From race-report@cyclofiend.com Fri Jun 3 15:31:55 2005 From: race-report@cyclofiend.com (tour-junkie) Date: Fri, 03 Jun 2005 07:31:55 -0700 Subject: [Tour 2005]Getting Ready Message-ID: Less than a month away, and it seems like things have been more quiet than normal. Fewer prognostications. Maybe we are all still stunned and saddened by the pre-race announcement of retirement. Maybe there was a panache about the red, white and blue of the US Postal team colors that the baby blue of Discovery cannot match. Maybe everyone is holding their breathe and trying to decide whether they want someone to scorch the roads of France and win a staggering seventh Tour. Whatever the reality, the hard work of grinding down and reshaping has ended, and the honing phase is upon us. The players shall slide out of the shadows and take their places. We shall see who can still make themselves suffer while out of the glare of our gaze. The Dauphine Libere begins Sunday, which will bring out Lance Armstrong for a bit of leg stretching before "the last picture show" next month. Sadly, it looks like one of my favorite riders, veteran teammate Viatchesla= v Ekimov, has left the short list - injuring his back in a training spill wit= h Armstrong last month. Of course, I hadn't even heard of this, which is more or less why I'm claiming things have been quiet. Of course, for some reason it's difficult for the US press to get all gooey about Paolo Savodelli's win in the Giro last month - despite the fact that he is riding for the Discovery squad. And, the reason that Discovery is sponsoring the team has to do with them gaining visibility in Europe, so...= . But, the fastest descender in the peleton - that'd be Savodelli - seems to be among the favorites for Discovery's Tour Squad and Lance's - what the heck is "Seventh" anyway - "hepti-Tour"? Along in that bunch will be Georg= e Hincapie, the only rider to be a part of all six of Armstrong's previous Tour victories, Spanish riders Manuel Beltran and Chechu Rubiera and Portuguese phenom Jos=E9 Azevedo, fifth overall last year and Armstrong's pacemaker in the high mountains. Personal favorite Yarosloav Popovych is slated make his Tour debut. After his recent win at the Volta a Cataluyna, the Ukrainian via Italy and Belgiu= m still is one of the "unknown" riders who could set things on fire with the right team situationy. The final two spots on the Discovery squad will likely be decided during next week's Dauphine. On the short list are Leif Hoste, Benoit Joachim, Pavel Padrnos and Benjamin Noval. Jan Ullrich will not be at the Dauphine Libere, instead choosing to thrill his German fans by racing this Saturday in the GP Schwarzwald. Ullrich will use the race as an opportunity to put a lustre on his climbing skills under race conditions. Two weeks ago, big Jan raced the Volta a Catalunya, where he finished 18th overall. If Ullrich's focus is now on developing his climbing potential to the max, riding one of the most hilly and demanding German one-day races seems appropriate. Seven laps for a total of 12,000 feet in altitude gain and an overall distance of 162,4 km roughly equals th= e demands of a mountain stage under the skies of France. He'll have help from teammates Andr=E9 Korff, Daniele Nardello, Tobias Steinhauser and Steffen Wesemann.=20 One of the key issues for Telekom has been their lack of singlemindedness in supporting Jan - since they have an always serious contender for the green jersey in Eric Zabel. But, there have been signs that they will gettin' all USPS-single-minded about the Tour - much to the chagrin of the normally good-natured German sprinter. If they truly end up with the squad dedicated to Jan, it may be the mental wedge he needs to keep himself propped up come July. Of course, many eyes will be on Philly this weekend, as the USPRO race hits the streets there. No real direct effect on the upcoming Tour, although some of the CSC riders will be there, craftily guided by the 2nd best tactician in the game, Bjarne Riis. More as we get closer, just didn't want you to think I wasn't excited this year... Thanks for reading, - Jim