[Tour 2004]2nd Rest Day Update and Chit-Chat

tour-junkie race-report@cyclofiend.com
Mon, 19 Jul 2004 23:42:25 -0700


Rest Day Rehash -=20

---------------------------
Of course, the name on everyone's lips is....

Sebastien Joly=20

Riding for Credit Agricole, Joly is the "Lanterne Rouge" as of stage end
yesterday, running 2:26:32 behind his countryman/current race leader Thomas
Voeckler.  He turned pro in 2000, and has his own website:

http://www.sebjoly.free.fr/

---------------------------

I'll go waaaaay out on at limb at this point, and say that a Sixth Tour
Victory is _not_ a immutable truth.  There are still lots of miles, loads o=
f
climbs and just too danged many variables between Lance and the Victory Lap
in Paris.  Almost every mainstream news report has been reporting how
"locked up" everything is, as though all Armstrong has to do is show up and
everyone and everything will bend to his will.

To be sure, the USPS Team has cut a wide swath through the peloton - I've
never seen a team which dominates so completely on all terrain as they do.
They clearly have been extremel well drilled, extensively trained, and thei=
r
tasks cleanly articulated so that they execute well despite the confusion o=
f
racing and the exhaustion of their efforts.  Clif Bar is running a contest
for most valuable domestique.  In all honesty, it is something that the
entire team deserves equally.

The race has too many challenges left, and the men who are still involved
possess to much pride and ability to roll over and scuffle for second.  I
would also think that much of the peloton is suffering after the rainy and
damp first weeks, compounded by the excessive number of crashes in this
year's Tour.

---------------------------

One story that the media has gotten correct is the heart and tenacity which
Thomas Voeckler has held on to the Yellow Jersey.  Watching him ride, you
realize just haw much has been done on sheer guts.  They say that the Jerse=
y
always elevates it wearer, and this year has been an uncanny example of jus=
t
that.

---------------------------

The Loyal Competition:

So, do not make the mistake of counting out Ullrich - He rides better when
the pressure is off, which in all honesty, it is.  The Alps are not the
Pyrenees, despite the leg-crushing climbs found in each, and sometimes
riders fare better in one set of mountains than the other.

It's been great to see Ivan Basso finally riding where he deserves to be.
This stylish and smooth rider has promised much, and seems to have found th=
e
right support with Bjarne Riis' CSC squad.

Andreas Kloden suffers only from not quite having the strongest team
supporting him - although T-Mobile sits atop the team competition, they
really have Erik Zabel to thank for that with his strong finishes on the
flatter stages.  Guiseppe Guerini has not shown his spark in the mountains.

Another rider who has done well is Pietro Cuacchioli - who had an exception
Giro D'Italia a couple years back.  There's also enough climbing left to
bode well for Georg Totschnig.

Roberto Heras is an utter question mark.  Clearly he suffered a bit after
his crash, and I would think we'll see him get his climbing legs under him.

With the abondonment of Tyler Hamilton, it would seem that an all-US podium
would be quite a long shot.  Perhaps Levi Leipheimer can get himself on
track into the Alps, and close down some of the gap - realistically, 7:30.
But, he does time trial better than many of the riders in front of him.

At any rate - here are the numbers


General classification after stage 14
=A0
1 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Brioches La Boulang=E8re                    62.33.11
2 Lance Armstrong (USA) US Postal p/b Berry Floor                     0.22
3 Ivan Basso (Ita) Team CSC                                           1.39
4 Andreas Kl=F6den (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                  3.18
5 Francisco Mancebo P=E9rez (Spa) Illes Balears - Banesto               3.28
6 Georg Totschnig (Aut) Gerolsteiner                                  6.08
7 Jose Azevedo (Por) US Postal p/b Berry Floor                        6.43
8 Jan Ullrich (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                     7.01
9 Pietro Caucchioli (Ita) Alessio-Bianchi                             7.59
10 Sandy Casar (Fra) Fdjeux.com                                       8.29
11 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Saeco                                        9.50
12 Carlos Sastre (Spa) Team CSC                                      10.03
13 Oscar Pereiro (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems                        10.13
14 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Rabobank                                    10.47
15 Oscar Sevilla (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems                        10.54
16 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Cr=E9dit Agricole                           11.49
17 St=E9phane Goubert (Fra) AG2R Pr=E9voyance                            12.44
18 Michael Rasmussen (Den) Rabobank                                  13.03
19 Jose Luis Rubiera (Spa) US Postal p/b Berry Floor                 13.57
20 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Illes Balears - Banesto                    14.05
21 Richard Virenque (Fra) Quick Step-Davitamon                       14.16
22 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Domina Vacanze                             14.22
23 Laurent Brochard (Fra) AG2R Pr=E9voyance                            14.29
24 J=E9r=F4me Pineau (Fra) Brioches La Boulang=E8re                        14.48
25 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Brioches La Boulang=E8re                     15.09
26 Michael Rogers (Aus) Quick Step-Davitamon                         18.08
27 Axel Merckx (Bel) Lotto-Domo                                      20.13
28 Iker Cama=F1o (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                             20.31
29 Jos=E9 Enrique Gutierrez (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems               22.17
30 David Moncouti=E9 (Fra) Cofidis - Le Cr=E9dit Par T=E9l=E9phone           23.02
31 Egoi Mart=EDnez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                           24.10
32 Aitor Gonzalez Jimenez (Spa) Fassa Bortolo                        24.56
33 Patrice Halgand (Fra) Cr=E9dit Agricole                             25.19
34 Giuseppe Guerini (Ita) T-Mobile Team                              25.32
35 Roberto Heras Hernandez (Spa) Liberty Seguros                     27.35
36 Santos Gonzalez (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems                      27.50
37 Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano (Spa) Liberty Seguros                   28.59
38 George Hincapie (USA) US Postal p/b Berry Floor                   30.39
39 Evgueni Petrov (Rus) Saeco                                        31.06
40 Floyd Landis (USA) US Postal p/b Berry Floor                      31.25
41 Juan Miguel Mercado (Spa) Quick Step-Davitamon                    33.45
42 Michele Bartoli (Ita) Team CSC                                    34.36
43 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC                                         36.22
44 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Cr=E9dit Agricole                         37.02
45 Jakob Piil (Den) Team CSC                                         38.47
46 Santiago Perez (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems                       42.22
47 Marius Sabaliauskas (Ltu) Saeco                                   44.31
48 Daniele Nardello (Ita) T-Mobile Team                              44.51
49 Iban Mayo (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                               45.04
50 Jean-Cyril Robin (Fra) Fdjeux.com                                 45.34
51 Aitor Osa Eizaguirre (Spa) Illes Balears - Banesto                46.18
52 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Cofidis - Le Cr=E9dit Par T=E9l=E9phone            47.07
53 Rik Verbrugghe (Bel) Lotto-Domo                                   47.50
54 Laurent Dufaux (Swi) Quick Step-Davitamon                         48.02
55 Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC                                       48.13
56 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) AG2R Pr=E9voyance                   49.15
57 Jos=E9 I.Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Illes Balears - Banesto           51.55
58 Manuel Beltran (Spa) US Postal p/b Berry Floor                    53.44
59 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Fassa Bortolo                                   54.12
60 I=F1igo Landaluze (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                         54.33
61 Isidro Nozal Vega (Spa) Liberty Seguros                           54.53
62 Claus Michael M=F8ller (Den) Alessio-Bianchi                        55.09
63 Marcos Serrano Rodriguez (Spa) Liberty Seguros                    56.19
64 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Fassa Bortolo                              56.32
65 Iker Flores (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                             57.00
66 Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank                                    57.18
67 Erik Zabel (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                    58.41
68 J=F6rg Ludewig (Ger) Saeco                                          59.15
69 Christophe Mengin (Fra) Fdjeux.com                              1.00.24
70 Ronny Scholz (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                 1.00.33
71 Santiago Botero (Col) T-Mobile Team                             1.00.38
72 Beno=EEt Salmon (Fra) Cr=E9dit Agricole                             1.04.11
73 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank                                 1.04.14
74 Christian Vandevelde (USA) Liberty Seguros                      1.05.16
75 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick Step-Davitamon                        1.05.57
76 Benjamin Noval (Spa) US Postal p/b Berry Floor                  1.07.15
77 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Cr=E9dit Agricole                          1.08.42
78 Nicolas Jalabert (Fra) Phonak Hearing Systems                   1.08.55
79 Sergei Ivanov (Rus) T-Mobile Team                               1.09.14
80 Andrea No=E8 (Ita) Alessio-Bianchi                                1.12.11
81 Nicki S=F8rensen (Den) Team CSC                                   1.12.21
82 Sebastian Lang (Ger) Gerolsteiner                               1.12.38
83 Marc Lotz (Ned) Rabobank                                        1.12.43
84 Andrea Peron (Ita) Team CSC                                     1.13.00
85 Didier Rous (Fra) Brioches La Boulang=E8re                        1.13.23
86 Viatcheslav Ekimov (Rus) US Postal p/b Berry Floor              1.14.19
87 Daniel Becke (Ger) Illes Balears - Banesto                      1.14.48
88 Allan Davis (Aus) Liberty Seguros                               1.15.41
89 Laurent Lef=E8vre (Fra) Brioches La Boulang=E8re                    1.16.08
90 David Etxebarria (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                      1.16.15
91 Nicolas Portal (Fra) AG2R Pr=E9voyance                            1.17.03
92 Dariusz Baranowski (Pol) Liberty Seguros                        1.17.25
93 Pavel Padrnos (Cze) US Postal p/b Berry Floor                   1.18.05
94 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Fassa Bortolo                1.18.06
95 Bert Grabsch (Ger) Phonak Hearing Systems                       1.18.25
96 Sylvain Calzati (Fra) R.A.G.T. Semences - MG Rover              1.19.59
97 Peter Farazijn (Bel) Cofidis - Le Cr=E9dit Par T=E9l=E9phone          1.20.22
98 Mark Scanlon (Irl) AG2R Pr=E9voyance                              1.20.51
99 Jos=E9 V. Garcia Acosta (Spa) Illes Balears - Banesto             1.21.14
100 Peter Wrolich (Aut) Gerolsteiner                               1.21.35
101 Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Lotto-Domo                               1.22.20
102 Scott Sunderland (Aus) Alessio-Bianchi
103 Thierry Marichal (Bel) Lotto-Domo                              1.23.01
104 David Loosli (Swi) Saeco                                       1.24.35
105 Walter B=E9n=E9teau (Fra) Brioches La Boulang=E8re                   1.25.03
106 Carlos Dacruz (Fra) Fdjeux.com
107 Danilo Hondo (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                1.26.24
108 Paolo Valoti (Ita) Domina Vacanze                              1.26.37
109 Massimo Giunti (Ita) Domina Vacanze                            1.27.23
110 Bram de Groot (Ned) Rabobank
111 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Fassa Bortolo                            1.28.55
112 Dmitri Fofonov (Kaz) Cofidis - Le Cr=E9dit Par T=E9l=E9phone         1.29.01
113 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Fassa Bortolo                          1.29.12
114 Christophe Rinero (Fra) R.A.G.T. Semences - MG Rover           1.29.17
115 Rolf Aldag (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                 1.29.23
116 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cr=E9dit Agricole                             1.29.27
117 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Fassa Bortolo                             1.29.53
118 Martin Elmiger (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems                    1.30.07
119 Unai Etxebarria (Ven) Euskaltel - Euskadi                      1.30.26
120 Marc Wauters (Bel) Rabobank                                    1.30.30
121 Massimiliano Mori (Ita) Domina Vacanze                         1.30.58
122 Salvatore Commesso (Ita) Saeco                                 1.31.38
123 Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr) AG2R Pr=E9voyance                           1.31.59
124 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step-Davitamon                          1.32.04
125 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Lotto-Domo                                 1.32.14
126 Julian Dean (NZl) Cr=E9dit Agricole                              1.33.17
127 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Rabobank                                   1.33.29
128 Xabier Zandio (Spa) Illes Balears - Banesto                    1.33.38
129 Aart Vierhouten (Ned) Lotto-Domo                               1.34.03
130 Fr=E9d=E9ric Guesdon (Fra) Fdjeux.com                              1.34.07
131 Gilles Bouvard (Fra) R.A.G.T. Semences - MG Rover              1.34.08
132 Stefano Zanini (Ita) Quick Step-Davitamon                      1.34.13
133 Filippo Simeoni (Ita) Domina Vacanze                           1.35.57
134 Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Cofidis - Le Cr=E9dit Par T=E9l=E9phone       1.37.14
135 Anthony Charteau (Fra) Brioches La Boulang=E8re                  1.37.43
136 Fabio Baldato (Ita) Alessio-Bianchi                            1.38.09
137 Christophe Laurent (Fra) R.A.G.T. Semences - MG Rover          1.40.03
138 Jan Hruska (Cze) Liberty Seguros                               1.40.08
139 Jean-Patrick Nazon (Fra) AG2R Pr=E9voyance                       1.41.27
140 Janek Tombak (Est) Cofidis - Le Cr=E9dit Par T=E9l=E9phone           1.41.28
141 Pierre Bourquenoud (Swi) R.A.G.T. Semences - MG Rover          1.41.34
142 Alessandro Bertolini (Ita) Alessio-Bianchi                     1.41.57
143 Marcus Ljungqvist (Swe) Alessio-Bianchi                        1.42.00
144 Franck Renier (Fra) Brioches La Boulang=E8re                     1.42.40
145 Guillaume Auger (Fra) R.A.G.T. Semences - MG Rover             1.42.51
146 Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team CSC                               1.44.19
147 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Fdjeux.com                                1.45.23
148 Baden Cooke (Aus) Fdjeux.com                                   1.46.37
149 Uwe Peschel (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                 1.46.41
150 Erik Dekker (Ned) Rabobank                                     1.49.16
151 Ludovic Martin (Fra) R.A.G.T. Semences - MG Rover              1.50.19
152 Servais Knaven (Ned) Quick Step-Davitamon                      1.53.10
153 Wim Vansevenant (Bel) Lotto-Domo                               1.55.07
154 Francesco Secchiari (Ita) Domina Vacanze                       1.57.00
155 Christophe Edaleine (Fra) Cofidis - Le Cr=E9dit Par T=E9l=E9phone    1.57.07
156 Davide Bramati (Ita) Quick Step-Davitamon                      1.58.16
157 Matthew Wilson (Aus) Fdjeux.com                                2.03.27
158 Fr=E9d=E9ric Finot (Fra) R.A.G.T. Semences - MG Rover              2.12.39
159 Jimmy Casper (Fra) Cofidis - Le Cr=E9dit Par T=E9l=E9phone           2.20.35
160 S=E9bastien Joly (Fra) Cr=E9dit Agricole                           2.26.32
=A0
Points classification (Top 20 Only)
=A0
1 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Lotto-Domo                                       225
pts
2 Erik Zabel (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                       212
3 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cr=E9dit Agricole                                   209
4 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Cofidis - Le Cr=E9dit Par T=E9l=E9phone               198
5 Danilo Hondo (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                      189
6 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step-Davitamon                                128
7 Jean-Patrick Nazon (Fra) AG2R Pr=E9voyance                             116
8 Laurent Brochard (Fra) AG2R Pr=E9voyance                               111
9 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Fassa Bortolo                                       88
10 Francisco Mancebo P=E9rez (Spa) Illes Balears - Banesto                85
11 Andreas Kl=F6den (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                   81
12 J=E9r=F4me Pineau (Fra) Brioches La Boulang=E8re                           79
13 Baden Cooke (Aus) Fdjeux.com                                         77
14 Lance Armstrong (USA) US Postal p/b Berry Floor                      73
15 Janek Tombak (Est) Cofidis - Le Cr=E9dit Par T=E9l=E9phone                 72
16 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Domina Vacanze                                70
17 Allan Davis (Aus) Liberty Seguros                                    65
18 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Brioches La Boulang=E8re                         58
19 I=F1igo Landaluze (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                            55
20 Georg Totschnig (Aut) Gerolsteiner                                   54

=A0
Mountains classification (Top 20 Only)
=A0
1 Richard Virenque (Fra) Quick Step-Davitamon                          128
pts
2 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Cr=E9dit Agricole                               78
3 Francisco Mancebo P=E9rez (Spa) Illes Balears - Banesto                 77
4 Lance Armstrong (USA) US Postal p/b Berry Floor                       76
5 Michael Rasmussen (Den) Rabobank                                      72
6 Ivan Basso (Ita) Team CSC                                             66
7 Axel Merckx (Bel) Lotto-Domo                                          57
8 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC                                             56
9 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Brioches La Boulang=E8re                         53
10 Andreas Kl=F6den (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                   50
11 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick Step-Davitamon                             42
12 Georg Totschnig (Aut) Gerolsteiner                                   41
13 Jan Ullrich (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                      27
14 Floyd Landis (USA) US Postal p/b Berry Floor                         24
15 David Moncouti=E9 (Fra) Cofidis - Le Cr=E9dit Par T=E9l=E9phone              22
16 Juan Miguel Mercado (Spa) Quick Step-Davitamon                       18
17 Laurent Dufaux (Swi) Quick Step-Davitamon                            17
18 Jose Azevedo (Por) US Postal p/b Berry Floor                         16
19 Carlos Sastre (Spa) Team CSC                                         16
20 Janek Tombak (Est) Cofidis - Le Cr=E9dit Par T=E9l=E9phone                 14

=A0
Young rider classification
=A0
1 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Brioches La Boulang=E8re                    62.33.11
2 Sandy Casar (Fra) Fdjeux.com                                        8.29
3 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Illes Balears - Banesto                     14.05
4 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Domina Vacanze                              14.22
5 J=E9r=F4me Pineau (Fra) Brioches La Boulang=E8re                         14.48
6 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Brioches La Boulang=E8re                      15.09
7 Michael Rogers (Aus) Quick Step-Davitamon                          18.08
8 Iker Cama=F1o (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                              20.31
9 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) AG2R Pr=E9voyance                    49.15
10 Benjamin Noval (Spa) US Postal p/b Berry Floor                  1.07.15
11 Sebastian Lang (Ger) Gerolsteiner                               1.12.38
12 Allan Davis (Aus) Liberty Seguros                               1.15.41
13 Nicolas Portal (Fra) AG2R Pr=E9voyance                            1.17.03
14 Sylvain Calzati (Fra) R.A.G.T. Semences - MG Rover              1.19.59
15 Mark Scanlon (Irl) AG2R Pr=E9voyance                              1.20.51
16 David Loosli (Swi) Saeco                                        1.24.35
17 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Fassa Bortolo                             1.28.55
18 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Fassa Bortolo                           1.29.12
19 Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr) AG2R Pr=E9voyance                            1.31.59
20 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step-Davitamon                           1.32.04
21 Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Cofidis - Le Cr=E9dit Par T=E9l=E9phone        1.37.14
22 Anthony Charteau (Fra) Brioches La Boulang=E8re                   1.37.43
23 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Fdjeux.com                                 1.45.23
24 Christophe Edaleine (Fra) Cofidis - Le Cr=E9dit Par T=E9l=E9phone     1.57.07
25 S=E9bastien Joly (Fra) Cr=E9dit Agricole                            2.26.32
=A0
Teams classification
=A0
1 T-Mobile Team                                                  185.25.00
2 Team CSC                                                            5.28
3 US Postal presented by Berry Floor                                 11.20
4 Phonak Hearing Systems                                             15.01
5 Brioches La Boulangere                                             17.21
6 Illes Balears-Banesto Santander                                    28.36
7 Quick Step-Davitamon                                               32.23
8 Euskaltel-Euskadi                                                  34.21
9 Credit Agricole                                                    40.27
10 Rabobank                                                          51.55
11 Saeco                                                           1.02.04
12 Ag2R Prevoyance                                                 1.03.42
13 Liberty Seguros                                                 1.12.24
14 Alessio-Bianchi                                                 1.33.55
15 Lotto-Domo                                                      1.37.13
16 Gerolsteiner                                                    1.37.44
17 Fdjeux.Com                                                      1.38.33
18 Fassa Bortolo                                                   1.55.59
19 Domina Vacanze                                                  2.02.36
20 Cofidis Credit Par Telephone                                    2.09.26
21 R.A.G.T. Semences-MG Rover                                      3.50.43

Tomorrow's Stage -=20
Valreas to Villard de Lans - 180.5 km
To the Alps, to the Alps.  Clean cows, wildflowers, and that Von Trapp
family wandering around singing. 7 big climbs will test the riders, and as
others have observed, the Alps are different than the Pyrenees.  Near the
middle of the stage, the riders will hit the Category 2 Col des Limouches -
almost 11 km at 6.3% average - and then they go immediately up the Category
1 Col de l'Echarasson, 12 km at 7.4%.  Three categorized climbs follow even
that effort, and there will be much to monitor on these little-travelled
climbs.

--=20
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