First off, Lance likes the innovative route of the 2009 course that starts in Monaco with a 15km hilly TT and visits Barcelona and Girona, Spain.

“The route of the 2009 Tour de France strikes me as innovative and very interesting,” Armstrong said.

“From its start in Monte Carlo with a 15k time trial, to the reinstatement of the team time trial, to stages in my old hometown of Girona all the way to another visit to my old friend the Ventoux, I could not have hoped for a different Tour.”

That is well and good, but what about the red meat? Will Lance ride in the 2009 Tour and if so will he support Contador or will he demand to be numero uno?

“As to the leadership of the Astana team in 2009, it’s illogical to pre-select a leader for any race in October of the previous year,” Armstrong said.

“I have been around long enough to know that cycling is a team sport and I am fully committed to supporting the strongest rider in any race, whether that’s me, Alberto Contador, Levi Leipheimer, or Andreas Kloden.

Hmm, he is not saying he will ride in support of Contador, but he is not saying he won’t. But this statement clearly leaves the reigns of leadership wide open. Lance Armstrong has been around in cycling log enough to know that his Tour teams basically revolved around supporting Lance Armstrong’s road to victory. The USPS/Discovery Channel team had a clear number one rider and there really was no number two option. Look at the 2006 Tour when Discovery rode like a headless chicken.

There is not much doubt that Contador is the best stage racer in the world at this moment. But, Astana could be playing coy and trying to use its strength to “protect” Contador. Team CSC looked like they were supporting Frank Schleck for overall victory until Sastre attacked in the mountains with the help of the Schleck brothers constant marking of their rivals.

So, this will be an interesting development to watch. Is Astana being coy about Contador? Will Contador wish to spread his wings and go to another team where he is a clear leader? Or will Contador end up playing super domestique to an 8th Armstrong Tour win? This will be a fun year.

The 2009 Tour de France route was unveiled today in Paris. Notibly absent was Lance Armstrong who is Twittering from Austin and developing a radical new TT position. The Tour contenders in Paris including Alberto Contador and Cadel Evans liked the course.

The first stage is a 15km hilly TT in Monaco. The Team Time Trial is back on Stage Four. Ventoux on Stage 20. If the race is tight coming into the final stage it would provide for an epic finish. However, the course looks very grueling and could be well decided by then.

Only 55km of Individual TTs with a 38km Team Time Trial. The race looks to favor someone of defending champion Carlos Sastre’s ability. Not explosive in the TT, but a good enough climber. Sastre’s new Cervelo team has some horsepower with Thor Hushovd for the Team Time Trial, but it remains to be seen how his team will match up with Alberto Contador and the powerful Astana squad.

Team Saxobank may have a chance to bring Andy Schleck into contention since the shorter TT options may be forgiving to the young rider.

Everyone is waiting to see what Lance Armstrong does in July. Johan Bruyneel said that chances of a Lance return to France are 50/50.

Here is the list of stages.

Stages for the 2009 Tour de France

Stage 1 – July 4 – Monaco – Monaco, 15km (individual time-trial)
Stage 2 – July 5 – Monaco – Brignoles, 182km
Stage 3 – July 6 – Marseille – La Grande-Motte, 196km
Stage 4 – July 7 – Montpellier, 38km (team time-trial)
Stage 5 – July 8 – Le Cap d’Agde – Perpignan, 197km
Stage 6 – July 9 – Girona (Spain) – Barcelona (Spain), 175km
Stage 7 – July 10 – Barcelona – Andorra 224km
Stage 8 – July 11 – Andorra-la-Vieille – Saint-Girons, 176km
Stage 9 – July 12 – Saint Gaudens – Tarbes, 160km

● – July 13 – Rest day at Limoges

Stage 10 – July 14 – Limoges – Issoudun, 193km
Stage 11 – July 15 – Vatan – Saint Fargeau, 192km
Stage 12 – July 16 – Tonnerre – Vittel, 200km
Stage 13 – July 17 – Vittel – Colmar, 200km
Stage 14 – July 18 – Colmar – Besanon, 199km
Stage 15 – July 19 – Pontarlier – Verbier (Suisse), 207km

● – July 20 – Rest day at Verbier

Stage 16 – July 21 - Martigny (Switzerland) – Bourg-Saint Maurice, 160km
Stage 17 – July 22 – Bourg-Saint Maurice – Le Grand Bornand, 169km
Stage 18 – July 23 – Annecy – Annecy, 40km (individual time-trial)
Stage 19 – July 24 – Bourgoin-Jallieu – Aubenas, 195km
Stage 20 – July 25 – Montélimar – Mont Ventoux, 167km
Stage 21 – July 26 – Montereau-Fault-Yonne – Paris Champs Elysées, 160km

10 flat stages.
7 mountain stages
1 medium mountain stage.
2 individual time-trial stages.
1 team time-trial stage.

http://www.letour.com/

Team CSC’s strength could not help Carlos during the finak TT. So Carlos Sastre pulled out the TT of his life to hold off Cadel Evans and win the Tour de France by 58 seconds. Sastre was said to have covered the final 15km in the same time as World Champion TT specialist Fabian Cancellara (who came in second on the stage). Sastre did what most Yellow Jersey wearers do in the late TT and that is managing to hold on and win.

Common wisdom held that Cadel Evans would overtake the 1:34 advantage held by Sastre after his blazing win on Alpe D’Huez. The time gap did not seem like it was enough to keep Sastre in the lead, but Evans form was slowly fading into the third week. Since Prato Nevoso when Evans lost the Yellow Jersey to Frank Schleck. Team CSC was so strong and deep that they had more than one card to play. Once Schleck was in the lead not many expected Sastre to do anything other than defend his placing and get third or fourth as has been the case for a few years. Sastre’s attack and the defend the Schleck brothers played on Alpe D’Huez were a huge factor in Sastre getting the time he needed. If it was not for Andy and Frank checking every move with the tenacity of a junk yard dog then Sastre may not be in Yellow today.

REUTERS/Thierry Roge (FRANCE)

Evans was clearly fading as the Tour wound through the final week. His mountain performances were enough to keep things in check, but not having a particularly strong team vs. the strength of CSC wore down the Aussie along with the pressure of riding in Yellow. Evans has not been great with handling the pressure and after three week it wears enough to sap the extra energy needed to nail down a win. Evans final TT was good, but not enough to reel in Sastre and get the win he needed. It must have been deja vu as he was chasing a Spaniard who surprised everyone to win. Could Evans be the next eternal second like Jan Ullrich? Next year Team CSC may not be able to play the suprise “Here is Sastre” card and may not even have Sastre in the lineup. Andy Schleck looks to be the heir to the team leader throne for CSC/Saxo Bank. Next year will probably include a vengeful Astana team willing to pick up where Contador left off last year and other such as a rising Christian Vande Velde and sensational Bernhard Kohl. The road only gets tougher for Evans and next year will be make or break for the Aussie where second place won’t do for a third time.

Carlos Sastre benefited from an ungodly strong CSC team that helped him also leap into the Yellow Jersey lead. The strength of CSC is almost unprecedented. Not since the days of La Vie Claire has there been a collection of riders who were generally equally matched and able to all content in the tough moments. Lance Armstrong’s Postal/Discovery teams were generally strong but they were focused on getting only one man to the Yellow and did that with precision. Team CSC on the other hand has several cards to play and deals them evenly. Frank Schleck and Carlos Sastre each took advantage of the work that Jens Voight and Fabian Cancellara laid down with their powerful pace-making. Sastre was finally able to get a good jump and build on a lead. While Frank and Andy Schleck controlled the group of elite contenders with an iron fist. It was a perfect day for CSC and with the time gained by Sastre it could be a perfect Tour for the team which switches over to Team Saxo Bank next year.

Ahh, the Vuelta is sometimes the place of redemption. A cyclist having a bad year can go to the last Grand Tour and make a season positive. Denis Menchov is trying to help Rabobank forget about Micheal Rasmussen and Roberto Heras. Menchov looks like he is bulding a healthy lead in the Vuelta and could win it and savor his podium unlike a few years ago when he received the Amarillo jersey after Heras lost it due to doping.

Now, the best part of cycling is also back. Carlos Sastre is not too happy with the cozy situation between Denis Menchov and little Italian climber leonardo Piepoli. The two used to be teammates on the Banesto team. It seems like they are still wearing the same jersey by the way they worked together in the tough mountain stage. Carlos Sastre is PO’d and is speaking out.

Sastre even pulled a “Lance” type move by acting as if he was in trouble to see what Piepoli and Menchov would do.

“I played a little theater today to see if what I was thinking was true,” Sastre continued. “Piepoli straight away attacked the group. That proves that alliances are at work here.”

Piepoli, who finished seventh in the eight-up sprint won by Menchov, calmly denied he was blatantly working for Menchov.

“The comments by Sastre are overblown and came at the heat of the moment after finishing the stage,” Piepoli said. “All I did was ride my own race. I was the only rider who attacked up until 4km from the finish.”

Piepoli’s tactics could be mistaken as working for Menchov. However, look at Piepoli’s riding style and his performance at the Giro. The man wins climbing stages because he is a climber. He won the stage and the only way he could do it was to keep a high pace and keep everyone from attacking. It seems that Piepoli’s tactics meshed well with Menchov’s but that is simply fortunate for Menchov. Piepoli is always at the front going for stage wins, what else would he do?

Cycling is getting fun again, it is refreshing to talk about team tactics and polemics rather than lost sponsorships and positive dope tests.

Velonews article

Carlos Sastre had a very good year and I am convinced that Frank Schleck is the man of the future.

Bjarne Riis will be counting on a four pronged approach next year with Sastre, Schleck, Cancellara and Voight being leaders for various races throughout the year.

Frank Schleck had a very good 2006 winning the Amstel Gold Race and the L’Alpe D’Huez stage in the Tour de France. Fabian Cancellara won Paris Roubaix and the World Time Trial Championship. Carlos Sastre found himself in the unexpected role of leader for the Toru de France and finished fourth. He followed that up with another fourth in the Vuelta while riding all three Grand Tours. Jens Voight looked unstoppable for a stretch winning just about every race in site. So this core of riders are probably balanced enough to keep CSC near the front of the peloton.

The Deustchland Tour or Tour of Germany or the D Tour looked to be a chance at redemption for the flayling performance in the Tour for Levi Leipheimer. After a victory in stage 5 Leipheimer looked to be paving the way for another win to honor his German sponsor Gerolsteiner. Jens Voigt had other ideas as he pulled out two consecutive stage wins to dominate the last half of the D Tour.

Voigt has been know to be a tireless worker, a breakaway junkie who was crushed that he lost theaward for most combative rider in the Tour de France to De La Fuentes. Voigt went into oxygen debt to claim a dramatic win in Stage 6 and then win the time-trial in stage 7. That makes three stage wins for the Jens “The Monster” Voigt in what he described as the last chance he could take overall victory in his home Tour. Maybe it was the fact that the course was not too monstrous since a few hard climbs were removed due to inclement weather in stage 5 allowing Voigt to stay within reach. The last twoo stage wins were uncharacteric of Voigt as he beat Leipheimer on a climbing stage and won a time-trial.

This win marks the second mini stage race win of the month with Fabian Cancellara taking the Tour of Denmark that was totally dominated by CSC in their home race. When Jens Voigt won stage 2 in the D Tour it marked a first three race in one day win by CSC. The team is showing that they can get by without Basso if they need to as the Giro champ will go to court at the end of the month to talk to the Judges about Operation Puerto. If Basso goes from Champ to Chump, then Carlos Sastre has not problem being the main man since he is ready to go back to work at the Vuelta. This marks the third Grand Tour of the year which is very uncommon in this age of concentrated road racing. Sastre could also benefit from the Landis situation and find himself on the podium on the Tour after moving up to second in the Vuelta 2005 after Heras’ expulsion. Overall a nice set of tresults for CSC.

Floyd Landis secured the Tour de France win with a very good Time Trial performance that vaulted him over Oscar Periero. Landis looked to smoke the course early onas he beat the first split time set by Serhiy Honchar, but as the TT progressed Landis’ times slowed down a bit to where he placed second behind the T-Mobile duo of Honchar and Kloden. Landis’ time was fast enough to get a one minute advantage over Periero, and reason enough to decompress and celebrate his first Tour win.

What more can be said of Landis now that he cemented his first Tour win and the eight consecutive win by and American cyclist? The stage to Morzine that followed the total collapse at La Toussiere will be talked about for ages. The fist pumping victory salute should be on inspirational posters everywhere.

Sastre Disastre
Carlos Sastre had a mini implosion today as he performed poorly in the final Time Trial and lost a podium spot. Now Andreas Kloden takes third and promptly dedicated his spot to the now unemployed Jan Ullrich. Sastre performed well in the Alps and could have spoiled the day for Landis if CSC helped to chase down Landis earlier. Lucky they didn’t. But CSC at least has someone to make them forget about the Basso situation for a little while.

Cunego Impressive
Conventional wisdom and past performances indicated that Damiano Cundego would not last long in the white jersey for best young rider in the Tour. With a slight five second lead and not a great track record in Time Trials no one expected much from Cunego. But the last TT is much more about form than TT ability and Cunego put in a great performance to stay in white. Cunego has had a great Tour de France and the future looks bright for “Il Prinicippe” as his form is finally coming back after last years bout with Epstein Barr.

Legendary, Gutsy, Superb, Awesome, Possessed, Man on a Mission, Crazy, Spiteful, Revenege Seeking, Man on a Mission, Mr. Excitement, choose you moniker, adjective, whatever. This is the gutsiest move by any Tour contender in the modern era. Bernard Hinault was known for similar type moves, but nothing like this. From a complete crack yesterday to a gutsy move today, Floyd Landis is back in contention for the Tour de France. From one of the biggest cracks to the bigest comeback in a span of 24 hours. I expected Landis to recover and show some force today, but I did not expect him to almost get the Yellow Jersey back. The emphatic fist waving at the finish line by Landis was a sign that he is definatley back.

At the finish line, Landis told interviewer Frankie Andreu that he wants to win the Tour de France. This type of statement is very refreshing after the almost robotic domination of Lance Armstrong and the associated canned statements. Floyd has style, panache, and a hard head which are as much a key as Lance Armstrong psychological domination of the past seven years. Landis’ foray to gain back time was the result of a man who has nothing to lose and did not care about racing to protect a top ten finish. But the solo effort may have been the best option for Landis after yesterday’s crack. Landis has the team car at hand where he could get water bottles on demand. When he needed a bike change, there was not worry, the car was right there. The man who is a very good time trialer was basically time trialing through most of the stage, with some very good support.

Landis learned the lessons of yesterday’s crack and was seen always getting a water bottle from the car. When he was not dumping the bottle on his head, he would he holding it open with his hand. At one point I thought that the Phonak team car could run out of bottles to give to Floyd. The other concern was that Sinkewitz would stick on Landis’ wheel for the stage and sneak around for the win. That was put to rest as Sinkewitz could not keep the blistering pace of Landis up the climb of the Joux Plane. The final blistering descent saw Landis gain 30 seconds on second place Sastre who was trying to get the Yellow Jersey himself. Sastre missed by about 15 seconds.

Landis is now poised to still win the Tour de France. The race that many thought was Landis’ to lose, is now Landis’ to win. The next stage could be a chance to rest up for the Time Trial, but with CSC poised to get the Yellow by 15 seconds and a cat 2 climb in the mix, watch for CSC to shake things up in tomorrow’s stage. Sastre may not be as quick of a time trialer as Landis, but CSC wants the win too, and they have the fire power to further shake things up tomorrow.

The strong team got a surprise reinforcement as Carlos Sastre will be on the Giro squad to help in Basso’s quest for the Maglia Rosa.

Carlos himself came up to me and suggested that he should do the Giro, and I have great respect for the thoughts, which lie behind his decision. He’s willing to sacrifice himself in the mountains to be there for Ivan, and his help could actually be crucial at that point. The plan is for him to get through the first part of the race as easy as possible in order to be with Ivan in the final week, which will be an extremely tough one. It’s a true gift and a privilege to have a rider like Carlos in the Giro, and of course I’ve only made this decision, because we both agree on the fact that it also makes sense in relation to the rest of his season. – says Riis

Bjarne Riis sounds very optimistic about his team’s prospect for the Giro:

We’ve selected an exceptionally strong team. And there’s no doubt it’s a team, which is able to provide Ivan with the best possible help in his attempt to win this race. He’s in perfect shape for the job and he has the strength and the experience to win his first big stage race. I think everyone will agree that it is nine top motivated riders, who will be starting for Team CSC on the 6th of May. As often before we’ve had the luxury of several strong riders as potentials for the race, but in the end the decision was a given, and I’m very proud of the team we’ve chosen for this year’s Giro.

The CSC Giro Team includes:
Ivan Basso, Carlos Sastre, Bobby Julich, Jens Voigt, Volodymir Gustov, Giovanni Lombardi, Iñigo Cuesta, Michael Blaudzun and Nicki Sørensen.

Sastre joins Basso for Giro
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