Velochimp: Astrochimp on Cycling

Discovery Channel won again today, and the man crossing the finish line first was not Lance Armstrong.

Paolo Salvodelli got into the right break today and looked to be the strongest at the end. No sucking of wheels for Paolo as he looked to be beaten by CSC’s Kurt Aversen, but gutted out the sprint to get the win. Sebastian Hinault started the fireworks by attacking the break on the final climb.

As the group splintered, Paolo took off after Hinault. The attack sapped Hinault of all of his reserves as the OLN heart rate monitor showed that Hinault was already topping out at 195 beats/min. Eventually Aversen, Salvodelli, Hinault and an Fdjeux riders were together playing cat and mouse to setup for the sprint. They had plenty of time to do track stands if they wanted as they has a 22+ minute lead over the yellow jersey peloton.

Aversen attacked and the only rider with enough strength to counter was Salvodelli. Only problem was that Salvo had Hinault sucking his wheel as he was reeling in Aversen. Hinault faded and Salvo gutted out the sprint to take the win.

This is the third Discovery Channel victory of the Tour and it launches Salvodelli up the GC with the 20+ minutes that the break was allowed. Can Lance win a stage before the Tour is over? He has a very good chance in Saturday’s St. Etienne Time Trial. However, look for Ivan Basso to make a statement Saturday. He improved his TT abilities by a wide margin, and his form is better than earlier in the Tour. He might stick close to Lance in the TT. The man to watch will be Ullrich as he tries to shake down Rasmussen for the third podium spot. Ullrich has somewhat of a chip on his shoulder since he has been taking so much criticism so watch out, he may even go for the stage win.