Jul 17, 2007
Soler Solos While Vino Loses Ground
Alexandre Vinokourov’s charge for the Mailliot Jaune could be a lost cause for 2007. Vino could not hold the pace of the top contenders and finds himself several minutes behind. Vino has been battling injuries and the pain showed today as he was riding with the group of second flight contenders and came in over 2 minutes behind current Yellow Jersey Michael Rasmussen. The pain and devastation showed as Vino burst into tears realizing that the dream of winning the Tour is out of reach. Vino’s performances at the Tour have always been on extremes. In the past he would blister the field attacking at the most unexpected moments gaining time while competitors were sleeping. Remember that famous crash of Beloki and Armstrong in 2003? They were chasing Vino who was blitzing the field. Then he would follow tose performances with almost legendary time losses. Vino was not able to string together enough good days and luck to be a overall winner.
Mauricio Soler gave Barloworld some great press today. The Columbian climber from the wildcard team did not have any major wins in his palmares. Just a stage at the Tour of Columbia. His solo effort up the Galibier and into Briancon was
impressive as he held off a hard charging group that swelled with most of the major contenders for the Tour.
Soler’s Barloworld team gave the ASO plenty to be happy about in the Tour so far. They’ve had several racers in breaks during the first week and now a stage win.
The General Classification is getting a little clearer after the final Alp stage today. The Col de Galibier was the final climb before a few flat stages let everyone lick their wounds and take stock of their position in the Tour. The next major challenge for the GC men won’t come until Saturday’s Time Trial at Albi. That stage will be a critical test for Michael Rasmussen who has changed from pursuing the Polka Dot Jersey to going for the Yellow. Rasmussen defended his position well while wearing the Yellow. For a racer like Ras there would be an expectation that he would attack to gain more time, but the downhill run into Briancon was enough to eliminate any advantage that Ras could get by attacking the group going up the Galibier. It was smart to counter the attacks and stick with the group going downhill. The last week of the Tour will provide plenty of mountains for Rasmussen to still be in contention no matter how he performs in the time trial.
Alejandro Valverde is getting more aggressive finally. He attacked Ramussen a few times going up the Galibier and forced the climbing specialist to be on the chase. Rasmussen actually looked vlnerable at times which seems odd after Monday’s stage where Rasmussen dominated the climbs. If Valverde gets more aggressive it just may pay off especially if Rasmussen and Mayo are his main adversaries going into the final week. Valverde however is riding in unknown territory since this may be the farthest he has ever raced in the Tour.
As for Discovery Channel, they cannot say that they are supporting Levi Leipheimer with a straight face. Contador looks strong and is well ahead of Levi in the overall. Levi may get a chance to improve his standings on Saturday’s time trial, but regardless of the outcome he is not treated like a team leader. Discovery sent Popovych and Contador out on attacks looking for a stage win. No Discovery/Postal racer ever went off for personally glory in the Lance days. They all worked together as a team staying by Lance’s side. Disco had guys all over the place, if Levi was truly the leader, Popovych and Contador would hold back and help pace Levi to the front group.