Who will wear the yellow jersey at the end of the Tour de France?
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- Thread starter BB73
- Start date
2009 Tour de France
Anybody else watching?
This was one of the more entertaining flat stages I've seen in a while.
The field was ripped apart by a strong crosswind, and a late breakaway picked up 39 secs. on the field.
Most notably, that breakaway included Lance Armstrong, who should go from 10th to 3rd. It did not include teammate Alberto Contador, who is by no means out of it, but may just weaken his claim to team leadership. Contador sits in 4th, 19 secs. behind Armstrong.
Tomorrow is the TTT - Armstrong could be in yellow after tomorrow.
Anybody else watching?
This was one of the more entertaining flat stages I've seen in a while.
The field was ripped apart by a strong crosswind, and a late breakaway picked up 39 secs. on the field.
Most notably, that breakaway included Lance Armstrong, who should go from 10th to 3rd. It did not include teammate Alberto Contador, who is by no means out of it, but may just weaken his claim to team leadership. Contador sits in 4th, 19 secs. behind Armstrong.
Tomorrow is the TTT - Armstrong could be in yellow after tomorrow.
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I'll be surprised if Lance isn't in yellow after the team time trial tomorrow. Astana only needs to beat Columbia by 7 seconds, and beat Cancellara's SaxoBank team by 40 seconds, over the 40k course to get him the jersey.
That Columbia move made today's stage more interesting over the last half hour.
I meant to toss some money on Contador and Lance this morning, but I was about 5 minutes too late.
That Columbia move made today's stage more interesting over the last half hour.
I meant to toss some money on Contador and Lance this morning, but I was about 5 minutes too late.
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Me and some of my triathlon training group watched the delayed broadcast of the Prologue TT on Saturday. These riders are animals. Keep in mind that they started from about 20 feet above sea level and climbed over 600 feet in altitude in 7.5 km (under 4.7 miles) and then had numerous sharp turns and switchbacks forcing them to slow down in spots yet still averaged almost 29 MPH for the 15.5 km (9.6 mile) course.
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The psychological effect of the breakaway is probably bigger than the amount of time gained, but it's worth noting that virtually no other serious GC contenders were in the group with Armstrong. I'll be interested to see to what extent Alberto Contador now has to account for Armstrong's whereabouts.
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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
[censored]ing French: 
Re: All riders are required to sign in before every stage. Tour competition director Jean-Francois Pescheux said the seven-time champion would receive the standard fine, equivalent to $92.
"He didn't sign in. ... The rules are clear: If he doesn't sign in, he will be fined," Pescheux said.
Pescheux also criticized Armstrong for not making himself more available to fans.
"We simply asked his team to have a respectful attitude toward the public," he said. "They want to see the team, they have been here since 7 a.m. and they don't see him."
Astana team spokesman Philippe Maertens said Armstrong was held up by signing autographs and doing interviews before the stage.
"It's because he was being so nice to the public that we were late," Maertens said. "It's not that we don't respect the public. ... We always try to sign in as late as possible because it's impossible for the riders to come back to the bus [before the stage] and there are too many people around Lance and [Alberto] Contador."
Tour de France: Lance Armstrong fined $92 for missing Stage 3 sign-in - ESPN
Re: All riders are required to sign in before every stage. Tour competition director Jean-Francois Pescheux said the seven-time champion would receive the standard fine, equivalent to $92.
"He didn't sign in. ... The rules are clear: If he doesn't sign in, he will be fined," Pescheux said.
Pescheux also criticized Armstrong for not making himself more available to fans.
"We simply asked his team to have a respectful attitude toward the public," he said. "They want to see the team, they have been here since 7 a.m. and they don't see him."
Astana team spokesman Philippe Maertens said Armstrong was held up by signing autographs and doing interviews before the stage.
"It's because he was being so nice to the public that we were late," Maertens said. "It's not that we don't respect the public. ... We always try to sign in as late as possible because it's impossible for the riders to come back to the bus [before the stage] and there are too many people around Lance and [Alberto] Contador."
Tour de France: Lance Armstrong fined $92 for missing Stage 3 sign-in - ESPN
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jlb1705;1493880; said:
You are far too kind. They are just angry that their Tour de Lance is nothing without him. Suddenly the crowds are back.
He's not French. The center of the world is not Paris. Get over it, France.
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The composition of Astana - particularly the dynamics between Armstrong and Contador - make the early stages of this race much more interesting than the norm.
Was Armstrong the only overall contendor who got "lucky" yesterday, or did he get a heads up from somebody like Hincapie?
He can use the phrase "good of the team" all he wants, but he isn't putting in the work and pain it takes for a 37 year old to be competitive in this race so he can be there to shake Alberto Contador's hand in Paris.
I look forward to this event all year and tape every minute (it goes pretty quick when you FF through all those commercials). Along with the race it is a great way to see Europe - particularly now that it is finally in HD.
And it doesn't get much better than Sherman and Liggett.
Was Armstrong the only overall contendor who got "lucky" yesterday, or did he get a heads up from somebody like Hincapie?
He can use the phrase "good of the team" all he wants, but he isn't putting in the work and pain it takes for a 37 year old to be competitive in this race so he can be there to shake Alberto Contador's hand in Paris.
I look forward to this event all year and tape every minute (it goes pretty quick when you FF through all those commercials). Along with the race it is a great way to see Europe - particularly now that it is finally in HD.
And it doesn't get much better than Sherman and Liggett.
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Oh8ch;1494246; said:
I agree about Armstrong. In his comments to OLN/Versus after the stage he first said he was "lucky" to be in the break, but then in a separate comment said "it didn't take a genius to see that break coming". I heard one person comment during one of the replays last night that nobody is used to Armstrong being aggressive on the flat stages. He hasn't needed to because he's been the superior rider with the superior team. This year - if for no other reason than the dynamics of his team - he needs to take time in the flat stages wherever he can find it. In his first opportunity yesterday he showed that he is able.
I also record this everyday, but I make sure to record the original broadcast in the morning and set it to go over by about an hour. In the replays they overdub with American broadcasters and they are nowhere near as good as Sherwen & Liggett.
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jlb1705;1494284; said:
They showed a replay this morning of Cancellara moving up in the peleton just before they turned about 90 degrees to start the stretch where Team Columbia led that break. Cancellara rode on the outside and went over a median in order to get closer to the front because he sensed it coming.
That kept him in yellow, at least until SaxoBank finishes their Team TT today.
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Jaxbuck;1494306; said:
On his bike, he's not going anywhere, but he stuck his arms through his old football pants to convince himself he's wearing the yellow jersey.
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Jaxbuck;1494306; said:
His stationary bike really puts him at a disadvantage against the more advanced wheeled bikes.
He is a heavy favorite on the bench stages though.
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