The Pyrenees are next on the plate for the weekend with some very difficult stages. Saturday will offer up some cat 4 climbs and then an HC climb of Port de Pailhères which is 15.1 kms long and averages 8.1 %. The stage finishes at the top of Ax3-DOMAINES which is shorter at 7.9 km… Read more »
Monthly Archives:: July 2005
Martin Dugard: Smokin’
Martin Dugard’s blog is worth reading just for this next excerpt. I’ve written quite a bit about the fractured relations between the American riders. But as the Tour marches on its merry way to Paris, the schism is widening. Bobby Julich is quietly mocked for speaking in clichés and being intimidated by Lance; Floyd Landis… Read more »
Valverde Abandons Tour
Alejandro was in 4th place and looking to improve, but knee problems forced him to abandon the Tour. Alejandro will probably ride the Vuelta with an eye to the World Championships Road Race in Madrid.
How Do Cycling Teams Work?
If you read Velochimp you probably know this stuff already, but here is an article you can send to your friends who are getting excited about the Tour and Lance. How Do Cycling Teams Work? – What Lance Armstrong’s “domestiques” do. By Daniel Engber
Danilo Di Luca takes a tumble while training
Danilo DiLuca took a hard tumble while training in Italy. He crashed hard on a descent landing on his right side and suffering multiple scrapes and abrasions partucularly near his head. The crash was not that dramatic and DiLuca expects to lighten up training for a bit. He still expects to return to competition in… Read more »
Moncoutie make Bastille Day a happy day
David Moncoutie made the French happy on their “Fourth of July” by winning today’s stage. French national pride has taken a hit in cycling since Bernard Hinault half heartedly crossed the finish line of L’Alpe D’Huez hand in hand with Greg Lemond in 1986. Hinault later lost to Lemond and has since been the last… Read more »
Boonen pulls out
Tom Boonen had yet another crash today that made it difficult to continue riding. Thor Hushovd now takes over the lead in the Green jersey competition. Yahoo! Sports – Cycling – Points leader Boonen pulls out of Tour
Holy Crap Ras is only 38 seconds back
Looking at the overall standings, things are close at the top with Mikael Rasmussen only 38 seconds behind Lance. Even though Lance crushed his major competitors with the help of his Discovery team on stage 10, Ras and others are still not far off. The next few stages provide a respite from the high climbs…. Read more »
Vino wins and gains back some time
Alexander Vinokourov tried to get back some time overall in the GC to Lance Armstrong with a day long breakaway that included some big names. In the end the break whittled down to Vino and Santiago Botero who both had the same mission, get back time on Lance. Botero jumped up to 6th place while… Read more »
Tour 2005: Basso
Ivan Basso reports that he is feeling better than yesterday. He was able to recover from yesterday’s effort and limit his losses. He also says that the race will be decided in the Pyrennes. One small problem is that he lost third place to Christophe Moreau who took the third place sprint and time bonus…. Read more »