes the odds-on favorite to win. But... hold on a sec'- can the team do it? Evans is a tough rider, perhaps a bit too congenial and timid, but he's lacking a true heavy hitting team to back him up. His main lieutenant will be former Tour hopeful Yaroslav Popovych... who has thus far fallen apart in each of his previous Tours. Cadel certainly has the ability to win the race, but with EVERYBODY in this Tour marking him, can his team support him and will he EVER actually attack? I like the guy and I like the team, but I fear he'll need more support and will need to forge alliances on the road. I'm also hoping that McEwen finds his way to some daylight on the finishing straights. He's one of the best in the world when a sprint gets ugly. I haven't seen the same speed of years past, but he's an emotional favorite for a win or two. His new arch rival, Mark Cavendish of Team Columbia (formerly Team High Road, formerly T-Mobile), looks to make it really interesting. More on that in a bit...

CSC-Saxo Bank: Admitted doper and former Tour winner ('96) Bjarne Riis is one of the greatest minds in cycling. He has resurrected countless careers and started others. He's a genius at building teams that fight day in and day out. I have immense respect for his talents (especially his bike tossing talent). Although Riis once again has one of the very best teams in the world, it looks like a Tour win as a director remains out of reach. Carlos Sastre is a great rider with some great top ten finishes in the Tour... but he won't be taking the top step of the podium unless a meteor hits the peloton while he's off in the bushes taking a "nature stop". He's won a stage before... but he's no Tour champion. That said, Riis still has some of the best riders in the race. Fabian Cancellara has been en fuego this year and looks to be in great form again. I expect to see him take another stage win. How the peloton can even think of letting him get up the road is beyond me. He's the world TT champ for a reason, you dumbasses- why let him escape? Jeesh! Stuart O'Grady is one of my favorite riders in the world and I'm rooting for this Roubaix-winning Aussie to take a stage. He's just all class. Jens Voigt is still one of the peoloton's toughest tough guys. The German rider is notorious for long breakaway attempts and occasionally they net him the win. Everything I've ever read or heard about the guy points to a good guy I'd love to have a pint with. The two Schleck brothers look to be future Tour contenders and might surprise and even inch up to the podium, but I have a feeling the legs are still a bit young on these Luxembourg boys. BUT... don't rule either out- not now or ever.

Euskaltel-Euskadi: A whos'-who of Spanish climbing aces. This team has launched many careers for Spanish riders and is always one to watch in the mountains. You'd think they were giving out free bowls of paella at the top of every mountain with the way these guys climb. It's straight up insanity. Still, you have to marvel at these guys because they NEVER stop trying. Full of riders you might have never heard of, the team really is kind of at the Tour to keep things exciting. Without them, the mountains just seem like big hills where everybody rides really slow. With them... it's fireworks. The only "big name" rider on the team is Samuel Sanchez. This kid is the real deal and could possibly become a real threat if he ever pieces it all together- and ever has a strong enough team to supoort him on stages without hills. If the Tour ever does a climbing-only race, this would be the team to watch. Until then, they are a blast to watch climb and frightening to watch on flat ground.

Caisse d'Epargne: Another Spanish team that has the potential to do great things. With 2006 Tour runner-up-turned-winner Oscar Pereiro on board, the team looks good on paper. What really makes them look good though is Alejandro Valverde. Fresh off his win at Daupine-Libere, Valverde is the dark horse favorite. He's never shown that he can win a Grand Tour yet, but nearly everybody believes he can and will. He's got awesome climbing skills and can sprint very, very well from a small group. He's a proven tough guy in one day events as well and has improved in the time trials too. He can win a Tour, but will he? Hmmm. The rest of the team is French and Spanish climbing specialists, so the flatter stages will be spooky, especially if they end up with Valverde or Pereiro in yellow. I think Valverde can do it, but can he do it with this particular team? I kinda doubt it.

Team Columbia: Formerly Team High Road, which was the reborn T-Mobile, Columbia has probably the most boring team kit in the peloton... still. High Road was bad enough, but this new kit is just as bad if not worse. I will gladly design a new team kit for you Bob- for free- so just gimme a call. Get your people in touch with mine. Columbia is the home of George Hincapie now. He's been riding well this year, though not great, and I think he'll prove to be one of the team's best riders for a stage win. They don't really have a GC contender, no matter how many times they try to tell us Kim Kirchen can win it. Kirchen is good, but the Schlecks are the better Luxembourg riders. The real threat of Columbia is the sprinting powerhouse they have with Bernhard Eisel, Gerald Ciolek and Mark Cavendish. That is one of the fastest groups in the peloton right now. Cavendish is young and brash and not afraid of bleeding. He'll stick his nose out in the breeze for a sprint even when there is nowehere to go- a la Robbie McEwen. I predict the sprint battle between these two will be epic. Without a great leadout train, Robbie will have to privateer his way to the line... and if I were him, I'd be sitting on Cavendish. If Robbie has the legs this year, these two will have an epic fight. If not, I expect Cavendish to scare the piss out of all the other sprinters.

Barloworld: Barlo-who? Yeah, that's what everybody said until last year's Tour when Mauricio Soler lit up the climbing stages and took the KOM jersey and nearly finished on the podium. The team comes back as another question mark and Soler will be a marked man this time, but I expect they'll be a good team again. South African sprinter Robbie Hunter is back again and should be one to watch. I really like Hunter and I bet he can still win a stage. He's always ridden well and has just missed that big win several times, but he's got class and is bloody fast in the right sprint. He's not Boonen or Cavendish fast, but he can't be allowed to get in front of you by much. Also on Barloworld is former Sprint jersey winner Baden Cooke. Cookie Monster has had a few rough years, in many ways, but he's back to the Tour and is one of the most determined riders you'll meet this year. His career is nearing an end and I'm sure he'd like to prove a point or two before going away. I'll be watching him closely.

Liquigas: This team has a bunch of good riders, but one has to admit they aren't at the Tour to contest the GC. These guys are looking for stage wins. Their best known rider is probably Filipo Pozzato. He's a race winner and an aggressive rider, so he'll be sure to make things interesting. Outside of him though... it's a barren wasteland. I mean, they're great riders but none of them are going to be the rider to watch in this race. They are stacked with talent, but not really stage winning talent or GC contending talent. I wouldn't let them ride off en masse or anything, but I'm not expecting much from them this year... sorry guys.

Lampre: Here's a team to watch. It's been awhile since Lampre has been to the Tour to actually contend for the win with a rider who can actually do it. Damiano Cunego, the Little Prince, is at this Tour with fresh legs after skipping the Giro this year. Cunego is a pure talent, though he's proven a little fragile at times. Not a very good time trialist, but he can climb with all but the very best... accept for on those days when he IS the best. He's a bit spotty in his performances, but he has the talent to do it and I expect to see him make the race lively. He's not at all afraid to attack and could really put Evans into trouble if he does... well, at least until the time trials. Outside of Cunego, the team still brings great riders to support him. They bring great climbers and TT riders as well as sprinters. Alessandro Ballan is a fantastic Classics rider and will be on the hunt for a stage win... and he can certainly do it. Lampre goes on my short list of contenders.

Credit Agricole: Thor Hushovd is the main attraction here, again. The former Sprint jersey winner is always one to watch. He's not a sprinter in the pure speed style, but more of a brute strength guy. I always feel sorry for the front end of his bikes in a sprint- look closely and see how much force he puts on the bar, stem and fork/ headtube- it's insane! I remember seeing a photo of him sprinting at the Tour once and it looked like the front of the bike was going to rip off in his hands. You can't count him out for the Green Jersey competition... you just can't. Outside of Thor, the team brings nobody again. With the exception of the two great Aussie riders Simon Gerrans and Luke Renshaw, the team is full of filler for Thor. Gerrans and Roberts have both proven to be tough riders willing to work hard and suffer. This Tour might just reward one of them for that work ethic.

Quick Step: Why are they even in the race this year? Without Tom Boonen, who was uninvited because of a little cocaine problem, the team really has no purpose. Hell, they don't even have Paolo Bettini in the race. I'd be happy to have any of the Quick Step riders on my team, but they are way outgunned as a team here. They can hope that their non-contender status allows a rider or two to get in a good escape and fight off the field for the win, but that's about it. Hmmm... next team...

AG2R- La Mondiale: I love these guys. Perennial underdogs, they keep coming back for more and they are almost always sending riders off on long breaks to get the TV time for the sponsors. Their fighting spirit is akin to Euskaltel. They lack any real contenders for anything- GC or stage win- but you KNOW they'll still be trying. Cyril Dessel is probably the best known rider on the team and if you aren't French, you still might not know who he is. That said, I still like these guys and I hope they manage a win... just because.

Gerolsteiner: This German team NEEDS to do well as they will have no title sponsor soon and they need to attract a new one. I expect to see them fighting hard in this race to secure a paycheck for next year. Fabian Wegmann and Stefan Schumacher are the two best riders on the team this year. This group is strong though and has proven time and again that they know how to win bike races. Schumacher has a Tour stage win under his belt already and is a tough rider for those crappy stages in the rain or long distances. In the tradition of most great Classics teams, these guys just go out and flog themselves to make the race happen. If they fancy a certain stage, expect to see them hurting the field. However, without a GC contender on the team, they are fighting for stage wins only.

Agritubel: Here's one of those French wild card teams that is in the race simply because they are French and the race organizer chose them. It's that simple. Their team leader and GC hope is the permanent also-ran Christophe Moreau. Moreau is one of those riders who has been around for a long time and has some nice results and might have been a contender in a different decade... but not during the years he's ridden against the riders who he has raced against. He's a very popular rider with the French public, even after being on the Festina team of years past. Outside of Moreau, the team doesn't really have anybody with the possible exception of Jimmy Casper. Casper has won a stage in the past, but this likable French sprinter (an oxymoron there) is probably past his best years and a stage win now against the current crop of sprinters is not likely. If you are French, you are required by law to like these guys- even the one Spanish rider on the team.

Rabobank: Ugh... these poor guys. Last year they were having the Tour of the team's history! Danish rider Michael Rasmussen was leading the race, even as rumors swirled about missed doping controls and his unknown whereabouts during a secret training camp. In the end, Rasmussen was pulled from the race, while in yellow and near the finish, by his own team. In an attempt to avoid even worse publicity, he was sent home and later fired and has since been suspended from racing during a long appeals process. The team this year has no clearly defined super power, but does have Vuelta a Espana winner in Denis Menchov. Menchov is about as exciting as a blank sheet of paper, but the guy can ride a bicycle. He's yet to have a really solid Tour ever, but he looks like he is always due for one. I wouldn't rule him out, but I also wouldn't bet the house on him. The rest of the team is also solid with great riders like Juan Antonio Flecha and Oscar Freire. Freire has been World Champion a couple times and is a very fast finisher. In a long and nasty sprint, I'd look for him and Hushovd to be looking for the win. If he's healthy, he's a sprint contender. Flecha is a Classics specialist, so if the stage is hard and it starts to rain, I'd keep my eyes on him. The rest of the team is made up of great support riders who will do their best each and every stage.

Bouygues Telecom: Another of the French teams, but this one actually has riders in it who will race hard. None of them can contend for the podium, but they will make the rabid French fans happy with countless meaningless attacks. Fan-favorite Thomas Voeckler is a few years older since his 10 days in yellow back in the 2004 Tour, but the fans will still line the roads screaming his name. He's a very likable rider and is always trying to be in the thick of the action. Without Voeckler though, the team is really more of a B-Team squad. Sure, they're all better riders than me (for now), but don't expect too much from them over the next 3 weeks.

Milram: Well... they've got Erik Zabel anyway. Zabel holds the record for most consecutive Green jersey victories, but he's past his prime and might not have the legs to get a win anymore. He can still finish in the elite sprinter's group, but it'll be hard for him to get a win. Besides Zabel, the team is made up of good riders who are probably asking themselves, "what's our plan for the next 3 weeks?"

Francaise des Jeux; Director Marc Madiot is one of France's greatest riders of years past and is a great director. He's often able to get wins out of riders that don't look like winners, but they do it anyway. This team is here for a stage win and most likely in the lone Belgian on this all-French Tour squad, Philippe Gilbert. Gilbert is a great Classics rider and a likely Roubaix contender/ winner in the future. He's here at this Tour to snag a stage win and has the potential to do it. He's a classy rider who rides bravely and is not afraid to attack. The rest of the team will be cheering for him from the middle of the pack. It's a good thing they have race radios so they can hear about the finish of the stage...

Saunier Duval-Scott: The attraction here is the HUGE mouth and personality of Giro second place getter, Riccardo Ricco. I wonder how many times he'll insult his team for not helping him win the Tour. After narrowly losing the Giro to Contador, I suspect Ricco will be at the Tour looking to prove something. The only problem is that the'll have to contend with a bunch of other riders looking to do the same thing with fresher legs. The Giro is a very hard race and he was a contender for the title fighting hard every day. He's got overcooked legs, like a pot of pasta left boiling for too long- sure, with the right sauce, the noodles are still edible, but it's just not the same. The rest of the team is very strong and has some great names, most notably the amazingly evergreen Leonardo Piepoli. Honestly, I'd love to see Piepoli get a stage win... just to piss off Ricco. Can you imagine his tyrade?

Cofidis: This is one of the best French teams ever and they have always earned their pay at the Tour. However... don't go looking for a GC contender here. The team is loaded with talented riders, but that talent won't win this Tour- no way in hell. Sylvain Chavanel is a great rider with a lot of class. He likes to attack and knows a little more about tactics and timing than most other French riders. He could take a stage win along the way, but you can at least expect him to be fighting in it. The rest of the team is made up of great workaday riders, but none of them are really superstars. Chavanel is their one "big gun" and was once considered a contender for the Tour. He's yet to live up to that hype, but this is his year to try. Can his team support him though if he gets into yellow?

Garmin-Chipotle: Here's the little team that could. These guys are an emotional favorite for a lot of folks just because of who they are and what they represent. Jonathan Vaughters has put together an impressive team program and an even more impressive anti-doping program. The team won the opening team time trial at May's Giro, after specifically targetting it. This team is full of talented riders and surprises. Nobody can argue the Tour credibility of riders like David Millar and Magnus Backstedt. Christian Vande Velde has a few Tours under his belt as well. The rest of the team, though powerfully talented, is pretty new to Grand Tours. Danny Pate, the former U23 World TT champion, just finished his first Grand Tour at the Giro and might not have much left in the legs... but we'll find out in a few days. It's hard to not want to see these guys pull off a win along the way to Paris. I don't think they would deny that they aren't looking to win the GC, but are really at this year's Tour learning how to handle the pressure and logistics of the Tour. Give'em another couple years and I am confident Vaughters will have them at the race to contend for the win. Oh... and their new team kit, since switching to Garmin as title sponsor, still looks good. (I swear I don't know what Team Columbia was thinking. Seriously Bob... call me.)

So there's the team breakdown. Looks like a good race on paper, without any real clearcut favorite. Evans is leading in the oddsmaker's books, but his team will have to do something special to support his efforts. Cunego could do it. Valverde could do it. It's an open race- a really open race.

Since I'm the one writing all this crap, I'm going to hold off on selecting my podium predictions for a few days. I wanna see a few stages before I say anything- that's how close this thing is gonna be.

Like you, I'm looking forward to tomorrow and watching the race begin. So until then... sweet dreams of the Tour.

Tim