The Official TDF 2005 Megathread

[scratchy]

People seem to be able to sense that I want to get out of the office at 5pm in time to catch the 6pm SBS roundup. I missed it last night. Does anyone know a link on the web where I can get a 5 minute video roundup?

I tried www.letour.com the official site, but they have a video streaming are but the message is "for legal reasons they service in only offered to French residents."

 

[...jim]

BTW - how bad does everyone feel for Mengin last night? Poor bastard leads out for 180km and then falls at the last corner while leading in front of his home crowd... That would pretty much wreck his confidence...

He and Zabriskie should form a club.

 

[McBain]

Does anyone know a link on the web where I can get a 5 minute video roundup?

Go to http://www.olntv.com/tdf/ and hit the "Daily Video" link on the left. They have 30 second (or so) grabs of the important stuff from the stage.

 

[mtb1611]

If McEwen was Italian we'd be applauding his 'panache' and 'temperatmental sprinters' nature'...

Maybe you would, not I. It was stupid irrespective of his nationality or volatile emotional state.

It's no use people blaming the media and saying that things shouldn't be taken out of context when the context is clearly shown in the form of multi-angle television footage. The footage negates the need for inference and specualtion; as we all know, a picture tells a thousand words.

As for the claim that O'Grady doesn't have the ability to win a sprint against McEwen and Co, remember that it's not just form that wins sprints. If that were he case McEwen would win every day. There are numerous other variables to be taken into account; leadout, being boxed in, headbutting (!!!), mistakes and crashes by other riders, higher state of nervousness and anticipation and so on. It's a combination of form, preparedness and work of your leadout man, plus any possible combination of the above-mentioned factors and a pretty substantial dose of luck that go together to produce a sprint victory.

 

[Bodin]

As for the claim that O'Grady doesn't have the ability to win a sprint against McEwen and Co, remember that it's not just form that wins sprints.

O'Grady has about as much chance of winning a bunch sprint as I do. In fact, Baden Cooke is looking equally powerless when it comes to the crunch. Both of then had zero interference or bad luck last night and neither of them could touch McEwen or Boonen for pure acceleration.

None of this means that Robbie isn't a wanker for calling his son Ewen, but I still don't think this makes O'Grady or Cooke look any more likely to win a sprint. Maybe I'll be proved wrong in about an hour's time, but I'm willing to bet that I won't.

 

[Bodin]

As predicted, another great result for Father Of Ewen.

O'Grady was unbelievably skilful to avoid the crash the way he did, but he shouldn't have been back there in the first place if he wanted to be competitive in the sprint. On the other hand, Baden Cooke has, for the second stage running, managed to do nothing with a perfect lead out.

 

[...jim]

On the other hand, Baden Cooke has, for the second stage running, managed to do nothing with a perfect lead out.

What's going on there? It seems that Cooke and Eisel or the team can't decide who "da man" is. They might do better if they worked for one guy...?

 

[Bodin]

I know... it's actually hard to watch professional guys with sooooo much talent acting like such amateurs. I was devastated to see a deflated Cooke being pushed in the back by his lead out man the other night. Does anyone have any idea whether there's anything wrong with him? I mean, he's still riding well enough to be there when the sprint begins, but to see a previous winner of the Green Jersey being completely unable to answer the challenge is kinda disconcerting to watch when it happens multiple times...

 

[swinna]

I know... it's actually hard to watch professional guys with sooooo much talent acting like such amateurs. I was devastated to see a deflated Cooke being pushed in the back by his lead out man the other night. Does anyone have any idea whether there's anything wrong with him? I mean, he's still riding well enough to be there when the sprint begins, but to see a previous winner of the Green Jersey being completely unable to answer the challenge is kinda disconcerting to watch when it happens multiple times...

So many factors, hard to see the riders fate is.....

 

[DEVLIN]

^^ Good call Bodin.

 

[swinna]

Your signature is a really poor play on words that's not actually funny - it's just plain racist.

there...changed then

now everybody's happy, orientated or not.

 

[Bodin]

there...changed then

now everybody's happy, orientated or not.

Cheers, mate. Now, I gotsta turn this darn thingy off - they've just started the big climb near the end of the stage and it looks like it's going to be the first successful breakaway of the tour so far.

 

[mtb1611]

O'Grady has about as much chance of winning a bunch sprint as I do.

All things being equal perhaps, but take into account the myriad of variables i've highlighted and you'll see that quite often they aren't. In a pure sprinter's race with no obstacles to overcome then no, he wouldn't.

You're rght about Cooke though, what is going on there? He's got nothing, poor bastard!

 

[King Knobby]

From Cyclingnews:

Allan Davis (Liberty Seguros)

How did you come up after yesterday's fall? "Yeah disappointing, I was on second wheel coming into the corner behind Kirsipuu and we were just going too quick, and down we went with a few behind us."

Did you get hurt? "Not badly but I would like to thank Robbie McEwen who allowed Victor to work on me last night and again this morning, I had a bit of a corked thigh and it feels a lot better today."


Robbie even lends his soigneur out, what a champion human being ;-)

Now, on to serious matters, how good was it to see Armstrong getting attacked?! No Disco (although they look like Fassa in that dorky uniform) mates to help him. Hope it keeps happening.

 

[at the drive in]

I hope last nights stage is an indications of whats to come. Lance is going to find things alot harder if he doesnt have his boys there to set the pace or to help him. The t-mobile boys need to keep serving it up to him.
There was a segment on 60 minutes tonight about lance, total media beat up. I wouldnt mind seeing lance beating, but saying that i agree he is one of the greatest cyclist of all time i just dont like his cocky,brash and arrogant american style.

 

[Bodin]

I hope last nights stage is an indications of whats to come.

Yep, last night was a seriously exciting stage. Seeing Lance get continuously attacked by three guys from the same team makes things very interesting. To his credit, he kept a cool head, but I'd like to have known his gut feeling after he got off his bike - I reckon he probably already knows whether he's won or lost...

I'm now counting the minutes (33) to the start of the next stage.

 

[at the drive in]

From last nights stage it seems that ulrich is playing his cards close to his chest. He also seem to keep his cool, keeped up and went when he had too.

 

[Ryan]

Ulrich still hasn't shown anything that could be interpreted as form in my books, being able to hang with a bunch that includes two team-mates isn't anything special at all in the pro-peloton, especially when they're the one's doing all the actual work.

Yesterday's stage wasn't a serious enough mountains stage to really shake the contenders out from the pretenders, I'd wager that the Disco's weren't in any hurry to burn themselves out hanging in the lead pack for such a short and ultimately, inconsequential climb. While it is great to see T-Mobile finally get their shit together and attack Lance as a team (only took them 7 years to figure that out too) he's been through days like that before on previous tours and come out unscathed.

I'd also like to say that the act of attacking Lance in the moutains is all for show until a serious contender succeeds in actually putting a break on. Not one of the attacks last night looked like they were ever going to stay off the front of the Armstrong group.

 

[mtb1611]

Robbie even lends his soigneur out, what a champion human being ;-)

Even though I've done more than my fair share of McEwen-bashing, yes, that was a very sportsmanlike gesture!

And Ryan that's exactly what I was thinking in regard to the attacks on Lance; there was nothing organised, very nervous and shaky attacks, toekn gestures in my books. Plus Lance had to do most of the work himself, his team was a little off in their support of him. Still very early days.

 

[scratchy]

Go to http://www.olntv.com/tdf/ and hit the "Daily Video" link on the left. They have 30 second (or so) grabs of the important stuff from the stage.

Forgot to thank you for that link McBain. It's a pretty good wrap up.
2 days in a row now where the peleton hasn't caught the breakaway. It's great to see.