Catching up on Le Tour news...
Jul. 17th, 2003 01:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
deathpixieI've been a tad slack in keeping you updated with what's going on (but hey, the website's here for those who are interested enough to chase things up themselves), and I missed a few of the mountain stages due to various other things being on at 6pm and me forgetting I know how to use the timer on my VCR, but me and the icon are back for a brief update. :) It's a rest day for them today, so I have catch-up time.
So, first up, my boys. Baden Cooke currently holds the green spinter's jersey, engaging in a spirited competition with fellow Aussie Rob McEwan who is second. Many times champion Eric Zabel is third. Overall the Aussies have lost a lot of time in the Alps, being sprinters and not climbers (although [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com] tells me we might have a challenger in that direction hopefully next year), but now the mountain stages are finished we can expect some great sprinting.
Lance Armstong is phenomenal. Even tho' I'd love to see one of the Aussies get yellow again, you can't begrudge the man his prize. Especially after yesterday's stage. He and second-placeman Joseba Beloki were descending the last 4 km from The Gap, trying to catch Alexandre Vinokourov who had made a break for it. It was a very warm day, and the bitumen was softening on the corners - Beloki locked his back wheel, blew off the back tyre, and came crashing to the ground on a hairpin bend. Armstrong, caught with nowhere to go, ended up going cross country through a handy field and back onto the road, where he rejoined the peleton.
Now, that doesn't sound like much, until you consider the man did this on a road bike. The wheels on these things are between 1-2cm wide, with high pressure tyres that pick up punctures at the drop of a hat and will blow off the rim if sujected to too much stress, as Beloki found. The wheels themselves are very tightly strung, to reduce power loss through flexing, and there are no shock absorbers as there are on mountain bikes. By all rights Armstrong should have at least gotten a puncture, or turned his wheel into a potato chip *by breaking spokes and causing the rim to bend like a chip). He not only managed to stay on at relatively high speed, but he came through the other side of the field intact. Absolutely amazing to watch, I tell you.
Poor Beloki, on the other hand, has a broken leg and elbow, and has been forced to drop out of the race.
And in other "I can't believe he's doing this" news, Tyler Hamilton, the American rider who was cleaned up in that big crash on the second day, is still riding with two fractures in his collarbone. Not only that, he's fifth overall, IIRC. He's been cleared by the doctor as not being in danger, but the pain he must be in... He even challenged Armstrong on one of the climbs in the past few days.
So, rest day today, and then things hot up again tomorrow as the race leaves Marsailles. 11 days left before they hit Paris.
So, first up, my boys. Baden Cooke currently holds the green spinter's jersey, engaging in a spirited competition with fellow Aussie Rob McEwan who is second. Many times champion Eric Zabel is third. Overall the Aussies have lost a lot of time in the Alps, being sprinters and not climbers (although [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com] tells me we might have a challenger in that direction hopefully next year), but now the mountain stages are finished we can expect some great sprinting.
Lance Armstong is phenomenal. Even tho' I'd love to see one of the Aussies get yellow again, you can't begrudge the man his prize. Especially after yesterday's stage. He and second-placeman Joseba Beloki were descending the last 4 km from The Gap, trying to catch Alexandre Vinokourov who had made a break for it. It was a very warm day, and the bitumen was softening on the corners - Beloki locked his back wheel, blew off the back tyre, and came crashing to the ground on a hairpin bend. Armstrong, caught with nowhere to go, ended up going cross country through a handy field and back onto the road, where he rejoined the peleton.
Now, that doesn't sound like much, until you consider the man did this on a road bike. The wheels on these things are between 1-2cm wide, with high pressure tyres that pick up punctures at the drop of a hat and will blow off the rim if sujected to too much stress, as Beloki found. The wheels themselves are very tightly strung, to reduce power loss through flexing, and there are no shock absorbers as there are on mountain bikes. By all rights Armstrong should have at least gotten a puncture, or turned his wheel into a potato chip *by breaking spokes and causing the rim to bend like a chip). He not only managed to stay on at relatively high speed, but he came through the other side of the field intact. Absolutely amazing to watch, I tell you.
Poor Beloki, on the other hand, has a broken leg and elbow, and has been forced to drop out of the race.
And in other "I can't believe he's doing this" news, Tyler Hamilton, the American rider who was cleaned up in that big crash on the second day, is still riding with two fractures in his collarbone. Not only that, he's fifth overall, IIRC. He's been cleared by the doctor as not being in danger, but the pain he must be in... He even challenged Armstrong on one of the climbs in the past few days.
So, rest day today, and then things hot up again tomorrow as the race leaves Marsailles. 11 days left before they hit Paris.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Re: On Lance. . .
Date: 2003-07-17 04:36 am (UTC)Re: On Lance. . .
Date: 2003-07-17 06:18 am (UTC)Re: On Lance. . .
Date: 2003-07-18 05:03 am (UTC)Iron Gut, huh? That must have been an interesting ride, trying not to puke. ^_^ And I think the Prairie Village Yacht Club is a great name!