So that was a pretty good TT. Leipheimer riding like a man possessed, Cadel Evans looking like a wounded beast, and Contador feeding Evans slack the whole way, knowing all along that he had plenty to give. In the end, the Top 3 remained unchanged, but the tight time gaps (:31 between first and third)…
Tag: Media
Tour de France '07 – Casar Wins, The Fans' Blind Eye
Say what you will about doping; I think today’s finish was the saddest and most unfair of the entire ’07 Tour. Not that three-time runner up Sandy Casar was an undeserving winner – he bounced back from an early spill, made his turns in the break, and played his speed edge perfectly in the finale….
Tour de France '07 – The Morning After
So finally, the Chicken has been plucked. But when one asks “Why now? Why not ten days ago?”, that’s when the feathers really fly. Rabobank Manager Theo DeRooy says that the Dane claimed to have been training in Mexico all through June. But yesterday, DeRooy heard from an Italian Journalist that Rasmussen was in Italy…
Tour de France '07 – Back From the Dead Again
Entertaining though it may be, I am highly suspicious of Vino’s roller coaster riding. Granted, I’ve never raced a Grand Tour, so I can’t say firsthand how the body reacts, but this up-again, down-again seems physiologically improbable, at least through natural means. A brief look back at some notably inconsistent rides would seem to support…
Tour de France '07 – Contador and The Chicken Fly The Coop
Well, now – Stage 14 (thanks for the typo catch, Chris) was the mountain shakeout I think everyone had wanted to see back in the Alps. Unfortunately, Rasmussen and Contador (chillin’ with Manolo a mere 6 months before that whole Puerto thing…) aren’t exactly poster children for clean cycling, you know? Certainly the French DS’s…
Tour de France '07 – Hunter Starts RSA Account, Moreau Lost in the Mistral
Man, how I love the mainstream press: flat day = boring day, right guys? I suppose it’s ok that they apply the same logic (car starts = car is fine) to auto maintenance, but I really draw the line at fact checking. This BBC story states incorrectly that Patrick Sinkewitz tested positive during the ’07…
Tour de France '07 – Soler Solos, Vino' Sours
See? What’d I tell you – never trust a Directeur Sportif. Vino’s healed up my foot. If by “healed up”, you mean about to collapse to the tune of three and a half minutes behind a wild-card breakaway. Even the support of a dedicated Borat impersonator couldn’t get Vino’ over the top with the leaders….
Tour de France '07 – First Rest Day and Still No GC Picture
You know what’s ironic? That I was finally able to watch both Stage 7 and Stage 8 this weekend, but not to find the time I needed to post on either of them. There was a lot of that going around this weekend – not quite irony always, but something close. For example, Slate rejected…
Tour de France '07 – Boonen Wins, Dopers Lose
You know why cycling has a doping problem? Because the French fans can’t make up their minds. Go fast, you’re a doper. Turn in something other than an inhuman performance, you’re a slacker. Such passive-aggressiveness. No wonder they get into (and then lose) so many wars. At least the rest of the world seems has…
Tour de France '07 – Chablis Stage Bad for Vino'
Another new day, another unique finish, and another unquantifiable sensation that this is shaping up to be one heck of a Tour. Stage 5 (which stared in Chablis) wrapped up with an uphill kick coming off a Cat 3 descent, that still managed a staggering 49mph burst at the line. Even in 53×11, that’s 130rpm,…