Tour de France

Red x

Is this work appropriate?  ;-)

I'll be checking that out from home, thanks.

Nice.

Following our current Olympic theme:

"Bedroom Olympics"

A man is out shopping and discovers a new brand
of Olympic condoms.  Clearly impressed, he buys
  a pack. Upon getting home he announces to his
wife the purchase he just made.

"Olympic rubbers?" she blurts, "What makes
them so special?"

"There are three colors," he replies, "Gold, Silver
and Bronze."

"What color are you going to wear tonight?" she
asks cheekily.

"Why, Gold, of course!" says the man proudly.

The wife responds ruefully, "Why don't you wear
Silver.  It would be nice if you came second for
a change!"

Woo hoo!

After much speculation, the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team's Lance Armstrong today announced his initial 2005 racing schedule, one that will include this summer's Tour de France where he will go for a seventh straight victory. In 2004, Armstrong made history by becoming the first cyclist to win six Tours de France with a dominating performance, winning five individual stages.
"I am grateful for the opportunity that Discovery Communications has given the team and look forward to achieving my goal of a seventh Tour de France (victory)," said Armstrong.

Also on Armstrong's racing schedule is one of America's premier races — April's Tour de Georgia, an event Armstrong won in 2004. Armstrong will kick off his season early next month at Paris-Nice, a seven day stage race and the first event of the newly formed Pro Tour, the sport's top level racing series.

"I am excited to get back on the bike and start racing although my condition is far from perfect," said Armstrong.

Following Paris-Nice, Armstrong will take part in the 89th edition of the Tour of Flanders, one of Europe's most prestigious Spring Classics, on April 3. Armstrong last raced in the Tour of Flanders in 2002, finishing 59th in support of his team's leader. Armstrong will then return to the U.S. and defend his title at the Tour de Georgia, scheduled for April 19-25.

"Johan (Bruyneel, the team's sports manager) and I will evaluate my fitness later this spring and possibly add some races to the calendar," said Armstrong.

http://team.discovery.com/news/021605news/021605news.html

I'm sure they will. Last year I think it was pretty much around the clock.

It's official. Lance is retiringafter this year's Tour de France.

I think he's certainly earned it.

Agreed. I think he'll have to earn everything he gets this year.

Tour de Georgia Stage 1 - April 19: Augusta - Macon, 207.4km

Phonak heard loud and clear in Georgia
Robbie Hunter takes stage one sprint after 90 mile Bowman break
By Mark Zalewski in Macon, Georgia

The 2005 Dodge Tour de Georgia got off to a quiet start in Augusta this morning, rolling out of town at a leisurely pace. Thankfully, Dan Bowman of Team TIAA-CREF decided to turn up the volume -- to the tune of a ninety mile solo breakaway. And even though the young American didn't survive all the way to the finish, Robbie Hunter (Phonak Hearing Systems) took over in the final sprint and made sure the stage finished with a bang!

The strong sprinter from South Africa navigated his way around the tough finishing circuits to do what he does best. "I was on the wheel of one of the Gerolsteiner guys, and in the final corner I was on the wheel of Elia Aggiano, who was trying to pull the sprint for his guys," explained Hunter. "It was really hard -- the circuit was really hard. The small cobbled climb really put the guys to the limit. A lot of guys lost it there, and in the last kilometers there was a bit of chaos, no one really pulled the sprint back. Just positioning really helped in the last two corners."

Hunter had a little heads up from a few riders who raced last year, giving him a leg up on his fellow European competitors. "We spoke to a couple of guys who told us before the start, that it wasn't a cobbled climb but more bricks -- a little bit easier to ride than the usual cobbled roads, so I fought to get up there. The decent was just hard because everyone was on the limit, but it didn't play as much of a factor because it was fast and nobody can come around on the decent."

Hunter was followed closely to the line by Ben Brooks (Jelly Belly/Pool Gel) and Italians Michele Maccanti and Danilo Napolitano, both of the Switzerland-based Team L.P.R. "I knew the circuit from last year, and it's kinda tough with that cobbled climb," said Brooks. "But once you get out of that, it's only a kilometer and a half until the finish. I knew it was all about position after that and then I ended up getting second."

Even though Hunter was the stage winner, and now holds the overall lead, it was a 23-year old Fort Lewis College student who commanded the most attention today. Dan Bowman of Team TIAA-CREF rode away from the field at just the ninth mile, and led the race for the next ninety. "We're all young guys, and we're not really in the hunt for the overall because we aren't going to actually beat Lance Armstrong, so it's the best way we can get recognized," Bowman said.

Team Director Jonathan Vaughters echoed his rider's comments, saying that this is the modus operandi for the team, especially this week. "The guys are young -- they don't have anything to lose. They need to start putting their names in front of the ProTour teams and say, 'Hey, this is who I am!' And there is no better way to do it. You can't always win a mountain stage but you can always try to get out front, get your nose in the wind and get your name known."

Bowman explained that his strategy was to keep a consistent lead that wasn't too big to make the peloton nervous. "I was trying to get it up to ten minutes and keep it up around there -- if it would go over that it seemed [the peloton] would pick it up a bit and if it was like eight I would pick it up. Jonathan was telling me to conserve -- and that was usually on the down-hills, and I would try to give it more gas on the up-hills." But after ninety-plus miles solo in the saddle, the peloton shut down any delusions of grandeur of a stage win evaporated. When asked what kept him going for all those miles, Bowman replied, "Just telling me I could win the stage was a big enough carrot!"

How it unfolded
A bright sunny day accompanied the riders on their rolling-ride from Augusta to last year's start city of Macon. After three neutral parade laps, the riders continued on their leisurely ride out into the countryside. A few riders gave a little effort in the first kilometers, including a few kilometer solo effort by Andrea Tafi (Saunier Duval-Prodir). This short burst was eventually reeled in by the peloton, who were wise enough to know better than to let the veteran European get away.

A result of this was a counter-effort by Bowman, who got a little more than he bargained for when the peloton decided to let the young neo-pro see what a solo breakaway in a UCI 2.1 level race feels like. What started as a small gap quickly grew to two, three and four minutes, along the constant rolling terrain. "Once the gap got up to two minutes I said, 'OK Dan, you're in for a long day!' explained Vaughters. "I said, 'Don't let the gap go above ten minutes if you can, because that makes the field nervous and they start to chase.'"

Bowman stuck to the plan and grew his lead to eight minutes through the first intermediate sprint. Behind him, the peloton looked more like a touring group, with some of the Gerolsteiner riders hanging off the back to get a better look at the sights.

As the pack approached the first sprint, the sprinters finally awoke, with Health Net the most interested. 2004 sprint champion Gord Fraser crossed the line to take three points, followed by Brice Jones (Jelly Belly/Pool Gel). However, Fraser has been experiencing some stomach problems, which began in Redlands. The Canadian champion discussed the situation with his team and decided that teammate Greg Henderson had the better legs. The kiwi sprinter took the next sprint behind Bowman, who had managed to increase his lead to ten minutes.

Another small flurry of attacks came after the mid-race feed zone, instigated by Navigators, L.P.R. and Credit Agricole among others, but all the breaks became heavy with too many riders.

Bowman's top lead was momentarily thirteen minutes, but as Vaughters predicted, the peloton began to take notice. At that last [intermediate] sprint I had ten minutes still, so Jonathan started saying, 'Yeah you can win this race! Just give it a good dig! Keep it going!' But you know, it was still a long way to go."

A long way indeed, and when Marco Pinotti (Saunier Duval-Prodir) and Ivan Fanelli (L.P.R.) finally escaped from the pack, Bowman's lead quickly dissipated. The pair of chasers chased down the tiring Bowman and grew their lead at almost equal intervals. They reached and immediately passed the solo rider at the bottom of a small incline, which must have seemed like Brasstown Bald to him at the moment. "They were just going so much faster than me -- I tried to get on but I was pretty worked."

The two held on to their lead for a while, but the sprinter's were not about to be upstaged. Strong efforts by Health Net, led by John Lieswyn, helped bring the time down. Outside the city limits of Macon, Discovery and Colavita joined the efforts, while Pinotti left his break companion behind for another few kilometers.

Soon the peloton regained the final escapee and headed for downtown Macon. Three finishing circuits with two climbs and some brick pavers awaited all 121 riders. As the pack hit the first climb the field began to streamline, with slower riders falling off the pace.

A few solo attempts lasted mere moments, with the pack now at full-speed. After crossing the finish line for the first lap, three riders, Michael Blaudzin (CSC), Elia Aggiano (LPR) and Matt Rice (Jelly Belly/Pool Gel), managed a ten second gap.

After catching this effort on the second lap, two riders broke away again -- Andy Schleck (CSC) and Danny Pate (Jelly Belly/Pool Gel.) The two only managed a small gap, but when Schleck crossed the finish with his hands in the air with one to go, it was obvious why they were able to get their lead.

Coming around the final turns, the field was completely strung-out. With only minimal organization, riders began to peel-off in the final straightaway. "I was on the wheel of one of the Gerolsteiner guys, and in the final corner I was on the wheel of Elia Aggiano, who was trying to pull the sprint for his guys," explained Hunter. Hunter was able to come around the Italian and charged for the line first. Brooks did his best to close the gap, but ran out of room too soon.

Returning champion Lance Armstrong was tucked safely in the pack all day, as were all of the other GC favorites. When asked about the finishing circuits, Armstrong replied, "The circuits were safer than last year -- not as fast as I remember."

Results
Unofficial
1 Robbie Hunter (RSA) Phonak
2 Ben Brooks (Aus) Jelly Belly
3 Michele Maccanti (Ita) LPR
4 Daniele Napolitano (Ita) LPR
5 Greg Henderson (NZl) Health Net

He's gonna win!

Stage 2 - April 20: Fayetteville - Rome, 197.5 km

All three circuits were controlled by Discovery and the team did their best to lead out The Boss, but in the end the train was hijacked by Gerolsteiner's Peter Wrolich who came through the bunch to take the downhill finish. "It's all about positioning in the end, and we were good, but some guys came around us," said Armstrong. "I tried my luck, but last year was almost a freak experience, winning a sprint like that. It's not as if I am disappointed to be third, but that's a tough little circuit!"

Nonetheless, Armstrong still sits comfortably in fifth place on general classification entering tomorrow's key time trial. "I feel fairly good. It's tough to say, we haven't had any difficult days yet and tomorrow's the first big test. I'll have a better idea tomorrow."

Complete Stage 2 Coverage

Stage 3: Rome Time Trial
Floyd Landis (USA) of Phonak posted the winning time of 39’58”09 in Stage Three, the Individual Time Trail, in Rome and will start Stage 4 in the Dodge Race Leader jersey. Fellow Americans David Zabriskie of Team CSC and Chris Baldwin of Navigators Insurance finished second at 40’17”06 and third at 40’20”03 respectively. Seven Americans finished in the top 10 including Discovery Channel’s Lance Armstrong at ninth.

Stage 3 of the 2005 Dodge Tour de Georgia began with late morning sprinkles that turned into early afternoon showers as cyclists raced across the country roads of Floyd County, along the Coosa River and up Mount Alto, known for its steep pitches and tricky descent made more complicated by the slick, wet roads. While the rain didn’t keep the fans away, it did played a role in today’s Individual Time Trail, also called the race against the clock, as riders are less willing to take risks on slippery roads.

When the heck did Floyd leave the Postal/Discovery team?

Mmmm, coffee, don't mind if I do!

ALPHARETTA, United States (AFP) - Canadian Gord Fraser won the sixth and final stage of the Tour de Georgia, as American Tom Danielson of Lance Armstrong's Discovery Channel team claimed the overall victory.

Sunday's relatively flat run from north Georgia to the outskirts of Atlanta produced just one significant break, as Italian Andrea Tafi of Prodir-Saunier Duval made a move at the halfway mark of the 201.5km stage, joined by American Danny Pate, Canadian Dominique Perras and Sven Krauss.

But the four leaders succumbed to the charging peloton with 10km to go and the sprinters took control for the six laps of the closing circuit in Alpharetta.

Fraser found the line first, towing teammate Greg Henderson of New Zealand who finshsed second in the stage and claimed the sprint title.

Danielson, who had seized the overall lead in the mountains on Saturday, crossed the line safely in the pack to capture the overall crown.

Armstrong, the six-time Tour de France winner who announced last Monday that this year's Tour de France would be his last race, finished in the main pack in 22nd, and was fifth overall.

American Gerolsteiner rider Levi Leipheimer was second overall, four seconds behind Danielson, followed by Phonak's Floyd Landis of the United States and American Bobby Julich of Team CSC.

It's good for him. Keeps him humble. ;-)

BERLIN (AFP) - Jan Ullrich admits he will be sad to see arch rival and six-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong retire after this year's race but vowed to ensure there would be no happy ending for the American cycling great.

After winning six Tours in succession the 33-year-old Armstrong revealed his decision to quit the sport after this year's Tour, from July 2 to July 24, and Ullrich is ready to spoil the farewell party.

"When somebody like Lance (Armstrong) retires it is always sad because I like beating the best," Ullrich told SportBild. "I will miss him because he is an iconic figure in cycling and was always a fair sportsman.

"But this year is my last chance to beat Lance and I will be going all out to do it."

The 31-year-old German has finished Tour runner-up five times but is still dreaming of repeating his 1997 Tour win.

"I believe Lance is there for the taking," continued Ullrich. "In 2003 I was so close and that told me something. I know time is running out for me to win the Tour again."

Last year Ullrich was dogged by problems with his weight and Armstrong claimed the T-Mobile captain had become lazy and was not training hard enough.

He apparantly doesn't understand that this stuff just fuels Armstrong...

And let's not forget that the perennial Tour bridesmaid, Jan Ullrich knows that this is his last chance to beat The Boss.

Former teammate Floyd Landis probably has a pretty good shot, too.

<edit>
And he finished 4th in the Dauphine time trial today. Phonak had 3 riders finish in the top 6 spots, and 5 in the top 15. Sounds like a hella strong team.

Next week on The Discovery Channel is Lance Armstrong week. The schedule is available at Discovery.comand there's a whole lotta Lance going on.

[Edited by on Jun 21, 2005 at 07:46am.]

Who is Baldwin?

This couple is looking pretty happy.