[OT] Any Tour de France Fans out there?

[Zarrock God of Evil]

Magnificent race by Tyler Hamilton on Alpe d'Huez, the man is truly inspirational. If only he could get up on the bike which would enable him to TRULY attack. Hope he heals fast enough to secure himself a place on the podium - he deserves it...

-Zarrock

 

[Hawklord]

I agree that Lance is bluffing about not feeling too good. He never really looked in any trouble on the Alpe yesterday. he looked comfortable all the time and responded to attacks effectively when he had to. His little spurt at the end to take third place showed that he still had plenty of energy for a sprint !

As for Tyler Hamilton - what can you say
The guy is amazing. On the basis of this performance, if he'd been fully fit he'd be a serious contender for stopping Lance's fifth attempt. Even with the injury, if he can last out, he still is !

 

[Mark]

Congrats to Lance!

 

[johnsemlak]

Congrats to Lance!

Well, he does have the yellow jersey (a lot of riders would give anything to wear it just once) but it's early days yet. If he has it after the Pyrenee Mountains, we can congradulate him then.

 

[EOL]

Okay today's stage, wow! Beloki breaks his femur. Armstrong rides across a field. Vinokourov pulls within 21 seconds of Armstrong. Iban Mayo pulls in within about a minute.

I really, really hate to see Beloki go down like that, but you have to admit that it doesn't get much more exciting than this.

 

[johnsemlak]

Yeah, I'm afraid as close at it is now, Beloki's demise may pave the way for Armstrong.

What do you think about Vinokourov's chances. I haven't heard him talked about as a significant threat. I assume Lance believes he'll not do well in the time trial (as is the case with Mayo).

It looks like (Friday's?) time trial could be quite decisive.

 

[Zarrock God of Evil]

Yeah, I'm afraid as close at it is now, Beloki's demise may pave the way for Armstrong.

What do you think about Vinokourov's chances. I haven't heard him talked about as a significant threat. I assume Lance believes he'll not do well in the time trial (as is the case with Mayo).

It looks like (Friday's?) time trial could be quite decisive.

Vinokourov is not that bad on time trials actually. He's had an astounding year with a strew of amazing victories (Amstel Gold Race, Tour de Swiss to name a few) and looks like a genuine contender.

Now I just wonder how well Tyler can do on the time trial with his injury...

-Zarrock

 

[EOL]

Vinokourov is no slouch in the time trial. Even when he was working for Ullrich rather than himself in 2001 he finished near the top ten. If he was ahead of Armstrong that might be enough but to take back time on Armstrong in a TT you have to be an incredible time trialer not merely a very good one. Assuming Armstrong still has his form and he looked like he might have been a little bit stronger on yesterday.

Of course if he could stay really close and have a couple more good days in the mountains... Overall though I think podium hunters like Ullrich and Hamilton have more to be worried about then Armstrong, Vino is ahead of them.

As far as Tyler and the time trial, in last year's Giro he won a time trial with a similar injury so I think it bothers him less, but I'll tell you that Friday is going to be a stage to watch.

 

[johnsemlak]

Of course if he could stay really close and have a couple more good days in the mountains... Overall though I think podium hunters like Ullrich and Hamilton have more to be worried about then Armstrong, Vino is ahead of them.

Agreed, but at just 21 seconds from Yellow, he'll definitely make a go, which could lead to his demise from a podium spot ironically.

I watched replays of that crash today and it was amazing. Incredible how Lance avoided the crash. Interesting to think if Lance had Beloki would have been able to catch Vinokourov had it not been for the crash.

Again, it's absolutely amazing Hamiton is still in it. We went to 99% out to a solid podium contender.

 

[Christian Walker]

I enjoyed today's race. It's always great to see non-contenders get an opportunity to shine.

Looking ahead to Friday, I hope that Lance's teammates spin through the TT, so that they can save their legs for the next mountain stage.

Re: Lance's health. If he's holding something back, I really hope he cuts loose soon!