The Cycliste Moderne, June 11, 2006

Dauphiné Libéré Recap

The Dauphiné Libéré concluded today with Gerolsteiner’s Levi Leipheimer winning the general classification. Last year Leipheimer was in a position to win the race but did not defend his lead as aggressively as he should and as a result, he lost when his team allowed Euskaltel Euskadi’s Inigo Landaluze get away in a break away. The Basque rider managed to get a lead that was insurmountable and as a result, Leipheimer finished third.

This year, the Dauphiné was an attractive pre Tour de France warm up with a stage virtually identical to the Tour’s 16th stage and a tour like long time trial. This attracted top Tour contenders who were in various states of condition. Vinokourov and Landis came to test the time trial course and get some miles in their legs. They certainly rode within themselves and did not aggressively contest the climbs.

Most impressive was the finish of the Americans on stage three. CSC’s Dave Zabriske once again dominated the time trial, but Floyd Landis, Levi Leipheimer and George Hincapie finished second, third and fourth. All four are clearly on their game when it comes to the individual time trial as their dominating performance showed.

Leipheimer showed that he was one of the strongest climbers in the race as he was glued to the wheels of Christophe Moreau of AG2R and Denis Menchov of Rabobank, the only two riders who were able to match Leipheimer during the climbs. AG2R was really impressive with both Moreau and Francisco Mancebo having strong showings. The French team may have their best Tour ever.

Leipheimer ran the risk of peaking too early, but he certainly showed the type of power on the climbs and time trial that he needs to finish on the podium in Paris.

Tour de Suisse

The Tour de Suisse started on Saturday and will run through next weekend. The Tour de Suisse has not attracted the deepest field when the number of Tour contenders are compared with the Dauphiné. Jan Ullrich is contesting the Tour de Suisse with a very strong team, however, other than Steffano Garzelli of Liquigas and Cadel Evans of Davitamon Lotto, there are not really any of the riders expected for the overall in France in July. The Tour de Suisse will likely be won by a member of T-Mobile as Ullrich has the support of Michael Rogers and Patrik Sinkewitz, both of whom are capable stage racers. Ullrich will likely not expend the resources to win the Tour de Suisse as most of his other main competitors either just finished the Dauphiné Libéré or are recovering from the Giro d’Italia.

Tour of Eagle

I spent Friday night helping my friend Gary Casella put on his annual criterium as part of Eagle Fun Days. It is a great little race as running it in conjunction with Eagle’s festival ensures excellent police support and a captive audience. Amazingly, the crowd thinned out before the end of the final race of the night with the Category 1/2 race. Perfect conditions, slightly overcast, high 70’s, no wind.

That said, you know you are still in Eagle, Idaho when the guys with their blue farmer jackets, cowboy hats, cowboy boots and wranglers mix with the tube top and flip flop crowd. Maybe I will wear my bike kit to the Snake River Stampede rodeo this summer and see how out of place I look.

Bob LeBow Ride

Saturday, my wife and I and the three kids did the Bob LeBow Ride in Nampa, Idaho. My mother had made the youngest two outfits that matched our Team Cyclista kits. She did point out that when I was the age of my 10 year old I would not have agreed to have the whole family wear identical outfits in public. She had a point there, but when you have subjected your children to cycling from birth and they are conditioned to want to look like the pros, it is not a very big problem.

World Cup

Cycling is really going to have to be secondary to the World Cup for the next month. I cannot guarantee that soccer commentary will not find its way into the Cycliste Moderne. After this weekend, I can say the Dutch look good, the Germans can score but not defend, the Poles are a disaster, the English ought to be grateful just to win, and the Argentines are the best that have played so far. Most importantly, I would encourage you to check out the long version of the “Jose +10” ad of Adidas where two kids pick their dream teams to play and then play a match. Great ad, great inside jokes.

The U2 promotions for ESPN are pretty cool as well.