2009 Tour de France(updates/stage results and SPOILER ALERT!)

Best part is how Lance is still 0 seconds behind first!

Second best part was all the crashes in Stage 6. It was like watching NASCAR. (except the bikes don't burst into flames)

Let's hope the crashes don't continue into the mountains.

OOOPS!! I forgot that the best part was Millar almost succeeding! All alone, only 1 minute ahead of the peloton with something like 10 miles to go and they couldn't catch him till the climb at the end! Freaking remarkable!

PS: Well done, Liz. Valid your climb!

 

Lance should of rode for yellow! He gave Alberto 2nd place. 8sec behind from first, lance would of attacked if alberto was on another team.

 

waaaah?!?! Rinaldo Nocentini in Yellow?! Didn't even think he was a contender for the GC. Contador is in second, Armstrong in Third, and Levi is in Fourth. Astana is still looking REALLY strong!

 

Armstrong seems to be exactly where he needs to be. Close enough but not in yellow yet (and without the pressure of having to defend it too early in the race). Still think it will come down to Armstrong vs Contador on Mt Ventoux with everyone else too far behind to be a threat.

 

I don't know, everyone is acting like this is the Lance of old...
I think he's in this position now because he has great intuition and efficiency.
But, I have never seem him look this tired before the first tall mountain stage.

My gut tells me he will be dropped in the mountains.

 

I disagree...I think Lance looks strong, focused, and essentially has a leg up with his tour win experiences. Granted he even said for himself he isn't as strong as some specific past tours. However, I don't think he will get dropped in the mountains.

I know Lance said he is supporting Contador...but MAN I rather see an American take this race...and especially him again.

I think it will come down to one team leader. I really don't see how they could have two leaders on the same team constantly attacking each other for the rest of this race. It just seems that since this is so much more a team sport than an individual one of them is going to have to start supporting the other. I suppose the next couple of stages will determine who that ultimate leader will be.

 

In know its "Supposed" to be a team sport, but how many tours had hard fought battles between team mates?

3 that come to mind..

Lance is has proven himself a fierce competitor in many arenas, he is a fighter, and fighters rarely back down.

I applaud him for his accomplishments in sport and overcoming cancer.

And that's all

 

hehe...either way I would LOVE to see a hard fought battle between them! Maybe we'll get lucky!

 

All of the real GC contenders are in the front group/top 10 positions. Guys who wear yellow in the first week of the Tour rarely ever wear it at the end or for long. They are doing it simply to wear it even once.....I would. Most riders would be really happy and high light of their career to win just 1 stage.

I agree with Dave that Lance does look a bit more tired than before but that was one brutal mountain stage. My guess is he will still be in the front group but may not be able to respond when the break away really heat up in the mountain stages. But he only seriously trained for races for around 1 year and he still is in top 5, that is amazing. I was hoping to see him wearing the yellow jersey for just once....even though it's not a smart move this early in the race for the team.

I'm still cheering for our crazy american Lance Armstrong! Like he said....he is the first Lance Armstrong.

 

What happened to columbia-highraod today? are they not a mountain team? After I think it was stage 4 when they were doing all the work and complained after the stage it seems like they arent doing as well after a week of racing. On the other hand astana is still looking very strong and by far the entire team is the mvp of the tour in my opinion.

 

I think your guts gonna drop in the mountains!!! :lol:

They are out for sprint stages with Mark Cavendish.
I don't believe they have anyone that can contest in the mountains!


After Cadel attacked, Lance and Kloden went up to the front after reeling him back and took control of the bunch.
Then Lance rode up next to Kloden and said something. Kloden hesitated and then it looked like he said yeah.
After Cadel's team mate attacked, Kloden was pacing Lance, just like Lance used to have team mates do in years past.
I believe Lance had every intention of attacking, Contador saw what was beginning to unfold and took off.
Lance can't look bad in this. He has to play the proper team mate!
I've re-watched it a few times and Lance does not chase Contador, he stays with Cadel in third position.
I do believe Lance is pretty ticked off though!! Listening to the interview, he sounded jammed up. Frustrated. He's so damn strong! It's great to watch this for sure!!

 

This is great!

Lance said it himself, He's there to promote Livestrong. If he gets on TV that's mission accomplished. If he's in the top 10 great, If he's challenging for the lead, that's another thing entirely. Let's be honest, the guy is still scary strong and a joy to watch at 37. Go Lance! Us old heads are pullin' for ya.

That said, Contador is gonna win this race.

 

You may be right but I'm going to stay with Lance. If Alberto makes another mistake Lance will be there to take advantage of it. If you watch him he's spending all his time with an eye on Lance, this might hurt him.

Did he looked whipped today? Yeah, maybe a little but so did most of them (with the exception of Alberto). They way Alberto took off and maintained that pace on the climbs was unlike anything I've ver seen a climber do. He is the essential climber.

 

I haven't seen anyone climb so relaxed since Michael Rasmussen in 2007.

 

He can say what he wants but I dont believe him for a second. No competitive athlete doesnt want to win, let alone champion. He is saying what he needs to say but its just talk.

 

I personally think there is a new team emerging and they have the name of Astanastrong. AC does not look like he can really hang in anything but the mountains. Lance will help out AC a bit more and if he falters again I think Astanastrong will shift their GC attention to Lance for sure. Lets not forget about Levi who is only +35ish behind Lance.

here is a like to some solid TTT pics. Im looking for a solid columbia-highroad TTT pic please help if you can, they are my team.

 

What? Only Cancellara beat him in the opening TT and the mountains are what matters the most. Even if Astana abandond him, he could wheel suck other teams like Evans has in the past, dominate the climbs, and still win.

Personally, I pulling for AC; he was jobbed of a TDF win last year, a title defense no less, and skipped defending his Giro title be Johan promised him the TDF this year. He should be going for his seventh straight grand tour.

 

Are you insinuating that AC might have unconventional assistance?

 

Few years ago, I thought this was a joke. Now that I am into cycling/mt biking, I have been checkin the site to see what's going on. Pretty interesting.

 

Mark Cavendish wins stage 11 and is back in green!!! Cavendish is CRAZY fast and his team is way organized! :clap: