[Tour 2004]First Rest Day Wrap Up
tour-junkie
race-report@cyclofiend.com
Mon, 12 Jul 2004 22:33:49 -0700
Rest Day #1 - Lookin' Back and Glimpsin' Forward
In a first week that has featured more crashes than a Tuesday Night Office
Park Crit downstream from an olive oil factory after all the Cat 4's stoppe=
d
at Peet's Coffee for a few triple espressos, a large number of riders must
have heaved a long sigh of relief to just still be in the race.
This year's Tour has definitely shown all the teeth of a Spring Classic,
which is only to be expected for a race which began in Belgium. Between th=
e
cold, windy, rainy days and the endless succession of breaks, echelons and
general racing havoc, sniffles and soreness must be the order of the day.
Already we have lost two of the sprinters who were to have factored, if not
dominated - Alessandro Petacchi, coming off of nine (NINE!) stage wins at
this year's Giro D'Italia and Mario Cipollini, who finally finagled his way
_into_ the Tour have both retired. Both suffered crashes and looked to be
among the walking wounded before checking out.
Another rider who had apparantly checked out was Saeco's Gilberto Simoni.
It's been a rough year for this rider - nixed out of the Maglia Rosa in the
Giro by his 23 year old teammate Damiano Cunego and now clearly suffering i=
n
the rains and crashes of the first week. He actually did not sign in for
state 6 or 7, and was fined 100 Euros or so for the infraction. He was
dangling back among the race director's car for a while, and many had
thought he was going to leave the race. But, whether something his
teammates said or some epiphany he reached, he has elected to stay in the
race - at least to test his fitness in warmer weather and more inclined
topography. There are many others who also are hoping that the days in the
Pyrenees and the Massif Central will treat them better.
One person who has always enjoyed bad weather and trying conditions is Lanc=
e
Armstrong. A person who has suffered in bad weather is Jan Ullrich. In
fact, it was not too long ago that he blew spectacularly in the mountains o=
n
a cold, storming day and lost his lead and ultimately the Tour to the late
Marco Pantani.
As I hope I wrote earlier, Armstrong has got a plan. Teamed up with the
best tactical mind in bike racing, Director Sportif Johan Bruyneel, the two
of them have cooked up a strategic plan for this race - back when the route
was announced 10 or so months ago.
But, here's how it's played out so far:
Armstrong rode a solid Prologue, putting a significant amount of time on
every one of the main threats - 21 seconds on Iban Mayo, 17 on Ullrich, 16
on Tyler Hamilton - on a stage which took roughly 7 minutes. That had to
send a resounding "whoa" through the peloton.
The USPS thumped everyone in the Team Time Trial. Sure the weather was
nasty - but when you watched the boys in blue hammer along, it was clear
that the trust and training was paying off - regardless of the spray, they
ran tighter formations throughout the course. The time gains were quirky,
courtesy of the Tour regulations for this year. They were even odder than =
I
originally wrote - there were actually "maximum loss" amounts for the
different places in the stage standings, so that the second place Phonak
team, for example, who finished 1:07 behind the USPS only were docked 20
seconds. Nevertheless, the USPS clearly showed they had put in an hour or
two training in the off-season.
The team remained alert and in control during those times on the course tha=
t
were most likely to cause trouble - the stage 7 left hand turn at the ocean
in the Brittany region, which caused a split in the peloton that ultimately
didn't matter, and the pre-pave crush & rush on stage 3 which has definitel=
y
had an effect.
To their credit, Euskatel-Euskadi has come to play in all areas of this
Tour. They have generally appeared at or near the front of the bunch,
providing shelter for their main man Iban Mayo who has had a devastatingly
stong recent racing campaign - setting a new record on the Mt. Ventoux Time
Trial in the Dauphine Libere, beating Lance by nearly two minutes. But the
one thing in which they didn't have much experience was the tactical
imperative to be the first team onto the cobbles. When the speed increased
and the inevitable twitch and clatter happened, Mayo was in the horribly
wrong place at utterly the wrong time. He lost nearly 4 minutes that day.
It's way too early and there are way too many climbs to count out this
talented Basque climber, but 5 and a half minutes would require a large
number of variables to go his way.
All of which is to say that Lance and his team have taken time with
extremely surgical precision, and done everything possible to limit problem=
s
and unforseen circumstances.
That has put him with the following leads over the competition (and a few
"dark horses" of my choosing):
Current Standing - Rider - "Lance Gap"
6 Lance Armstrong (USA) US Postal p/b Berry Floor .00
11 Tyler Hamilton (USA) Phonak Hearing Systems :36
15 Francisco Mancebo P=E9rez (Spa) Illes Balears - Banesto :45
16 Oscar Sevilla (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems :46
20 Jan Ullrich (Ger) T-Mobile Team :55
22 Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC 1:00
24 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Rabobank 1:08
29 Ivan Basso (Ita) Team CSC 1:17
32 Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano (Spa) Liberty Seguros 1:29
36 Roberto Heras Hernandez (Spa) Liberty Seguros 1:45
51 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Domina Vacanze 1:47
52 Jos=E9 V. Garcia Acosta (Spa) Illes Balears - Banesto 1:47
64 Georg Totschnig (Aut) Gerolsteiner 3:14
66 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Saeco 3:22
89 Iban Mayo (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 5:27
91 Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 5:33
This was supposed to be the Tour that "doesn't matter" until the racers hit
the mountains. But, as others has opined, the early stages are not when yo=
u
win the Tour, but they can certainly be when you lose it.
Of course, the mountains lie patiently in wait, ready to make the big men
cry and whimper, while the bird-boned bide their time and sharpen their big
ring for the time of the attack. The efforts at culling the herd have been
quick and silent, like the invisible raids of a panther. High drama and ar=
t
will be played out in the next 12 stages. It is opera on wheels presented
to us. =20
Thanks for reading so far.
-----------------------
Because it didn't really fit anywhere else, I had two other observations -
both deal with the same topic: average speed.
In the Prologue, the rider with the slowest time was Frederic Guesdon of
FDJeux.com - he covered the course in 8:17. That means that he averaged
roughly 27.45 mph unassisted by other riders.
In the Team Time Trial, the USPS team averaged 33.37 mph for an hour and 12
minutes. In the rain. Through crosswinds and headwinds. While riding
inches from the wheel in front of them.
Just a couple facts to keep us humble and remind us of the talents these
riders possess.
-----------------------
And on a personal note, it looks like I will be traveling for the final few
days of the tour - I'll try to keep up to date, but my posting may be
truncated for the final four stages. So, you might want to call around and
see what sports bars will be broadcasting the Tour on those days.
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
General classification after stage 8
=A0
1 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Brioches La Boulang=E8re 33.03.36
2 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Cofidis - Le Cr=E9dit Par T=E9l=E9phone 3.01
3 Sandy Casar (Fra) Fdjeux.com 4.06
4 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Alessio-Bianchi 6.27
5 Jakob Piil (Den) Team CSC 7.09
6 Lance Armstrong (USA) US Postal p/b Berry Floor 9.35
7 George Hincapie (USA) US Postal p/b Berry Floor 9.45
8 Jose Azevedo (Por) US Postal p/b Berry Floor 9.57
9 Jos=E9 Enrique Gutierrez (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems 10.02
10 Erik Zabel (Ger) T-Mobile Team 10.06
11 Tyler Hamilton (USA) Phonak Hearing Systems 10.11
12 Floyd Landis (USA) US Postal p/b Berry Floor 10.12
13 Santos Gonzalez (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems
14 Bert Grabsch (Ger) Phonak Hearing Systems 10.16
15 Francisco Mancebo P=E9rez (Spa) Illes Balears - Banesto 10.18
16 Oscar Sevilla (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems 10.19
17 Jose Luis Rubiera (Spa) US Postal p/b Berry Floor 10.20
18 Manuel Beltran (Spa) US Postal p/b Berry Floor 10.22
19 Viatcheslav Ekimov (Rus) US Postal p/b Berry Floor 10.26
20 Jan Ullrich (Ger) T-Mobile Team 10.30
21 Andreas Kl=F6den (Ger) T-Mobile Team 10.32
22 Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC 10.35
23 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC 10.37
24 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Rabobank 10.43
25 Daniele Nardello (Ita) T-Mobile Team 10.46
26 Matthias Kessler (Ger) T-Mobile Team 10.49
27 Bram de Groot (Ned) Rabobank
28 Michele Bartoli (Ita) Team CSC 10.52
29 Ivan Basso (Ita) Team CSC
30 Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team CSC 10.54
31 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank 11.02
32 Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano (Spa) Liberty Seguros 11.04
33 Dariusz Baranowski (Pol) Liberty Seguros 11.15
34 Michael Rasmussen (Den) Rabobank 11.17
35 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step-Davitamon
36 Roberto Heras Hernandez (Spa) Liberty Seguros 11.20
37 Marc Lotz (Ned) Rabobank 11.33
38 Evgueni Petrov (Rus) Saeco 11.35
39 Carlos Sastre (Spa) Team CSC 11.37
40 Pietro Caucchioli (Ita) Alessio-Bianchi 11.50
41 Andrea No=E8 (Ita) Alessio-Bianchi 11.54
42 Laurent Dufaux (Swi) Quick Step-Davitamon 11.56
43 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Lotto-Domo
44 Nicki S=F8rensen (Den) Team CSC 11.58
45 Jaan Kirsipuu (Est) AG2R Pr=E9voyance 12.02
46 Jean-Patrick Nazon (Fra) AG2R Pr=E9voyance
47 Laurent Brochard (Fra) AG2R Pr=E9voyance 12.05
48 J=E9r=F4me Pineau (Fra) Brioches La Boulang=E8re 12.14
49 Danilo Hondo (Ger) Gerolsteiner 12.16
50 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Fassa Bortolo 12.19
51 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Domina Vacanze 12.22
52 Jos=E9 V. Garcia Acosta (Spa) Illes Balears - Banesto
53 St=E9phane Goubert (Fra) AG2R Pr=E9voyance 12.24
54 Didier Rous (Fra) Brioches La Boulang=E8re 12.25
55 Mark Scanlon (Irl) AG2R Pr=E9voyance 12.26
56 Aitor Gonzalez Jimenez (Spa) Fassa Bortolo 12.34
57 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) AG2R Pr=E9voyance 12.35
58 Richard Virenque (Fra) Quick Step-Davitamon
59 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Fassa Bortolo 12.38
60 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Brioches La Boulang=E8re 12.41
61 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 12.44
62 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 12.48
63 Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank 12.49
64 Georg Totschnig (Aut) Gerolsteiner
65 Paolo Valoti (Ita) Domina Vacanze 12.51
66 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Saeco 12.57
67 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Fassa Bortolo
68 Axel Merckx (Bel) Lotto-Domo
69 Isidro Nozal Vega (Spa) Liberty Seguros 13.09
70 Sylvain Calzati (Fra) R.A.G.T. Semences - MG Rover 13.10
71 Christophe Mengin (Fra) Fdjeux.com 13.17
72 Jean-Cyril Robin (Fra) Fdjeux.com 13.22
73 Peter Farazijn (Bel) Cofidis - Le Cr=E9dit Par T=E9l=E9phone 13.24
74 Oscar Pereiro (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems 13.28
75 Gilles Bouvard (Fra) R.A.G.T. Semences - MG Rover 13.33
76 Aart Vierhouten (Ned) Lotto-Domo 13.35
77 Jos=E9 I.Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Illes Balears - Banesto 13.59
78 Daniel Becke (Ger) Illes Balears - Banesto 14.11
79 Pavel Padrnos (Cze) US Postal p/b Berry Floor 14.12
80 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Illes Balears - Banesto 14.13
81 Denis Menchov (Rus) Illes Balears - Banesto 14.21
82 Santiago Botero (Col) T-Mobile Team 14.30
83 Aitor Osa Eizaguirre (Spa) Illes Balears - Banesto 14.32
84 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cr=E9dit Agricole 14.37
85 Rolf Aldag (Ger) T-Mobile Team 14.48
86 Fr=E9d=E9ric Guesdon (Fra) Fdjeux.com 14.52
87 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 14.56
88 Marc Wauters (Bel) Rabobank 15.01
89 Iban Mayo (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 15.02
90 Christian Vandevelde (USA) Liberty Seguros 15.03
91 Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 15.08
92 Allan Davis (Aus) Liberty Seguros 15.09
93 Iker Cama=F1o (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 15.10
94 Sergei Ivanov (Rus) T-Mobile Team 15.15
95 Marius Sabaliauskas (Ltu) Saeco 15.17
96 Massimiliano Mori (Ita) Domina Vacanze 15.20
97 Salvatore Commesso (Ita) Saeco 15.30
98 Sebastian Lang (Ger) Gerolsteiner 15.31
99 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Cr=E9dit Agricole 15.33
100 Scott Sunderland (Aus) Alessio-Bianchi 15.43
101 Peter Wrolich (Aut) Gerolsteiner 15.45
102 Claus Michael M=F8ller (Den) Alessio-Bianchi 15.46
103 Andrea Peron (Ita) Team CSC 15.50
104 Michael Rogers (Aus) Quick Step-Davitamon 15.51
105 J=F6rg Ludewig (Ger) Saeco 15.53
106 Unai Etxebarria (Ven) Euskaltel - Euskadi 16.00
107 Mikel Pradera Rodriguez (Spa) Illes Balears - Banesto 16.02
108 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Rabobank 16.22
109 Sergio Marinangeli (Ita) Domina Vacanze 16.29
110 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick Step-Davitamon 16.31
111 Walter B=E9n=E9teau (Fra) Brioches La Boulang=E8re 16.38
112 Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Cofidis - Le Cr=E9dit Par T=E9l=E9phone 16.49
113 David Loosli (Swi) Saeco 17.00
114 Nicolas Portal (Fra) AG2R Pr=E9voyance 17.04
115 Laurent Lef=E8vre (Fra) Brioches La Boulang=E8re 17.16
116 Christophe Laurent (Fra) R.A.G.T. Semences - MG Rover 17.18
117 Patrice Halgand (Fra) Cr=E9dit Agricole 17.27
118 Stefano Zanini (Ita) Quick Step-Davitamon 17.32
119 Carlos Dacruz (Fra) Fdjeux.com 17.34
120 S=E9bastien Hinault (Fra) Cr=E9dit Agricole 17.46
121 Julian Dean (NZl) Cr=E9dit Agricole 17.48
122 Christophe Rinero (Fra) R.A.G.T. Semences - MG Rover
123 David Moncouti=E9 (Fra) Cofidis - Le Cr=E9dit Par T=E9l=E9phone 17.55
124 Martin Hvastija (Slo) Alessio-Bianchi 18.49
125 Anthony Charteau (Fra) Brioches La Boulang=E8re 19.47
126 I=F1igo Landaluze (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 20.18
127 Rik Verbrugghe (Bel) Lotto-Domo 20.20
128 Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Lotto-Domo 20.36
129 Angel Vicioso Arcos (Spa) Liberty Seguros 20.43
130 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner 20.48
131 Jan Hruska (Cze) Liberty Seguros 20.57
132 David Etxebarria (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 20.58
133 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Cr=E9dit Agricole 21.33
134 Janek Tombak (Est) Cofidis - Le Cr=E9dit Par T=E9l=E9phone 21.35
135 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Cr=E9dit Agricole 21.38
136 Santiago Perez (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems 21.54
137 Nicolas Jalabert (Fra) Phonak Hearing Systems 21.56
138 Christophe Edaleine (Fra) Cofidis - Le Cr=E9dit Par T=E9l=E9phone 22.09
139 Giuseppe Guerini (Ita) T-Mobile Team 22.10
140 Martin Elmiger (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 22.15
141 Fabio Baldato (Ita) Alessio-Bianchi 22.40
142 Guillaume Auger (Fra) R.A.G.T. Semences - MG Rover 22.42
143 Marcus Ljungqvist (Swe) Alessio-Bianchi 23.10
144 Servais Knaven (Ned) Quick Step-Davitamon 23.13
145 Beno=EEt Salmon (Fra) Cr=E9dit Agricole 23.23
146 Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr) AG2R Pr=E9voyance 23.34
147 Baden Cooke (Aus) Fdjeux.com
148 Dmitri Fofonov (Kaz) Cofidis - Le Cr=E9dit Par T=E9l=E9phone 23.42
149 Ronny Scholz (Ger) Gerolsteiner 23.45
150 Franck Renier (Fra) Brioches La Boulang=E8re 24.06
151 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Fdjeux.com 24.17
152 Pierre Bourquenoud (Swi) R.A.G.T. Semences - MG Rover 24.55
153 Massimo Giunti (Ita) Domina Vacanze 25.06
154 Alessandro Bertolini (Ita) Alessio-Bianchi 25.18
155 Stefano Casagranda (Ita) Saeco 26.09
156 Iker Flores (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 26.22
157 Marcos Serrano Rodriguez (Spa) Liberty Seguros 26.24
158 Xabier Zandio (Spa) Illes Balears - Banesto 26.25
159 Thierry Marichal (Bel) Lotto-Domo 26.39
160 Ludovic Martin (Fra) R.A.G.T. Semences - MG Rover 26.40
161 Mirko Celestino (Ita) Saeco 26.45
162 Egoi Mart=EDnez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 26.54
163 Gerrit Glomser (Aut) Saeco 27.13
164 Wim Vansevenant (Bel) Lotto-Domo 27.39
165 Juan Miguel Mercado (Spa) Quick Step-Davitamon 27.41
166 Uwe Peschel (Ger) Gerolsteiner 27.51
167 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2R Pr=E9voyance 29.07
168 Matthew Wilson (Aus) Fdjeux.com 29.35
169 Filippo Simeoni (Ita) Domina Vacanze 30.03
170 Erik Dekker (Ned) Rabobank 32.09
171 Benjamin Noval (Spa) US Postal p/b Berry Floor 32.12
172 Jimmy Casper (Fra) Cofidis - Le Cr=E9dit Par T=E9l=E9phone 35.01
173 Davide Bramati (Ita) Quick Step-Davitamon 37.47
174 Francesco Secchiari (Ita) Domina Vacanze 40.53
175 Fr=E9d=E9ric Finot (Fra) R.A.G.T. Semences - MG Rover 41.19
176 S=E9bastien Joly (Fra) Cr=E9dit Agricole 51.11
=A0
Points classification
=A0
1 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Lotto-Domo 158 pt=
s
2 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Cofidis - Le Cr=E9dit Par T=E9l=E9phone 149
3 Erik Zabel (Ger) T-Mobile Team 148
4 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cr=E9dit Agricole 147
5 Danilo Hondo (Ger) Gerolsteiner 139
=A0
Mountains classification
=A0
1 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick Step-Davitamon 20 pt=
s
2 Janek Tombak (Est) Cofidis - Le Cr=E9dit Par T=E9l=E9phone 14
3 Ronny Scholz (Ger) Gerolsteiner 12
4 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC 9
5 Jakob Piil (Den) Team CSC 9
=A0
Young rider classification
=A0
1 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Brioches La Boulang=E8re 33.03.36
2 Sandy Casar (Fra) Fdjeux.com 4.06
3 Matthias Kessler (Ger) T-Mobile Team 10.49
4 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step-Davitamon 11.17
5 J=E9r=F4me Pineau (Fra) Brioches La Boulang=E8re 12.14
=A0
Teams classification
=A0
1 Team CSC 97.05.12
2 Alessio-Bianchi 2.04
3 Brioches La Boulangere 3.16
4 Fdjeux.Com 6.12
5 US Postal presented by Berry Floor 10.41