Ty's Tour De France thread

MrPlow

TMBC
josh said:
Anyone see Lance Armstrong's xc style? CHEAT! :p
:lol: U mean when he dodged his crashing team mate? :lol:
That was a pretty good stack too most have brittle bones? Broke shoulder/arm/wrist or somthing? :(
 

wombat

Lives in a hole
I did see that! They said he didn't gain any advantage, but it looked to me like he picked up a few spots!
 

josh

Likes Bikes and Dirt
nah he fell behind im quite sure, apparently broke the top of his femur..amongst other things. He went down hard. Was pretty funny to see Lance roll across the grass, the commentators were spanking yelling OMG HOW GOOD IS HE HE CAN ROLL ACCROSS GRASS! lol. I must admit he handle himself quite well :D

Then in the interview they asked him wether his xc riding in the off season helped him....hrrrm.
 

Turley

Likes Bikes and Dirt
My sister came back from europe today wiht a KRKA telekom slovenije water bottle direct from tour de france :)
 

chuckrockswell

iRide Bikes
one of my best mates is wrenching for the cofidis team, there are 5 grease monkeys on the team, but my eyes popped out of my head when david millars chain came off in the prologue - can't wait to get the low down on that one!!!!
 

nicklouse

Likes Dirt
July 15,

Wilson passes alpine test and then warns Armstrong



Aussie rider Matthew Wilson passed his first real Tour de
France climbing test after three gruelling days in the Alps here Monday - then
delivered an unflattering assessment of race leader and four-time winner Lance
Armstrong.

"It was incredible," Wilson told AFP after the dramatic ninth stage won by Alexandre
Vinokourov and which saw Armstrong's main rival Joseba Beloki crash out.

"But it's a shame for the race about what happened with Beloki.

"In my opinion, Lance Armstrong isn't the same guy we've seen for the past four
years and Beloki had looked great on the Alpe d'Huez.

"But I think that Vinokourov is the most under-rated rider in the peloton.
He can climb, time trial and he can attack.

"If Lance under-estimates Vinokourov it will be a big mistake. He's
completely ready to attack Lance whenever he gets the chance."

Wilson, who is in the French fdjeux.com team of compatriots Bradley McGee and Baden
Cooke, came into his debut Tour feeling apprehensive about the climbing.

But having successfully negotiated the crowds of high-spirited fans on the legendary 14.1km
climb to the Alpe d'Huez summit on Sunday, then finishing alongside Cooke and French
teammate Carlos de Cruz on the 184.5km ninth stage a day later, the 25-year-old from
Melbourne was on cloud nine.

"Riding up the Alpe d'Huez with all those people screaming in your face was something
else," he said.

"There were even some Aussies there so it was a buzz to be riding up there seeing the Aussie
flag and with people shouting your name.

"I'm not feeling too bad. The climbing has been hard but as the days went on I started to feel
better.

"I've struggled a bit - but I'm not the only one and I just keep doing the same thing I've
always done. I'm quite happy with my performance," added Wilson, who four years ago had
decided to give up his dream of cycling in Europe and returned to Australia where he got a
string of jobs before finding out that a lymphoma had developed on his neck.

After successful treatment for his cancer Wilson fought back to return to the peloton and
finally grabbed his chance to join McGee and Cooke last year at their cosmopolitan outfit.

Now, with the Pyrenees stages approaching, Wilson hopes he can impress his team boss Marc
Madiot enough to book a place for next year's Tour squad.

"I'm feeling more confident climbing," said Wilson, who explained that a two-week training
camp in Tignes (Alps) with Cooke in the spring was crucial.

"That was the turning point of the season. Riding up there for seven hours a day was pretty
hard going but it was really helpful for the Tour."

Wilson now hopes that Madiot is paying close attention.

"He seems quite happy with what I've done so far. I didn't come into the race with a job to
win stages or anything like that. I'm just here to help Brad and Baden and whenever there's
work to do I'm the first guy to hold my hand up.

"But it does definitely go through your mind when you're riding the race. You know there
will be a black mark against your name if you don't finish the Tour, especially a guy like me
who's just a domestique."

Elsewhere on the ninth stage, 23-year-old Michael Rogers, who is also making his debut on
the Tour with the Quick Step team, finished the day's top Aussie rider at 15min 38sec behind
stage winner Vinokourov.

Cooke is still in the green jersey with 120 points over compatriot Robbie McEwen (Lotto)
who has 110.

nick
 

Cronar

Likes Dirt
wow, these roadies are fast, i'm now addicted to the 6pm udates, how bad are their crashes? that lycra doesn't provide much protection.
 

nicklouse

Likes Dirt
stage 15

Lance Armstrong has recovered from a
fall on the final climb of the 15th stage of the Tour de France to seize back control
of the race.

The American, bidding for his fifth successive Tour victory, appeared to clip a
spectator as he duelled with German rival Jan Ullrich.

He quickly got back on his bike as the peloton waited for him, as tradition
demands. But shortly afterwards his foot slipped out of his pedal, almost bringing
him down again.

It was the U.S. Postal rider's second fall of the Tour after he was involved in a mass pile-up on the first
weekend of the three-week race.

Armstrong, who held a 15-second advantage over Ullrich before the stage, attacked immediately after his
mishaps, leaving the German trailing as he headed for the finish at Luz-Ardiden.

A struggling Ullrich crossed the finish line high in the Pyrenees about 40 seconds behind.
 
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