Prologue spolier update (in process)

[Dr. Doofus]

lance just passed jan before the second time check

ouch

then final results

Finish - km 19

1 David Zabriskie (Team CSC) 20.51
2 Lance Armstrong (Discovery Channel) 0.02
3 Alexandre Vinokourov (T-Mobile Team) 0.53
4 George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) 0.57
5 Laszlo Bodrogi (Credit Agricole) 0.59
6 Floyd Landis (Phonak Hearing Systems) 1.02
7 Jens Voigt (Team CSC) 1.04
8 Vladimir Karpets (Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne) 1.05
9 Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano (Liberty Seguros-Würth) 1.06
10 Bobby Julich (Team CSC) 1.07
11 Jose Enrique Gutierrez (Phonak Hearing Systems) 1.12
12 Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile)

a minute over everyone that matters in 19k

dizzy pops it again (any yank ever one two grand tour stages in one year?)

[OnceFast]

Talk about taking the suspense out of it. I'll watch the rest, but unless Lance gets sick or crashes - it's over.

[93legendti]

lance just passed jan before the second time check

ouch

then final results

Finish - km 19

1 David Zabriskie (Team CSC) 20.51
2 Lance Armstrong (Discovery Channel) 0.02
3 Alexandre Vinokourov (T-Mobile Team) 0.53
4 George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) 0.57
5 Laszlo Bodrogi (Credit Agricole) 0.59
6 Floyd Landis (Phonak Hearing Systems) 1.02
7 Jens Voigt (Team CSC) 1.04
8 Vladimir Karpets (Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne) 1.05
9 Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano (Liberty Seguros-Würth) 1.06
10 Bobby Julich (Team CSC) 1.07
11 Jose Enrique Gutierrez (Phonak Hearing Systems) 1.12
12 Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile)

a minute over everyone that matters in 19k

dizzy pops it again (any yank ever one two grand tour stages in one year?)
How's Levi and Botero do?

[97CSI]

13 Jose Enrique Gutierrez (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems 1.12
14 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Gerolsteiner 1.13
15 Michael Rich (Ger) Gerolsteiner
16 Jose Luis Rubiera (Spa) Discovery Channel 1.16
17 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Discovery Channel 1.18
18 Bradley McGee (Aus) Française Des Jeux 1.24
19 Marc Wauters (Bel) Rabobank 1.25
20 Ivan Basso (Ita) Team CSC 1.26
21 Sebastian Lang (Ger) Gerolsteiner 1.27
22 Benjamin Noval (Spa) Discovery Channel 1.28
23 Robert Hunter (RSA) Phonak Hearing Systems 1.30
24 Walter Bénéteau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
25 Santiago Botero (Col) Phonak Hearing Systems
26 Luke Roberts (Aus) Team CSC
27 Bert Grabsch (Ger) Phonak Hearing Systems 1.31
28 Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team CSC 1.32
29 Carlos Sastre (Spa) Team CSC
30 Dario Frigo (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 1.34
31 Pavel Padrnos (Cze) Discovery Channel
32 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) Discovery Channel 1.35
33 Luis León Sanchez (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth 1.39
34 Jose Azevedo (Por) Discovery Channel

Look at all the CSC (7) and Discovery (8) folks. Can you say 'team-time-trial'. Stage 2 crosswinds should give a good indication of the TTT, which Discovery (Postal) killed them on.

Go Lance!! :banana:

[Ray]

Then maybe next year we'll see some racing at the level of this year's Giro or recent Vueltas. My God, if Ullrich wasn't a head case already, today should put him over the edge.

Yeah, Lance could get sick or crash, but barring that, how does he lose this tour? Coulda been 20/20 hindsite, but Phil and Paul were commenting that when they saw how easy he was taking it in the Dauphine, they figured he was in the form of his life. Carmichael has said essentially the same thing. Maybe it wasn't just blowing smoke.

Oh well, there's something to be said for a blowout for the home team.

-Ray

[DreaminJohn]

Of course, the fact that they singled him out for a drug test last night (no other riders were tested!!??) probably didn't hurt his motivation.

[weisan]

I want to know what David Zabriskie eats for breakfast... :D
The Utah native has an incredible engine...but judging by looks...well, he doesn't look much. It's all internal combustion! :p

[boulder_courier]

It was actually classified as a Stage 1 Time Trail.... ;)

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . SIX Americans in the top 15. If Lance wins, of course the major story will be him. But even if he does, if all the Americans continue to do so well, then that will be a major story, too.

BBDave

[jerk]

I want to know what David Zabriskie eats for breakfast... :D
The Utah native has an incredible engine...but judging by looks...well, he doesn't look much. It's all internal combustion! :p


whatever rick crawford tells him too. (in other words stuff you should not ever touch.)
jerk

[Louis]

Lets not jump the gun, here guys. I know very little about racing, but it seems to me that it would be foolish for Disco to try to defend that ~50 second advantage this early in the game. Look at it this way: let’s say Lance had won the prologue and was in yellow, would they bother to defend the jersey for the rest of the tour? I don’t think so.

Yes, this tells us that Lance is now in great shape, but there's a lot left to come.

We’ll see what happens.

Louis

[Kevan]

and the gang, with a rather lack-luster performance on my part. I'm stretched out on the living room floor, fearing the leg cramps will return and I witness this performance.

I'm such the weenie.

Seconding isn't required.

Did Lance give the kid the win or not? And what's that, his babe is there? (Not that I give a flyin' hoot.)

[Dr. Doofus]

headwind the whole way, so this was a great test of who had the best engine -- and 20 minutes is long enough to stress the aerobic system to make this short TT a better gauge of who came to play than the usual prologue...that said, looks like vino may have better legs than jan this time around, and bobby j might get a stage if csc gives him the rope to attack and get in the right move of guys who are low enough down on the gc to be let go by disco and t mobile...jan may still be feeling the back of that car...and yeah, this one is over, trust the doof...if LA takes a minute to ninety seconds out of the guys that matter in 19k, then unless he has the worst day of his career or shows tactical ineptitude like never before, then yeah it will be a race...the guy is just better than everyone else on the planet at what he's chosen to do, namley, to win the biggest, hardest 3-week stage race out there.

and lance won't let go of any of those 50 sec over vino...nor that 1:20 over thatguywholookslikefatjanonlyskinnier....

[Dr. Doofus]

whatever rick crawford tells him too. (in other words stuff you should not ever touch.)
jerk


ya think horner is paying enough to eat that for breakfast, too?

[mdeeds71]

Funny how Lance was the one random test before the race...the day after the test for the whole field...They mentioned on OLN how he actually helps to fund the testing using his own money...

Now that my mother has had a cancer relapse, lungs, colon, bone, liver after her bout with breast cancer...and I see what chemo can do to a body...What Lance has done is just superhuman...

Did anyone also see quite a few of those eccentric front chainrings on the TT??? I thought these were gone some time ago with the biopace *****.

[bostondrunk]

ya think horner is paying enough to eat that for breakfast, too?

the stolen underground thought so....lol

Didn't they actually end up having a tailwind? I don't think Zabriski averaged 54km/h into a strong headwind, did he?

[bostondrunk]

from velosnooze:

"benefit of a slight cross-tail wind enjoyed by Zabriskie "

[bostondrunk]

And looks like HED made a new deeper trispoke for lance..

[Dr. Doofus]

the stolen underground thought so....lol

Didn't they actually end up having a tailwind? I don't think Zabriski averaged 54km/h into a strong headwind, did he?

aha...vino had a headwind for most of his ride...doof was silly enough to think those conditions were consistent the whole day...anyway....

crawford...dirtier than the ladies who dance at the killimanjaro men's club in rock hill sc...guess nafta makes power breakfasts cheaper if you like mexican....

the miami fashion man was out there, but crawford's e-mails did make for some interesting reading...cmcrman has...subtly and without legal implication...suggested...that rc is kinda like a souped-up fiat...ya know...ferrari lite...anyway....

[djg]

Lets not jump the gun, here guys. I know very little about racing, but it seems to me that it would be foolish for Disco to try to defend that ~50 second advantage this early in the game. Look at it this way: let’s say Lance had won the prologue and was in yellow, would they bother to defend the jersey for the rest of the tour? I don’t think so.

Yes, this tells us that Lance is now in great shape, but there's a lot left to come.

We’ll see what happens.

Louis

Yes, there's plenty left to happen and no, Discovery is not likely to want to grab the yellow in the first week so as to have to defend the jersey through (nearly) the entire tour. On the other hand, I would be shocked if Lance and Discovery were to treat the 51 seconds over Vino and a minute plus over Jan & co. as anything less than the potentially critical margin it is--they'll mark rivals close throughout the race, just as they would have without today's gap.

[Louis]

I just read that Zabriskie still has screws in his knee after his accident last year. Can you guess which knee? Yikes, that looks like a mess.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . about Lance, I would imagine that “random” test p*ssed him off no end. And what usually happens when Lance gets p*ssed off?

Be afraid, rest of the peloton. Be very afraid.

BBDave

[Skrawny]

Just in time for Independance Day Weekend.
USA!
USA!
USA!
:banana: ...

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . looks just like MY left knee, except I’ve got a big old 6-inch scar on mine.

Does this mean I should have entered the Tour this year? :rolleyes:

BBDave

[djg]

. . . looks just like MY left knee, except I’ve got a big old 6-inch scar on mine.

Does this mean I should have entered the Tour this year? :rolleyes:

BBDave

No offense, big guy, but you cannot just enter as a podium ... er, person. It may not be quite as demanding as team selection for the actual cyclists, but one does have to be chosen.

[weisan]

Anyone know the power wattage numbers churned out by Lance when he was out doing his 20+ minutes practice run for the hour record?

[shaq-d]

Funny how Lance was the one random test before the race...the day after the test for the whole field...They mentioned on OLN how he actually helps to fund the testing using his own money...


anyone else think this is a HUGE conflict of interest?

sd

[gasman]

anyone else think this is a HUGE conflict of interest?

sd


Maybe not if you're clean and you think others may not be.

[weisan]

Kenya runner-turned-mountain-goat McGee, also known as winner of the 2003 TDF Prologue...came in 18th, 1.24 down...what the @#(*@#!!!

http://www.doohan-covers.com/jaquettes/Road_runner_cd1_av_guix.jpg

[rnhood]

I think they should require a fee from all riders to help fund the testing. These riders need to start taking some responsibility and be accountable - like Lance has been doing.

[weisan]

So...Jerk-O, is the TT bike that Gerolsteiner rode on today what you expected?

http://grahamwatson.com/gw/imagedocs.nsf/images/05tdfSt1/$file/3.jpg

[Johny]

Maybe not if you're clean and you think others may not be.

This is not new...

http://www.siglamag.com/features/0407/AngelsWithDirtyFaces.php

"But by 1987 ...That drug was EPO... Moser's medical adviser, Conconi, was among the first to develop a way for athletes to use EPO without fear of detection. At the time of doing this, he was also employed by the UCI, charged with developing anti-doping tests.

Conconi's protege, Ferrari, claimed in 1994 that EPO was as harmless as orange juice. Even today, Ferrari insists that EPO is not a dangerous drug."

[jerk]

So...Jerk-O, is the TT bike that Gerolsteiner rode on today what you expected?

http://grahamwatson.com/gw/imagedocs.nsf/images/05tdfSt1/$file/3.jpg


yeah, but more interesting was the fact that ulli wasn't riding his walser....the bike kicks the crap out of him. he never rides it unless it's going to matter. the jerk thinks he's more f'ed up than he appears.

jerk

[JohnS]

I could have done without the commercial of Bob Roll buck nekkid! :no:

[Wayne77]

I want to know what David Zabriskie eats for breakfast... :D
The Utah native has an incredible engine...but judging by looks...well, he doesn't look much. It's all internal combustion! :p

Yep that's my hometown SLC boy.. He seems to be a very nice guy. Two years ago I was on a ride during the off season and he blows by, motorpacing in full team kit, and actually looks over to wave and say hi. He'll be on the podium soon enough...

[max_powers]

with the radios and GPS, they got it close, as Lance/team does not want the jersey now

[musgravecycles]

with the radios and GPS, they got it close, as Lance/team does not want the jersey now

I don't think that Lance 'sat up' if he was angry enough to throw his helmet at the ground in anger when he found out he'd been beaten by 2 seconds...

[Climb01742]

yeah, but more interesting was the fact that ulli wasn't riding his walser....the bike kicks the crap out of him. he never rides it unless it's going to matter. the jerk thinks he's more f'ed up than he appears.

jerk

is levi riding a specialized...or isn't...or is it a specialized "homage", shall we say, to a walser?...what is for sure is...it's written into the the specialized sponsorship agreement that should even one of the 'steiner boys ride an non-specialized rig, specialized is pulling every cent of sponsorship $. it would be interesting to know the genetic history...looks to have some wasler DNA, but with a few differences...can we spell reversed engineered? ;)

[weisan]

lance just passed jan before the second time check

ouch

then final results

Finish - km 19

1 David Zabriskie (Team CSC) 20.51
2 Lance Armstrong (Discovery Channel) 0.02
3 Alexandre Vinokourov (T-Mobile Team) 0.53
4 George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) 0.57
5 Laszlo Bodrogi (Credit Agricole) 0.59
6 Floyd Landis (Phonak Hearing Systems) 1.02
7 Jens Voigt (Team CSC) 1.04
8 Vladimir Karpets (Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne) 1.05
9 Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano (Liberty Seguros-Würth) 1.06
10 Bobby Julich (Team CSC) 1.07
11 Jose Enrique Gutierrez (Phonak Hearing Systems) 1.12
12 Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile)

a minute over everyone that matters in 19k

dizzy pops it again (any yank ever one two grand tour stages in one year?)

Look at the time difference. The next closest guy to Lance is Vino, he's 53 sec down. If Vino had started as Lance's minute man, he could have been caught once Lance had him in his sight although not likely. Only he, BigGeorge and Laszlo could have survived the carnage, not even Landis is safe from the slaughter...

One other thing I want to say about Zabriskie. He started as the 19th rider in a bunch of 189 riders but his time stood up to the last.

I am not trying to play down on the "humiliation" Ullrich experienced in being taken over by Lance...it's just a forgone conclusion when you had someone like Lance gunning you down from behind....think "Nuclear Missile Firing at Road Runner...BeepBeep!"

http://www.math.ku.edu/~evanvleck/road-r.gif

[weisan]

yeah, but more interesting was the fact that ulli wasn't riding his walser....the bike kicks the crap out of him. he never rides it unless it's going to matter. the jerk thinks he's more f'ed up than he appears.
jerk

he never rides it unless it's going to matter??!!!

Who the heck he thinks he is racing against...Yogi Bear and Bucks Bunny???!!! :butt:

[dave thompson]

he never rides it unless it's going to matter??!!!

Who the heck he thinks he is racing against...Yogi Bear and Bucks Bunny???!!! :butt:
I wonder if Ullrich has resigned himself to less than a win this year? It's gotta be disheartening to be in his position; a great rider during the same time as one of the greatest riders.

Ullrich: "I rode flat out [in the time trial] and didn't feel that bad. But to be passed by Armstrong on the first stage is of course not a nice feeling!"

[BigDaddySmooth]

Let me first say, I'm not a LA fan, far from it. However, this is the first time in 7 years I feel he is unbeatable. I was hoping that JU would have had a minute on LA after the ITT/TTT and that the first mountain stage he would only lose 2-3 minutes like he always does, thus the two would be separated by less than 1 minute after the first couple of weeks. Now, Disco will put another minute into JU and he'll be at least 4-5 minutes down by the end of week 2. JU is done.

Basso may still have a chance but only if LA experiences the typical "climbing legs are the first to go for the aging cyclist." However, Basso will need 2-3 minutes lead or he'll lose it in the final ITT. How is it that a 33 y.o. going on 34 improves w/age? This almost defies explanation. Determination, being a genetic freak, being pi$$ed off, whatever, it goes against the indiscriminate effects of trying to defeat Father Time. Something is not right here! :crap:

[97CSI]

I want to know what David Zabriskie eats for breakfast...For this one he ate a 20mph tailwind that was gone by the 30th rider.