LANCE IN YELLOW!

dollarStretcher wrote:

isn't there still one long time trial.

contador is going to be wiped out there unless he has 3 min cushion.

Yes. There is I think about a 40k time trial on maybe stage 17'ish that is hilly and technical if I remember right. Don't underestimate Contadors time trialing though. He's a pretty amazing all around rider these days.

I would actually be surprised to see Lance take any time of him at all on that stage.

I just hope that something happens to where the undoubtably strongest man wins in the end. It will be dissapointing to see Lance or Contador lose because they have to sit on wheels with good legs while the other attacks. Just like it played out today.

Oh Jay wrote:

LANCE IN YELLOW!

Idiot. There wasn't even one moment in today's ride where Lance had the virtual yellow.

dollarStretcher wrote:

isn't there still one long time trial.

contador is going to be wiped out there unless he has 3 min cushion.

Contador is a better TTer than Lance these days. He took 22 seconds out of LA in only 15.5k during the prologue. Contador beat Brad Wiggins by 1 second over that distance, and Wiggins was a gold medalist in Individual Pursuit at the Olympics.

Contador's "chink in the armor" used to be TTing, but that's no longer true.

"I was your knight in shining armor, and each of you were the chinks upon my armor, each of you were the chinks, YOU ALL WERE THE CHINKS!" -Kenny Powers

If Armstrong could have gone with Contador today, he would have.

No, you don't attack your teammate.

frenchpressure wrote:Contador is a better TTer than Lance these days. He took 22 seconds out of LA in only 15.5k during the prologue

then what happened to contador in the team-trial where lance rode magnificently to finish within 1s of the overall lead ?

Enjoy it wrote:

questioningly wrote:

A few years ago he would have crushed this stage.

Does this mean the other riders' doping regimens have caught up to Lance's?

In 2005 he won one stage and it was the 20th, so to say he would've crushed it a few years ago is FALSE

Thank you.

I think there's a good analogy between Lance and Tiger in the way they've learned to compete with more maturity--they're more interested in making sure they win than in crushing people. Tiger will probably never have another tournament like his first Masters, because he doesn't take so many risks when he doesn't need to. He tends to play par golf when he has a solid lead. By the same token, Lance keeps himself in a good position and out of trouble. He picks the stage where he knows he can make the most time, crushes it, then gets back out of trouble. Nobody knows what Lance can do at this point(big advantage for him); whereas AC has shown his cards, and I don't think anyone was that impressed.

ventolin wrote:

frenchpressure wrote:Contador is a better TTer than Lance these days. He took 22 seconds out of LA in only 15.5k during the prologue

then what happened to contador in the team-trial where lance rode magnificently to finish within 1s of the overall lead ?

Is this a serious question?

They are on the same team, and thus working together in the TTT. They got the same time. BTW, Astana (not just Lance) rode magnificently in the TTT.

800 dude wrote:

Enjoy it wrote:

In 2005 he won one stage and it was the 20th, so to say he would've crushed it a few years ago is FALSE

Thank you.

I think there's a good analogy between Lance and Tiger in the way they've learned to compete with more maturity--they're more interested in making sure they win than in crushing people. Tiger will probably never have another tournament like his first Masters, because he doesn't take so many risks when he doesn't need to. He tends to play par golf when he has a solid lead. By the same token, Lance keeps himself in a good position and out of trouble. He picks the stage where he knows he can make the most time, crushes it, then gets back out of trouble.

I was impressed. He put 20 seconds on the best climbers in the world in only 2k, on a slope that wasn't particularly steep. What do you think he's going to do if he attacks from 5 or 10k out on a legitimately steep mountain?

-Astana was instructed NOT to attack today by Bruyneel so either LA held back, last K or AC could have been even more dominant if Bruyneel gave a green light, and he may have gone sooner. Impressive to put 20 seconds on Cadel et al in 1k!!!

-Huge time trial to come yet. LA did get beat by AC, but LA also went 18th, a HUGE disadvantage when you have the bullseye on your back for every other GC rider.

-Biggest stage in tour is Mt. Ventoux...hardest, most time gaps will come from Alps anyway.

my point, AC certainly appears to be the best rider, but there are still 2 weeks, and even more definitive stages yet to come, plus Wiggins and VDV a little better than expected.

I agree!

How could anybody not be impressed by Contador at this point? I don't get that. He's certainly proven himself to be the class of the field to this point in my mind. He rode the best TT of the contenders on stage one and rode away from everyone today. Lance has got his hands full even if Bruneyle (sp?) gives him the opportunity to attack and try to win.

Next year could be the epic race. Lance on his own team against Contador. Already looking forward to it. Having them both on the same team spoils the madness.

Yohan Bruneyle (sp??) has the toughest job in the world the next two weeks.

I am not impressed. Contador only put 20 seconds the elite group. If Contador "went to the well" today and that is all he has, he is in trouble. By contrast, Lance played it safe and stuck with the other GC guys and has not shown all his cards yet. I think Lance is holding back something fierce for the final week.

LAps wrote:

I am not impressed. Contador only put 20 seconds the elite group. If Contador "went to the well" today and that is all he has, he is in trouble. By contrast, Lance played it safe and stuck with the other GC guys and has not shown all his cards yet. I think Lance is holding back something fierce for the final week.

LoL .. did you watch the race? He did it in the last 1.5k

he put the hammer down and was gone.. They all tried to cover but couldn't

If AC hadnt gone Lance and Astona would have the yellow. His acceleration at the end was pretty incredible. 20 seconds that late in the race.... Lance leached all day not one major pull. I give him a day or two before the alps take his legs...

I think the wind may have shifted in that time trial -- I'm not convinced that Contador actually rode faster.

Armstrong did more work in the team time trial and was a team player on today's stage -- you don't follow your teammate's attack.

So I'm annoyed about the Contador attack. I haven't watched the stage yet, only read the updates, but from the point of view of cycling strategy, Contador was only attacking Lance today. If you're in the lead of the tour de france, there's no reason to attack until one maybe of the last days -- you might as well conserve energy in the meantime. This stinks to me as a political move by Contador.

LAps wrote:

I am not impressed. Contador only put 20 seconds the elite group. If Contador "went to the well" today and that is all he has, he is in trouble. By contrast, Lance played it safe and stuck with the other GC guys and has not shown all his cards yet. I think Lance is holding back something fierce for the final week.

Contador in no way "went to the well" today. He attacked with virtually no risk and put 20 seconds on all his rivals in the span of 1500m. To put that in running context, it's like gapping someone by 20m in the last 200. If the Evans group could have responded, they would have.

Lance did not "play it safe", he marked GC contenders on the other teams because that's his job as the teammate of the attacking rider.

dagwaefsdpd wrote:

I think the wind may have shifted in that time trial -- I'm not convinced that Contador actually rode faster.

Armstrong did more work in the team time trial and was a team player on today's stage -- you don't follow your teammate's attack.

So I'm annoyed about the Contador attack. I haven't watched the stage yet, only read the updates, but from the point of view of cycling strategy, Contador was only attacking Lance today. If you're in the lead of the tour de france, there's no reason to attack until one maybe of the last days -- you might as well conserve energy in the meantime. This stinks to me as a political move by Contador.

I agree with this^^

Bruyneel is on record as saying that he would prefer that Ag2R have the jersey by more than six seconds. It forces them to protect a little more and saves Astana for the Alps.

I don't agree that Contador was only attacking Lance though. He put 20 seconds into Evans, Schleck, VandeVelde, pretty much everyone else that has a design on the podium. It wasn't really burning a match, and made the statement, "yeah, I'm still the fastest guy here, and I'll gap you whenever I want."

please, so when armstrong took 40s out of contador he was being "opportunistic" but when contador takes 20s back he is "only attacking lance"? Contador realized that if either of them were to be in yellow they needed to get closer to the break group. and lance would have covered the move if he could, so that he and AC could ride away from their competitors together. not attacking, but pulling away by working together. i'm not saying lance was all out at the end, but he couldn't match the acceleration, so once the gap was opened, THEN he sat back and didn't do any work, like a good teammate should. he could have kept it closer working with that back pack (if he was a bad teammate), but he could not have covered alberto's move.

and as others have stated, it was only the last 1k, so it isn't like AC was going all out from 20k and only put 20s on his competitors.

did anyone see lances face when ac took off?

no one can say that he wouldn't have matched that if he could.

that being said the race is still getting started. I could see lance trying

something in two days with the long descent after the finish.

it's a long tour and who knows what the alps will hold, but if ac

can continue to just destroy people on the climbs and tt as well as anyone, he should win.

I am excited to see garmin have two guys up there, vdv may round into form.

evans seems like the safe pick for best of the none astana, but that will probably be 4th behind ac lance and levi.

I am very curious to see the later climbs where evans or sastre or the shlecks attack earlier and really make it a ride. Is lance really one of the elite climbers still. He finished with tony martin (young guy not expected to do much), wiggens(not known as a great climber). I could see him not being to hang with evans and sastre.

Personally I hope sastre and vdv either beat lance or at least crush him on a climb after what lance said about them.