The Cycliste Moderne, July 18, 2005

Weekend Recap

This weekend proved that while Lance Armstrong may not be as explosive as he used to be and that his team may not be as strong as it was projected on paper, he still is the strongest stage race cyclist in the world. T-Mobile should also be commended for its attempts on Saturday to finally race to win, however, I think Kloden and Ullrich made a major blunder when they attacked before Vinokourov had been captured, nullifying Vino's attack as they brought Armstrong and Basso back up to Vino. Armstrong did not panic with the loss of his team; however, T-Mobile's efforts on Saturday rendered everyone a lone wolf.

Saturday was as great a day as you could have expected. A deserving winner, Georg Totschnig, managed to keep the peleton away and win a stage for Gerolsteiner while teammate Levi Leipheimer had a strong day. Armstrong and Basso showed that they still are the strongest men in the mountains for the second year running. Ullrich showed he is still a fighter and is just not quite the climber he needs to be to win. Rasmussen showed he is still a great climber but that he needs more experience with effort and recovery in a three week tour.

Sunday was more of the same. Armstrong weathered all attacks, Basso showed he was Armstrong's equal in the mountains and Ullrich showed that he is still better than virtually all the other riders in the Peleton. As poor as Discovery Channel's tactics were last Saturday, they were equally as good on Sunday.

Last week I criticized Discovery Channel for putting George Hincapie into the early break and expending too much energy for no purpose. I stand by that criticism. The first week of a grand tour is about staying out of trouble and not losing any time to the other team leaders. Hincapie was in a break that had virtually no chance of staying away due to the stage's profile and the high likelihood of attacks over the final climb. On Sunday, that was the correct tactical move. Due to the greater time gaps that existed, riders that broke away were typically looking for a stage win, not to move into yellow. The profile today made it much more likely that an attack could get away and stay away. Hincapie has shown incredible strength in the mountains and with an uphill finish, there was virtually no chance of a group finish unlike last Saturday.

Hincapie rode exactly like a rider supporting the race leader should. Get in the break, monitor the break, help the break get away and then sit on it and do nothing. Although Oscar Pereiro of Phonak would have made a deserving winner, his post-stage criticisms of Hincapie are unpersuasive. He knew or should have known that Hincapie would have beat him over the line, thus it was Pereiro's obligation to ride him off before the summit. Like Bernard Hinault said last year, "Pas de Cadeaux" ("No gifts"). That is not to say that Hincapie is not a deserving rider. He is.

Unlike past years, over the last two days in the high mountains everyone took their shots at Armstrong and raced to win as opposed to racing not to lose. They kept Armstrong from following the strategy he has used for six prior Tours and still could not beat him. If he remains in yellow for another week, this will have to go down as one of Armstrong's best Tour wins. The route has been significantly more difficult than in years past and although he is not as explosive, he has proven himself as strong as or stronger than ever.

Kristin’s Two Cents

What a Sunday! It’s bad news when the most crucial stage in the Tour de France falls on a Sunday morning. What comes first? Tour or church? Stealing time for a shower was difficult, taking time out to feed my three children breakfast wasn’t an option, and getting ready for church had to wait until the finish line. Who could turn away from watching George Hincapie take the win away from Pereiro, or Armstrong and Basso show Ullrich who’s the boss? Not Kristin. My 16-month son laughed at me as I stood on my bed and yelled “Go George!” for the last kilometer. My 5-year-old daughter laughed at me as I chanted “Go Georgie Go” while making her breakfast. My 9-year-old son rolled his eyes as I cheered “U S A” while opening his granola bar.

Don’t worry. We made it to church on time. But it was certainly a stage to remember. Why?

1) It marked the anniversary (almost) of Fabio Casartelli’s death on July 18, 1995, as the peleton passed the monument on the Col du Portet d’Aspet which marks the spot where the Motorola rider crashed, sans helmet, on a descent. While the riders rode the route non-competitively the following day, teammate Lance Armstrong raced two days later to the win the stage which he dedicated to his fallen teammate. Incidentally, Casartelli’s widow told Lance to win Sunday’s stage. I hope she understands why he was happy with seventh.

2) George Hincapie became the first of Armstrong’s teammates to win a stage in the Tour de France since Lance’s first Tour win in 1999. Others have come close, but none have taken the win. I can’t think of a more deserving “henchman” for this honor than George, who has accompanied Lance on each of his TdF victories.

3) George, the perennial runner-up, has finally gotten his big win. Mr. Spring Classics won the queen mother of this year’s mountain stages. Who would’ve guessed that we could compare George to Eddy Merckx?

Two more cents from Kristin

Of the three people to wear the yellow jersey in the 2005 tour, only Lance Armstrong is still in the race. David Zabriskie of CSC abandoned in Stage 9 due to injuries, and Jens Voight withdrew in Stage 11 after his bronchitis developed into pneumonia. Due to knee injuries, Green jersey holder Tom Boonen of Quick-Step did not start Stage 11 and White Jersey wearer Alejandro Valverde of Illes Balears withdrew during Stage 13. It’s always sad when a rider withdraws from the race due to illness or injury and even sadder when they are wearing the jersey. Let’s hope that the current jersey contenders can keep it together for one more week.

In each of Lance’s past six Tour victories, he has won at least one stage. This year, he is happy with keeping his rivals in check. Sunday, he didn’t even bother passing Ivan Basso on the line. Maintaining his overall lead was sufficient. Will this be one of the rare Tours where the yellow jersey fails to win a stage? Although incomprehensible to the casual observer, it may happen.

Tour Fashion Review #9

Gerolsteiner entered the top of the pro peleton a few years ago with a navy and white kit that was emblazoned “Gerolsteiner” across the chest. The design is the same but the colors are not. The German bottled water company has had an excellent Tour de France with Levi Leipheimer in the top ten and Georg Toschnig winning the difficult stage 14. However, Georg forgot to zip up his jersey when he crossed the finish line. The team’s use of light blue, although consistent with the product they are advertising, is rather weak and even though it is a simple classic design the robin’s egg blue shorts again suffer from the same defect that Phonak’s shorts do. Average Joe will probably not buy them to ride out with his buddies. The fact that they are not lime gets you bonus points but you only get a B-.