Saturday, July 28, 2007
Stage 19: Cognac to Angoulême ITT
No withdrawals prior to the stage, despite false rumors circulating last night.
There were 8 time trials more than 10 minutes slower than from the stage winner - if Levi Leipheimer had ridden behind them he would have passed three riders on the course! Forster had the slowest ITT of the day - at an average speed of 45.12 kph or 28.04 mph. Incredible!
134. VANSEVENANT Wim 49 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 1h 12' 45" + 10' 01"
135. BENNATI Daniele 82 LAMPRE-FONDITAL 1h 12' 55" + 10' 11"
136. SALMON Benoit 138 AGRITUBEL 1h 13' 02" + 10' 18"
137. CARDENAS Félix 212 BARLOWORLD 1h 13' 10" + 10' 26"
138. BURGHARDT Marcus 22 T-MOBILE TEAM 1h 13' 19" + 10' 35"
139. TSCHOPP Johann 128 BOUYGUES TELECOM 1h 13' 26" + 10' 42"
140. WROLICH Peter 99 GEROLSTEINER 1h 13' 44" + 11' 00"
141. FÖRSTER Robert 92 GEROLSTEINER 1h 13' 48" + 11' 04"
The final five in the overall standings at the end of Stage 19 are as follows, which is unlikely to change tomorrow on the ride into Paris, unless some of the sprinters finish in a fast breakaway (such as Thor Hushovd, who won the final stage last year):
137. KRAUSS Sven 96 GEROLSTEINER 90h 50' 14" + 3h 40' 56"
138. STEEGMANS Gert 176 QUICK STEP - INNERGETIC 90h 51' 01" + 3h 41' 43"
139. HUSHOVD Thor 101 CREDIT AGRICOLE 90h 51' 32" + 3h 42' 14"
140. THOMAS Geraint 215 BARLOWORLD 90h 55' 23" + 3h 46' 05"
141. VANSEVENANT Wim 49 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 91h 02' 02" + 3h 52' 44"
Bram DeGroot moved out of the final five with an excellent 39th-place time trial. Sven Krauss (49th place ITT) moved up relative to Thor Hushovd (123rd place ITT), and 2007 stage winner Gert Steegmans (127th place ITT) dropped down into the final five. They encompass a span of 12 minutes in aggregate time over the 19 stages.
They've switched around young Welshman Geraint Thomas's name and gotten it correct on the official Tour website finally, just in time for the end of the Tour! He rode a very respectable ITT, finishing 107th for the stage.
The only former Lanterne Rouge of this Tour other than Vansevenant who is still riding, Aleksandr Kuschynski of Liquigas, finished 38th for this ITT stage which puts him 89th overall in the Tour General Classification.
Wim Vansevenant's second consecutive finish as the Lanterne Rouge in the 2007 Tour de France is virtually assured, while he has ably assisted his Predictor-Lotto team leader Cadel Evans into a 2nd place finish on the podium. Gert Steegmans finished 137th and 3rd from last in the 2006 Tour de France, and if there are no withdrawals overnight he will probably finish 138th and 4th from last in 2007.
Along the way in the 2007 Tour, 48 cyclists have left the Tour. The Belgian rider Vansevenant will finish ahead of every one of them.
And chapeau to Bob Mina for calling the finish! Yes, I'd guess that having both Johan Bruyneel and Lance Armstrong shouting in your ear over an hour ride might be worth 20 seconds in the finish time. Well, count me as a new big fan of Alberto Contador. I'll enjoy watching him as his career progresses, hopefully for many years.
There were 8 time trials more than 10 minutes slower than from the stage winner - if Levi Leipheimer had ridden behind them he would have passed three riders on the course! Forster had the slowest ITT of the day - at an average speed of 45.12 kph or 28.04 mph. Incredible!
134. VANSEVENANT Wim 49 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 1h 12' 45" + 10' 01"
135. BENNATI Daniele 82 LAMPRE-FONDITAL 1h 12' 55" + 10' 11"
136. SALMON Benoit 138 AGRITUBEL 1h 13' 02" + 10' 18"
137. CARDENAS Félix 212 BARLOWORLD 1h 13' 10" + 10' 26"
138. BURGHARDT Marcus 22 T-MOBILE TEAM 1h 13' 19" + 10' 35"
139. TSCHOPP Johann 128 BOUYGUES TELECOM 1h 13' 26" + 10' 42"
140. WROLICH Peter 99 GEROLSTEINER 1h 13' 44" + 11' 00"
141. FÖRSTER Robert 92 GEROLSTEINER 1h 13' 48" + 11' 04"
The final five in the overall standings at the end of Stage 19 are as follows, which is unlikely to change tomorrow on the ride into Paris, unless some of the sprinters finish in a fast breakaway (such as Thor Hushovd, who won the final stage last year):
137. KRAUSS Sven 96 GEROLSTEINER 90h 50' 14" + 3h 40' 56"
138. STEEGMANS Gert 176 QUICK STEP - INNERGETIC 90h 51' 01" + 3h 41' 43"
139. HUSHOVD Thor 101 CREDIT AGRICOLE 90h 51' 32" + 3h 42' 14"
140. THOMAS Geraint 215 BARLOWORLD 90h 55' 23" + 3h 46' 05"
141. VANSEVENANT Wim 49 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 91h 02' 02" + 3h 52' 44"
Bram DeGroot moved out of the final five with an excellent 39th-place time trial. Sven Krauss (49th place ITT) moved up relative to Thor Hushovd (123rd place ITT), and 2007 stage winner Gert Steegmans (127th place ITT) dropped down into the final five. They encompass a span of 12 minutes in aggregate time over the 19 stages.
They've switched around young Welshman Geraint Thomas's name and gotten it correct on the official Tour website finally, just in time for the end of the Tour! He rode a very respectable ITT, finishing 107th for the stage.
The only former Lanterne Rouge of this Tour other than Vansevenant who is still riding, Aleksandr Kuschynski of Liquigas, finished 38th for this ITT stage which puts him 89th overall in the Tour General Classification.
Wim Vansevenant's second consecutive finish as the Lanterne Rouge in the 2007 Tour de France is virtually assured, while he has ably assisted his Predictor-Lotto team leader Cadel Evans into a 2nd place finish on the podium. Gert Steegmans finished 137th and 3rd from last in the 2006 Tour de France, and if there are no withdrawals overnight he will probably finish 138th and 4th from last in 2007.
Along the way in the 2007 Tour, 48 cyclists have left the Tour. The Belgian rider Vansevenant will finish ahead of every one of them.
And chapeau to Bob Mina for calling the finish! Yes, I'd guess that having both Johan Bruyneel and Lance Armstrong shouting in your ear over an hour ride might be worth 20 seconds in the finish time. Well, count me as a new big fan of Alberto Contador. I'll enjoy watching him as his career progresses, hopefully for many years.
Labels: De Groot, Evans, Hushovd, Krauss, Leipheimer, Steegmans, Thomas, Vansevenant
Friday, July 27, 2007
So who is your pick?
To win, that is. Personally, I think Wim Vansevenant has the Lanterne Rouge slot pretty well sewn up. It would take some special kind of disaster for anyone to penetrate the 5:17 buffer he has in place.
Now at the opposite end of the peloton, we have 3 guys with half as much time between them:
Current standings - 27 July 2007
1. CONTADOR Alberto 112 DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM 86h 04' 16"
2. EVANS Cadel 41 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 86h 06' 06" + 01' 50"
3. LEIPHEIMER Levi 111 DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM 86h 07' 05" + 02' 49"
4. SASTRE Carlos 31 TEAM CSC 86h 10' 18" + 06' 02"
Prologue in London
15. CONTADOR Alberto 112 DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM 09' 25" + 00' 35"
17. EVANS Cadel 41 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 09' 26" + 00' 36"
26. LEIPHEIMER Levi 111 DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM 09' 30" + 00' 40"
Stage 13 ITT
2. EVANS Cadel 41 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 58h 47' 39" + 01' 00"
3. CONTADOR Alberto 112 DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM 58h 49' 10" + 02' 31"
5. LEIPHEIMER Levi 111 DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM 58h 50' 16" + 03' 37"
Most people seem to think the flat ITT tomorrow will favor Evans. We'll see. . . . I think it's still anybody's stage, but whether anyone will gain enough time to change the placements is the question! It could be less than 8 seconds deciding the Tour this year, possibly.
I'm hoping Evans wins in the GC tomorrow, if only because it will make a nice Predictor-Lotto sandwich of the peloton, and also allow the Lanterne Rouge to ride with the maillot jaune in the honorary procession into Paris on Sunday.
But as my buddy Bob Mina points out, if anyone can talk the new kid through the world's most important time trial like it was a Wednesday workout, Johann Bruyneel can. I'm trying to figure out how Bruyneel will advise Contador to race against Levi, and vice versa. I suppose they'll just shake hands and go out fighting and let the best rider win, but. . . . it would certainly be interesting to be a fly on the wall for that final meeting in the Disco bus.
Now at the opposite end of the peloton, we have 3 guys with half as much time between them:
Current standings - 27 July 2007
1. CONTADOR Alberto 112 DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM 86h 04' 16"
2. EVANS Cadel 41 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 86h 06' 06" + 01' 50"
3. LEIPHEIMER Levi 111 DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM 86h 07' 05" + 02' 49"
4. SASTRE Carlos 31 TEAM CSC 86h 10' 18" + 06' 02"
Prologue in London
15. CONTADOR Alberto 112 DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM 09' 25" + 00' 35"
17. EVANS Cadel 41 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 09' 26" + 00' 36"
26. LEIPHEIMER Levi 111 DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM 09' 30" + 00' 40"
Stage 13 ITT
2. EVANS Cadel 41 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 58h 47' 39" + 01' 00"
3. CONTADOR Alberto 112 DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM 58h 49' 10" + 02' 31"
5. LEIPHEIMER Levi 111 DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM 58h 50' 16" + 03' 37"
Most people seem to think the flat ITT tomorrow will favor Evans. We'll see. . . . I think it's still anybody's stage, but whether anyone will gain enough time to change the placements is the question! It could be less than 8 seconds deciding the Tour this year, possibly.
I'm hoping Evans wins in the GC tomorrow, if only because it will make a nice Predictor-Lotto sandwich of the peloton, and also allow the Lanterne Rouge to ride with the maillot jaune in the honorary procession into Paris on Sunday.
But as my buddy Bob Mina points out, if anyone can talk the new kid through the world's most important time trial like it was a Wednesday workout, Johann Bruyneel can. I'm trying to figure out how Bruyneel will advise Contador to race against Levi, and vice versa. I suppose they'll just shake hands and go out fighting and let the best rider win, but. . . . it would certainly be interesting to be a fly on the wall for that final meeting in the Disco bus.
Labels: Contador, Evans, Leipheimer, Vansevenant
Friday, February 23, 2007
Amgen Tour of California website
When it's working, it's pretty darned amazing. I sure hope they have this working for Le Tour next July! Here are a couple screen shots of Levi Leipheimer during his phenomenal winning individual time trial. Looks like the one above caught his leg in 2 positions, which isn't too surprising since I think the full-frame rate is probably 30 Hz and he was doing at least three pedal revolutions per full frame. It's not apparent when you watch, though some of the pixelated images are a bit jaggy.
The bottom photo shows his Floyd-esque "Praying Landis" time trial position. I'll bet the kindly race officials in California didn't make him alter it at the last second like they did to Floyd last year. I forgot to trim all the extraneous computer garbage off from around the edges, but it gives the actual effect of how it was displayed on my screen.Saturday update: Unfortunately, the Amgen feed (other than frequently-breaking-up audio and some GPS tracking maps) didn't seem to be coming through to my computer for the first 90 minutes of coverage today. Finally I gave up and turned it off. The TV coverage will begin in less than 2 hours, and I'll just wait for that.
Labels: Leipheimer, Tour of California
Monday, February 19, 2007
Tour of California disapointment
Sigh. I guess it was too much to hope for, a grand Tour within the United States.
How about maybe some live coverage so that we don't have to wait up until eleven to see the stage finish on a weeknight here on the east coast?
Or at least a live web feed?
Or maybe even results online within an hour after the stage finishes?
Throw us a bone here, organizers!
Mostly I'm really disappointed that my personal favorite pro rider, Dave Zabriskie of CSC, crashed out today. I hope he's not badly hurt. I'll continue to watch the TofC and hope that another of my favorites, Ivan Basso of Discovery, does well, but he's probably going to be keeping a very low profile riding in support of Levi Leipheimer.
Oh well.
Update (Tuesday): The Amgen site seems to be working today, hurrah! And it is pretty slick, I'll grant that. Though it should have been working two days ago already. And I still can't understand why the officials gave Levi the gift of the leader's jersey yesterday after the crash 10K back from the finish line.
How about maybe some live coverage so that we don't have to wait up until eleven to see the stage finish on a weeknight here on the east coast?
Or at least a live web feed?
Or maybe even results online within an hour after the stage finishes?
Throw us a bone here, organizers!
Mostly I'm really disappointed that my personal favorite pro rider, Dave Zabriskie of CSC, crashed out today. I hope he's not badly hurt. I'll continue to watch the TofC and hope that another of my favorites, Ivan Basso of Discovery, does well, but he's probably going to be keeping a very low profile riding in support of Levi Leipheimer.
Oh well.
Update (Tuesday): The Amgen site seems to be working today, hurrah! And it is pretty slick, I'll grant that. Though it should have been working two days ago already. And I still can't understand why the officials gave Levi the gift of the leader's jersey yesterday after the crash 10K back from the finish line.
Labels: Basso, Leipheimer, Tour of California, Zabriskie
