Tour de France 2009

[Formaldehyde]

It appears to be all over unless Contador has a huge mishap. Armstrong said he is happy to be his domestique from here on out.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/ot...strong-happy-to-support-Alberto-Contador.html

 

[El Koeno]

Man, I just heard Kenny van Hummel made it... Incredible. I thought he was out. At some time I will have to start seriously respecting the guy.

 

[Lambert Simnel]

Anv views on the Cavendish vs Hushovd spat on the green jersey ? Linky

Clearly Hushovd will keep the jersey now, but will it "have a stain on it" as Cavendish has suggested ?

 

[El Koeno]

Anv views on the Cavendish vs Hushovd spat on the green jersey ? Linky

Clearly Hushovd will keep the jersey now, but will it "have a stain on it" as Cavendish has suggested ?

Nah, these things happen all the time, whether you agree with them or not.

Thank god for the Schlecks. They made today's stage exciting.

 

[thetrooper]

Clearly Hushovd will keep the jersey now, but will it "have a stain on it" as Cavendish has suggested ?

Hard to tell really. Cavendish is obviously the best sprinter, but Hushovd is by far the most dedicated to take 'sprint points' on the harder stages. He is also regarded as the toughest rider on the tour when it somes to downhill cycling. All sprinters have been disqualified at some point in their careers. The Cavendish case is not as obvious as previous ones. I remember McEwen ramming his head into O'Gradys' shoulder a few years back...

Hope Jens Voigt will be ok. Another hard blow to the Saxobank team.

Finally congrats to Astarloza!

 

[J-man]

Hope Jens Voigt will be ok. Another hard blow to the Saxobank team.

That was nasty fall! I think he face planted at like 60-70 kph!

 

[thetrooper]

That was nasty fall! I think he face planted at like 60-70 kph!

From what I've heard even more!

Apparently, and hopefully if this is true, he 'got away' with a fractured zygomatic, heavy concussion and lots of bruises. I have no idea how fractured his cheekbone is though. I guess that most of the front muscles are thoroughly beaten too! But that's peanuts compared to what could have happened.

 

[Irish Caesar]

Man, I just heard Kenny van Hummel made it... Incredible. I thought he was out. At some time I will have to start seriously respecting the guy.

And he lives to race another day!

Thank god for the Schlecks. They made today's stage exciting.

Indeed. It's good that Andy will be running with Contador for years to come; I'd hate to see Alberto dominate unchecked for the next few years.

It was also nice to see the old man plow up the mountain on his own, I was disappointed he didn't continue the acceleration once he caught up to the rest of the leaders. Once again, I'm curious if he'd have anything for his teammate (although I sincerely doubt it... he's probably happy he's racing with Contador instead of against him).

Finally congrats to Astarloza!

I was stunned when they said he'd never won a stage of anything before. I thought he was way too good to have never won... but of course, now he has.

That was nasty fall! I think he face planted at like 60-70 kph!

The guys in the Versus booth said almost 50 mph, so that's 80 kph... either way, I cringed pretty hard watching it. I'm glad he's "okay," though, I think that's the hardest crash I've ever seen.

 

[J-man]

The guys in the Versus booth said almost 50 mph, so that's 80 kph... either way, I cringed pretty hard watching it. I'm glad he's "okay," though, I think that's the hardest crash I've ever seen.

The worst crash I remember was when I was a kid and I watched the tour with my father in 1995 when Fabio Casartelli crashed at about 88 kph (55 mph) and hit a concrete block, he died. The guy was 24 and IIRC just married and his wife was pregnant. Very sad.

 

[El Koeno]

And he lives to race another day!

Today will be the toughest day for him. He jokingly said to Dutch TV that with all his practice lately, he might be a threat to Contador in the time trial.

 

[thetrooper]

What is happening?

Hushovd breakaway!

 

[thetrooper]

Clearly Hushovd will keep the jersey now, but will it "have a stain on it" as Cavendish has suggested ?

No stains after what he did today:

...but Hushovd is by far the most dedicated to take 'sprint points' on the harder stages. He is also regarded as the toughest rider on the tour when it comes to downhill cycling.

Congrats to team Saxobank (or is it team Schleck now?)!

Even though they couldn't hammer Contador enough.

 

[classical_hero]

Well he did for the Green points and after that he just did what he normally did.

 

[El Koeno]

Great job by Hushovd today.

The Schlecks once again proved the Tour needs them to put some spice in the race. Still, I feel Contador could have won it if he went for it. Why did he wait? For Kloeden?

And the Kenny van Hummel story has ended.

 

[thetrooper]

The Schlecks once again proved the Tour needs them to put some spice in the race. Still, I feel Contador could have won it if he went for it. Why did he wait? For Kloeden?

Yeah, Contador could have won if he tried a little harder. I think he had full control for the last 30 km or so but didn't go out of respect for (the unlucky) Saxobank team. Voigt is a guy that 'everyone' on the tour respects and likes. Contador didn't even try the last 200 m - and the Schleck boys aren't exactly hard to beat in a sprint. There are no bonus seconds to grab anymore either. I'm disappointed by Sastre and Evans though. Sastre tried at least but you could easily see that it was a futile attempt.

 

[Rik Meleet]

Yeah, Contador could have won if he tried a little harder. I think he had full control for the last 30 km or so but didn't go out of respect for (the unlucky) Saxobank team. Voigt is a guy that 'everyone' on the tour respects and likes. Contador didn't even try the last 200 m - and the Schleck boys aren't exactly hard to beat in a sprint. There are no bonus seconds to grab anymore either. I'm disappointed by Sastre and Evans though. Sastre tried at least but you could easily see that it was a futile attempt.

Contador didn't want to take any risks in the descent - trying to get rid of the Schlecks would mean a risky descent. Risky in the way of a fall and bye bye yellow jersey.

 

[thetrooper]

Contador isn't able to get rid of the Schlecks in any descent.

 

[Sir Bugsy]

Contador didn't need to get rid of the Schlecks. Short of a major crash or a major blow up, AC has this thing wrapped up. Actually I think all four jerseys are wrapped up, they just need to make it to Paris. The only question now is: who will have 2nd and 3rd on the podium?

 

[SF23]

WTF happened to Cadel Evans? He is 37 minutes down and he is behind guys like Hebert DuPont and Sylvain Chavanel, who aren't exactly great climbers. Also, it would appear that the coveted last in the GC position belongs to Yauheni Hutarovich now.

 

[J-man]

Impressive feat by Contador this day! He has pretty much won the Tour. Armstrong started out good but then 'collapsed'. I wonder if it is his old age or his preparation. I hoped that A. Schleck could pull of some miracle but he didn't.