Tour de France [Archive]

Ben Lauer

06-07-2005, 11:13

Summary of Stage 5: Chambord to Montargis - 183km
Conditions: Dry in the beginning, some rain and wet roads in the second half.

The Stage began at 1:21 pm.
- Lance didn't want to wear the Yellow Jersey because he felt he didn't deserve the honor, but after the 5 preliminary kilometers, the pelaton was stopped at the start line (it usually does a rolling start) so that the race officials could have Lance put on the Yellow.
- 30 minutes in Juan Antonio Flecha broke away and About 20km later Carlstrom decided to chase. He was joined by Commesso and Bodrogi. The three chasers caught Flecha at the 87km mark.
- The Lead group of 4 was caught by the pelaton with just 11km to go.
- Robbie McEwen came to the front in the final 100m and has won the stage ahead of Tom Boonen.
- Lance sat in the Pelaton today as expected. Because he is a climber, he will just stay on the pace and wait until the mountain stages to try and gain time on his opponents.

So is lance going to win this one this year?
The winner of "le tour de France" is never a given. Lance has a very good chance, but he is past his prime physically in my opinion, but he is a very strong rider and has and even stronger mentality. As you may know, he has a record of 6 straight tour wins, more than any previous riders in this 102 year old race.

Interesting fact: The USPS team no longer exists. Lance now rides for the new "Discovery Channel team."

Conor Ryan

06-07-2005, 11:51

Interesting fact: The USPS team no longer exists. Lance now rides for the new "Discovery Channel team."

Yeah they stopped being the primary sponsor last year. When they announced it there was a lot of talk of No Lance this year, but he couldn't resist and entered again.
Their New Jersey (http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/photos/features/coady/dscy-road-work1.jpg) Apparently the CEO of Discovery got the idea on a flight one day.

Some more intresting facts I found

Calories burned by a Tour rider, per day: 5,900 average; 9,000 max.
Calories burned by an average 28-year-old male, per day: 2,200 average.
Most stages won by a single rider, career: 34 (Eddy Merckx)
Year that the yellow jersey was introduced: 1919
Most riders to wear yellow jersey on one Tour: 8 (1987)
Smallest margin of victory: 8 seconds (Greg LeMond over Laurent Fignon in 1989)
Fastest individual time trial: 54.545 kph (Greg LeMond in 1989 over 24.5 km)
Rest days in the 2005 Tour: 2 (July 11 and July 18)
Riders in each team: 9
Spectators expected to line the route: 15 million
Riders who will start this year: 198 (split over 22 teams)
Shortest flat stage on the course: 19 km (Stage 1)
Longest stage in the tour: 239.5 km (Stage 17)
Number of water bottles used in the race, per team: approx. 42,000

Cory

06-07-2005, 13:19

Fastest individual time trial: 54.545 kph (Greg LeMond in 1989 over 24.5 km)

I thought I heard the announcers saying something about Zabriskie beating this mark before his crash yesterday, or maybe it was someone else on team CSC.

mathking

06-07-2005, 14:18

I thought I heard the announcers saying something about Zabriskie beating this mark before his crash yesterday, or maybe it was someone else on team CSC.

Yesterday was a team time trial, so there wouldn't have been an individual time trial record. If my memory is correct, wasn't LeMond's record set on the last stage as he staged an epic comeback to score that 8 second victory of Fignon?

Ben Lauer

06-07-2005, 14:46

Yes, you are correct. That was one of the years that the tour organizers decided to have an individual time trial on the final day of the tour instead of the preliminary. Personally I like having the time trial at the beginning and the stage ending in laps around the Champs-Élysées as a final stage.

EricH

06-07-2005, 20:13

I thought I heard the announcers saying something about Zabriskie beating this mark before his crash yesterday, or maybe it was someone else on team CSC.

Tyler Hamilton, maybe? I seem to remember that CSC was his team last year.

Conor Ryan

06-07-2005, 20:33

Tyler Hamilton, maybe? I seem to remember that CSC was his team last year.
Tyler Hamilton isn't competiting in the Tour De France this year even so he's on Team Phonak, he got caught up in an unusual "doping" case. He and a Team mate used blood transfusions to get more oxygen in their body and after a bunch of stuff, the International Cycling Union declared them cheaters and they said he couldn't compete in this years tour.

Early off it looks like its going to come down to the Discovery Channel Team (DSC) and CSC. But here are some intresting numbers, in the top 20 15 cyclists are on either DSC or CSC. But the Discovery Channel is known for the speed in which they can go through the mountains, and so far its all flat. So it'll be very intresting in the upcoming stages. But its too early to say anything at this point.

Ben Lauer

07-07-2005, 09:01

1. Lance Armstrong (USA/DIS) 9h59min 12sec
2. George Hincapie (USA/DIS) at 0:55
3. Jens Voigt (GER/CSC) 1:04
4. Bobby Julich (USA/CSC) 1:07
5. José Luis Rubiera (SPA/DIS) 1:14
Sprint Leader: Tom Boonen (BEL/QST)
King of the Mountains: Erik Dekker (NED/RAB)
Top Young Rider: Yaroslav Popovych (UKR/DIS)

Stage 5 Results:
The radar clocked McEwen at 63km/h as he crossed the line. The top seven in the stage is:
1. Robbie McEwen (AUS - DVL)
2. Tom Boonen (BEL - QST)
3. Thor Hushovd (NOR - C.A)
4. Stuart O’Grady (AUS - COF)
5. Angelo Furlan (ITA - DOM)
6. Allan Davis (AUS - LWT)
7. Bernard Eisel (AUT - FDJ)

Ben Lauer

07-07-2005, 11:56

Stage 6: Troyes to Nancy - 199km
This stage had 4 climbs and 3 general sprints.
Weather: Rain, again
- There were a few breakaways that were unsuccessful today. One of these included George Hincapie, Lance's Teammate.
- As they continued to happen the Discovery Channel team continued to lead the peloton at a very high pace.
- One of the breakaway groups was formed after a move was instigated by Christophe Mengin at the 23km mark. He was chased down first by Mauro Gerosa. Then by Karsten Kroon, Stephane Auge and Jaan Kirsipuu. The junction was at the 38km mark. The obtained a biggest lead of any escapee group in the tour 2005, previously it was 5:30.
- At about halfway through this stage, the 5 escapees were 8:30 from the peloton. Two other teams (Quickstep and Davitamon-Lotto) stepped up and started trying to reel these five in.
- With 30km to go, the lead was under 3 minutes.
- During the last 15km, the lead groups splits up and 4 of the riders get sucked back in to the peloton. Mengin still had a 23 second lead with only 5km left to ride.
- With just 1km to ride, Mengin went down in a corner, and when the peloton came around the corner 10 seconds later, they trampled him, and multiple riders went down.
- Lorenzo Bernucci won the stage. He was the Fassa Bortolo rider who chased down another riders counter attack.
The crash on the final turn has caused total chaos. All the usual winning candidates were taken out of the picture but nothing can be taken away from Lorenzo Bernucci who was in the right place at the right time.
The top 10 in the stage is:
1. Lorenzo Bernucci (FAS)
2. Alexandre Vinokourov (TMO)
3. Robert Forster (GST)
4. Angelo Furlan (DOM)
5. Thor Hushovd (C.A)
6. Kim Kirchen (FAS)
7. Gianluca Bortolami (LAM)
8. Egoi Martinez (EUS)
9. Gerrit Glomser (LAM)
10. Kurt Atle Arvesen (CSC)

Yellow Jersey (overall time leader): Lance Armstrong (USA/DIS)
Green Jersey (Most Sprint Points): Tom Boonen (BEL/QST)
Polka Dot Jersey (King of the Mountian): Karsten Kroon (NED/RAB)
White Jersey (Top Young Rider): Yaroslav Popovych (UKR/DIS)
Sorry for the length of this one, but it was pretty exciting.

wilshire

08-07-2005, 06:49

this stage of the race was quite exciting. I was rooting for mengin to win and if he wouldn't have hit the brakes like that at the end turn there he could have won it. Then again he was probably tired beyond all belief and afterall many more riders in the pelaton went down because of the same reason. Exciting last 10km though.

Ben Lauer

08-07-2005, 11:24

Stage 7: Luneville to Karlsruhe 228.5 km

- Again there was a trend of early escape attempts. Six riders broke free, but were caught with no extreme effort by the peloton.
- Groups of 2-6 kept attacking and the peloton kept reeling them back in.
- Another Attempt to break away was made by two different riders, McEwen (DVL) and Wegmann (GST).
- McEwen is caught quickly, but Wegmann get out ahead of the peloton, He gained a maximum lead of 8:35.
- After the Second Intermediate sprint, the sprinters teams decide it is time to bring Wegmann back to the peloton.
- This stage looked very much like a repeat of yesterday, with intermittent rain and early break away staying ahead for a majority of the race.
- Wegmann was caught with 23km to go.
- Just like yesterday, there was a crash inside 1000m, this one at 200m. It cause a few riders to go down.
- Robbie McEwen sprints across the line for the stage win.

The Top 5 for the stage are:
1) Robbie McEwen (DVL/AUS)
2) Magnus Backstedt (LIQ/SWE)
3) Bernhard Eisel (FDJ/AUT)
4) Gerrit Glomser (LAM/AUT)
5) Baden Cooke (FDJ/AUS)
There was no change in the General Classification. Lance still wears Yellow.
The only change in the Positions was the Climbing Jersey, The Red and White Polka-dot jersey now is worn by Wegmann because he was alone for all the point receiving climbs today.

Cory

08-07-2005, 19:05

Ben Lauer

09-07-2005, 17:55

That was a nasty spill those guys took when crossing the railroad tracks. Looked like a whole lot more than a few to me, seemed like a whole group of the peloton went down within seconds of each other.
Honestly I wasn't watching it, I was only able to read about it because I didn't have access to OLN.

Stage 8: Pforzheim to Gérardmer 231.5km

I wasn't able to watch or follow the stage to day, but here are the results and the rest of the leaders.

Apperently there was an amazing sprint to the finish, if anyone has more information, please share it.
See Picture of amazing finish here (http://www.letour.fr/2005/TDF/LIVE/us/800/index.html):

Only a fraction of a centimeter has separated the first and second placed riders. The top 10 in the 231.5km eighth stage is:
1. Pieter Weening (Ned) RAB
2. Andreas Kloden (Ger) TMO at same time
3. Alejandro Valverde (Sp) IBA at 27"
4. Kim Kirchen (Lux) FAS at st
5. Jens Voigt (Ger) CSC at st
6. Jan Ullrich (Ger) TMO at st
7. Cadel Evans (Aus) DVL at st
8. Christophe Moreau (Fr) C.A at st
9. Chris Horner (USA) SDV at st
10. Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) TMO at st.

Lance Armstrong maintains his lead in the general classification after stage eight. The new top 10 overall is listed below:
1. Lance Armstrong (US) DSC
2. Jens Voigt (Ger) CSC at 1’00"
3. Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) TMO at 1’02"
4. Bobby Julich (USA) CSC at 1’07"
5. Ivan Basso (It) CSC at 1’26"
6. Jan Ullrich (Ger) TMO at 1’36"
7. Carlos Sastre (Sp) CSC at 1’36"
8. George Hincapie (USA) DSC at 1’47"
9. Andreas Kloden (Ger) TMO at 1’50"
10. Floyd Landis (USA) PHO at 1’50"

Yellow: Lance Armstrong
Green: Tom Booden
Polka-Dot: Michael Rasmussen
White: Vladimir Karpets (claimed from Yaroslav Popovych by 1 second during this stage)

Freddy Schurr

09-07-2005, 18:12

Go Lance, Go

Ben Lauer

10-07-2005, 10:40

Stage 9: Gérardmer to Mulhouse - 171 km

- There was an early crash that caused some riders to be dropped off the back of the peloton.
- Mickael Rasmussen (DEN, RAB) broke away from the peloton to catch another escapee, Jens Voigt.
- Rasmussen was chased and caught a few times by other small groups, but he was never pulled back to the peloton. Voigt was very present in the chase groups and tried to stay with his early captor.
- Rasmussen was out in front of this stage from inside the first 5 km.
- He finished 3:04 ahead of his closest rider.
- The biggest change in the day are the to overall leaders. Lance was overtaken by Jens Voigt and Christephe Moreau.

The top 10 in stage nine of the 2005 Tour de France is:
1. Mickael Rasmussen (DEN) RAB - 171km in 4h08’20" (41.315km/h)
2. Christophe Moreau (FRA) C.A at 3’04"
3. Jens Voigt (GER) CSC at 3’04"
4. Stuart O’Grady (AUS) COF at 6’04"
5. Philippe Gilbert (BEL) FDJ at same time
6. Antony Geslin (FRA) BTL at same time
7. Sebastian Lang (GER) GST at same time
8. Laurent Brochard (FRA) BTL at same time
9. Jerome Pineau (FRA) BTL at same time
10. Gerrit Glomser (AUT) LAM at same time

The yellow jersey has returned to the CSC team after the ninth stage of the 2005 Tour. The new top 10 is:
1. Jens Voigt (GER) CSC 1,493.5km in 32h18’23" (46.22km/h)
2. Christophe Moreau (FRA) C.A at 1’50"
3. Lance Armstrong (USA) DSC at 2’18"
4. Mickael Rasmussen (DEN) RAB at 2’43"
5. Alexandre Vinokourov (KAZ) TMO at 3’20"
6. Bobby Julich (USA) CSC at 3’25"
7. Ivan Basso (ITA) CSC at 3’44"
8. Jan Ullrich (GER) TMO at 3’54"
9. Carlos Sastre (ESP) CSC 3’54"
10. George Hincapie (USA) DSC 4’05"

More to come tomorrow...

Conor Ryan

10-07-2005, 15:01

Team Discovery had a Really Poor Showing for the last stage, one of the key factors why Lance is soo poweful in the Mountain stage is the fact that he has a supporting cast like no other too. If they better start pulling it together or else it may get ugly for Lance.

Ben Lauer

12-07-2005, 11:55

Stage 10: Grenoble to Courchevel** 192.5km
**Stage will start in Brignoud because of planned protests in Grenoble.
This is the first mountain stage of the tour, and there are 2 major climbs in today's stage.....
http://photos21.flickr.com/25438177_2a2da449e9_m.jpg
- There was another early break away today. 7 riders (Posthuma, Brochard, Krivtsov, Bortolami, Isasi, Facci and Sanchez) were leading the peloton by as much as 10'40" at one point in today's stage.
- With about 7km left to go before the first climb's summit, there were multiple attacks from both the lead group and the peloton. The peloton caught the breakaways quickly but it still remembered the seven riders over 5 minutes ahead of them.
- The seven escapee riders crested the summit first and began the immediate descent.
- The young Discovery Channel Rider, Yaroslav Popovych, has crashed. He was cleaned up on his bike by the tour doctor in his white Audi convertible, and recovered quickly.
- As the riders approached the final climb, the peloton tried to reel in the 9 escapees.
- The Discovery Channel stepped it up in the last 25km and made sure that all the escapees were swallowed one by one in to the peloton. Their pace up this climb caused many riders to fall off the back, including the yellow jersey holder Jens Voigt.
- Lance Armstrong, 3 teammates and 13 other elite riders broke a gap with the rest of the peloton with about 14km left to ride.
- As Lance's Group slowly lost riders, he fought to bring back the single remaining escapee, Jorg Jaksche.
- With 7km togo, the group out front included only 4, Armstrong, Valverde, Mancebo and Rasmussen.
- These 4 worked together to stay ahead of the rest of the chasers. The Peloton was over 14 minutes back.
- Lance and Alejandro Valverde took off from the other two for the sprint to the finish
- Valverde wins the stage.

The top 6 in the 10th stage of the 2005 Tour de France is:
1. Alejandro Valverde (Spain) IBA
2. Lance Armstrong (USA) DSC - at same time
3. Mickael Rasmussen (Denmark) RAB at 9"
4. Francisco Mancebo (Spain) IBA at 9"
5. Ivan Basso (Italy) CSC at 1’02"
6. Levi Leipheimer (USA) GST at 1’15"

Top 8 Overall:
1. Lance Armstrong (USA) Discovery Channel 37h11’04"
2. Mickael Rasmussen (Denmark) Rabobank at 38"
3. Ivan Basso (Italy) CSC at 2’40"
4. Christophe Moreau (France) Credit Agricole at 2’42"
5. Alejandro Valverde (Spain) Illes Balears at 3’16"
6. Levi Leipheimer (USA) Gerolsteiner at 3’58"
7. Francisco Mancebo (Spain) Illes Balears at 4’00"
8. Jan Ullrich (Germany) T-Mobile at 4’02"

Jersey Holders:
Yellow: Lance Armstrong
White: Alejandro Valverde

Ben Lauer

13-07-2005, 11:31

Stage 11: Courchevel to Briancon - 173km
http://www.letour.fr/PHOTOS/TDF/2005/1100/POSITION.gif
Highlights:
- With about 95km left in the stage, Lance and his team have dropped all but 43 riders off of the peloton. There were 4 riders ahead of the peloton at this point.
- At the top of the last big climb Lance's groups was down to 19. There were still 2 riders in front of them. (Vinokourov and Botero)
- Vinokourov and Botero stayed ahead of Lance's group and Vinokourov claims an easy victory as he out sprints Botero to the line.
- The 5 Discovery riders in Lance's group try to help him with a sprint for 3rd place, but Christophe Moreau was too fast and Armstrong claims 6th in the stage.

The top 10 in the stage to Briancon today is:
1. Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) TMO -
2. Santiago Botero (Col) PHO - at same time
3. Christophe Moreau (Fra) C.A - at 1’15"
4. Bobby Julich (USA) CSC - at same time
5. Eddy Mazzoleni (Ita) LAM - at same time
6. Lance Armstrong (USA) DSC - at same time
7. Cadel Evans (Aus) DVL - at same time
8. Levi Leipheimer (USA) GST - at same time
9. Mickael Rasmussen (Den) RAB - at same time
10. Georg Totschnig (Aut) GSt - at same time

The top 10 after the 11th stage is:
1. Lance Armstrong (USA) DSC - 1,859km in 41h51’57" (43.902km/h)
2. Mickael Rasmussen (Den) RAB - at 38"
3. Christophe Moreau (Fra) C.A - at 2’34"
4. Ivan Basso (Ita) CSC - at 2’40"
5. Alejandro Valverde (Spa) IBA - at 3’16"
6. Santiago Botero (Col) PHO - at 3’48"
7. Levi Leipheimer (USA) GST - at 3’58"
8. Francisco Mancebo (Spa) IBA - at 4’00"
9. Jan Ullrich (Ger) TMO - at 4’02"
10. Andreas Kloden (Ger) TMO - at 4’16"

Ben Lauer

14-07-2005, 10:50

I am not sure if anyone still reads this, but I will keep it up anyway, just for good times.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Stage 12: Briancon to Digne-les-Bains - 187km
http://www.letour.fr/PHOTOS/TDF/2005/1200/POSITION.gif
- The points leader (sprinter): Tom Boonen did not start today because of injury.
- Today's stage wasn't very eventful as far as the overall rankings go. There were break a ways but most of these included riders that were not in contention for the Yellow jersey.
- There were 13 riders that finished ahead of the peloton, of those riders, the riders with the closest time to Lance was Sandy Cesar at 17'29".
- As you can see from the stage map, there were 5 climbs for points. Michael Rasmussen was the king of the mountain after 11 stages with 160 points, 71 more than his closest competitor, Christophe Moreau.
- David Moncoutie won today's stage, second was another Frenchman Sandy Cesar. This is another deserved victory for the French riders on Bastille Day.

David Moncoutie raced the final 38km of the 12th stage on his own. The Cofidis rider has given France its first victory in the 2005 Tour. The top 10 is:
1. David Moncoutie (France) COF - 187km in 4h20’06" (43.137km/h)
2. Sandy Casar (France) FDJ at 57"
3. Angel Vicioso (Spain) LSW at 57"
4. Patrice Halgand (France) C.A at 57"
5. Jose Luis Arrieta (Spain) IBA at 57"
6. Franco Pellizotti (Italy) LIQ at 57"
7. Axel Merckx (Belgium) DVL at 57"
8. Juan Manuel Garate (Spain) SDV at 57"
9. Thor Hushovd (Norway) C.A at 3’15"
10. Stuart O’Grady (Australia) COF at 3’15"

No significant change to the overall classification.

Andy Baker

14-07-2005, 11:56

I am not sure if anyone still reads this, but I will keep it up anyway, just for good times.

Ben,

Keep writing these, if you don't mind doing it. Your "articles" are better, in my opinion, than the ones I would see in the morning paper. Your are more concise, clearer and provide just the data and insight that is needed. Heck, it's an article written by an (to-be) engineer. Gotta love it.

/me gives rep points to Ben.

Thanks,
Andy

Katie Reynolds

14-07-2005, 12:03

Ben,

Keep writing these, if you don't mind doing it.I second that motion! :)

Cory

14-07-2005, 13:06

I am not sure if anyone still reads this, but I will keep it up anyway, just for good times.

Keep it up man, they're awesome. I try to catch the last 30-45min of each stage on OLN before I go to class, but whenever I don't I know I can come right here and there'll be a sweet writeup of all the interesting points from each day :)

Amanda Morrison

14-07-2005, 13:16

You know... I wasn't really interested in this at all, ever... I probably wouldn't have known it was going on if it weren't for Chief. (Yes, I live in a cave with no television or newspapers.)

I read every update though, because you're very thorough and I'm interested in the event, and who will win. Thanks, Ben. :)

Ben Lauer

14-07-2005, 13:18

Nah, I like doing it for sure.

IMO this is one of the most grueling and traditional sporting events ever.

I'll continue in that case, except for the days of IRI. I'll do it, but it will be late. :)

Andy Baker

14-07-2005, 13:54

I'll continue in that case, except for the days of IRI. I'll do it, but it will be late. :)

Ben,

To initiate you as a new referee at IRI, you will need to give periodic Tour de Lance updates to the crowd, through the microphone. They will love ya for it. Copioli and Green won't make fun of you at all. :)

Andy B.

Ben Lauer

14-07-2005, 14:09

I'll see what i can do....Possibly a Dramatic one man show of the previous days stage?

can anyone say talent show?!! haha.

I guess I'll just have my bike crazed dad call me everytime something big happens...translation: every 2 minutes.

Ben Lauer

15-07-2005, 11:26

It's 11:30, and that means it tour update time:
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Stage 13: Miramas to Montpellier - 173.5km
http://www.letour.fr/PHOTOS/TDF/2005/1300/POSITION.gif
2 Sprints, 1 Climb, Very Sunny, Mostly flat day.

- Five riders established an escape group at the 17km mark. Da Cruz (FDJ) began the move. He was joined by Flecha (FAS), Horner (SDV), Voeckler (BTL) and Turpin (A2R). After only 30 km of being out front, the lead was over 9 minutes.
- At this point the peloton started to pick up the pace and bring this group back home.
- Alejandro Valverde retired from the race due to sickness. He was wearing the white jersey for top young rider.
- When half the stage was remaining the peloton brought the escape groups lead down to 5 minutes.
- The average for the first two hours of racing was 48.1km/h.
- With 17km to go, this long standing escape group was drawing nearer to the peloton, just 38 seconds out.
- As the group was about to be sucked back in, Horner and Chavanel decide it is not their time, and they accelerate. All the rest of the riders are caught, but these two still maintained a 16 second lead.
- With 3km to go, the started getting closer to the peloton, one second at a time. (dramatic eh?)
- 8 seconds out with 1 km to go.
- Chavanel and Horner were caught by the peloton with about 400m to go.
- McEwen has won the sprint to claim his third stage win in the 2005 Tour. He beat out Stuart O'Grady, who seemed like he was wronged in someway on the sprint.

*Note: It may not show in the team rankings, but the Discovery Channel team or "team disco" as it is sometimes called is very strong. Todays stage is the first time since 2000 (I think) that they haven't had all 9 riders start. They lost one yesterday. The team always seems to take charge at the end of the stage, leading for the last half or third and bringing in the escape groups.

The top 10 in the stage from Miramas to Montpellier is:
1. Robbie McEwen (Australia) DVL
2. Stuart O’Grady (Australia) COF
3. Fred Rodriguez (USA) DVL
4. Guido Trentin (USA) QST
5. Thor Hushovd (Norway) C.A
6. Anthony Geslin (France) BTL
7. Robert Forster (Germany) GST
8. Magnus Backstedt (Sweden) LIQ
9. Gianluca Bortolami (Italy) LAM
10. Chris Horner (USA) SDV

No change in the GC.

Ben Lauer

17-07-2005, 10:41

Yeah, I missed Yesterday, so I am just going to list the finishing places and jersey wearers:
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Stage 14: Agde to Ax-3-Domaines - 220.5km
http://www.letour.fr/PHOTOS/TDF/2005/1400/POSITION.gif
2 Sprints, 6 Climbs, Very Sunny.

Georg Totschnig and his Gerolsteiner team have won for the first time at the Tour de France. The top 10 in stage 14 is:
1. Georg Totschnig (Austria) GST 220.5km in 5h43’43" (38.491km/h)
2. Lance Armstrong (USA) DSC - at 56"
3. Ivan Basso (Italy) CSC - at 58"
4. Jan Ullrich (Germany) TMO - at 1’16"
5. Levi Leipheimer (USA) GST - at 1’31"
6. Floyd Landis (USA) GST - at 1’31"
7. Francisco Mancebo (Spain) IBA - at 1’47"
8. Mickael Rasmussen (Denmark) RAB- at 1’47"
9. Andreas Kloden (Germany) TMO - at 2’06"
10. Haimar Zubeldia (Spain) EUS - at 2’20"

After 14 stages in the 2005 Tour de France, the top 10 overall is as follows:
1. Lance Armstrong (USA) DSC - 2,440km in 55h58’17" (43.32km/h)
2. Mickael Rasmussen (Denmark) RAB - at 1’41"
3. Ivan Basso (Italy) CSC - at 2’46"
4. Jan Ullrich (Germany) TMO - at 4’34"
5. Levi Leipheimer (USA) GST - at 4’45"
6. Floyd Landis (USA) PHO - at 5’03"
7. Francisco Mancebo (Spain) IBA - at 5’03"
8. Andreas Kloden (Germany) TMO - at 5’38"
9. Alexandre Vinokourov (Kazakstahn) TMO - at 7’09"
10. Christophe Moreau (France) C.A - at 8’37"

Yellow: Lance Armstrong
Green: Thor Hushovd
Polka-Dot: Mickael Rasmussen
White: Yaroslav Popovych

Ben Lauer

17-07-2005, 16:49

I missed it again. but here are the highlights:
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Stage 15: Lézat-sur-Leze to Saint-Lary-Soulan - 205.5 km
http://www.letour.fr/PHOTOS/TDF/2005/1500/POSITION.gif

- For this first time since 1999, someone on Lance Armstongs team other than Lance has one a stage. George Hincapie could be team Discovery Channel's next big thing.
- There were some big showings by a few strong riders including Lance Armstrong (7th), Ivan Basso (6th), Oscar Sevilla (8th) and Mickael Rasmussen (10th).

The top 10 in the stage from Lezat-sur-Leze to Pla-d’Adet is:
1. George Hincapie (USA) DSC - 205.5km in 6h’06’38" (33.63km/h)
2. Oscar Pereiro Sio (Spain) PHO - at 06"
3. Pietro Caucchioli (Italy) C.A - at 38"
4. Michael Boogerd (Netherlands) RAB - at 57"
5. Laurent Brochard (France) BTL - at 2’19"
6. Ivan Basso (Italy) CSC - at 5’04"
7. Lance Armstrong (USA) DSC - at 5’04"
8. Oscar Sevilla (Spain) TMO - at 6’28"
9. Jan Ullrich (Ger) TMO - at 6’28"
10. Mickael Rasmussen (Denmark) RAB - at 6’32"

After 15 stages of the 2005 Tour de France, the top 10 in the general classification is as follow:
1. Lance Armstrong (USA) DSC - 2,645.5km in 62h09’59" (42.309km/h)
2. Ivan Basso (Italy) CSC - at 2’46"
3. Mickael Rasmussen (Denmark) RAB - at 3’09"
4. Jan Ullrich (Germany) TMO - at 5’58"
5. Francisco Mancebo (Spain) IBA - at 6’31"
6. Levi Leipheimer (USA) GST - at 7’35"
7. Floyd Landis (USA) PHO - at 9’33"
8. Alexandre Vinokourov (Kazakstahn) TMO at 9’38"
9. Christophe Moreau (France) C.A - at 11’47"
10. Andreas Kloden (Germany) TMO - at 12’01"

No change with the jerseys.

Ben Lauer

19-07-2005, 11:18

Stage 16: Mourenx to Pau - 180.5 km
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4 climbs, 2 sprints

- 12 riders finished in groups ahead of Lance today. None of them were any threat to his Yellow Jersey.
- Lance started in a group of less then 10 and it gradually grew to over 30 and then became the new peloton.
- The four riders that lead the stage for large portion include Zandio, Evans, Flecha, Mazzoleni, Serrano, Vasseur, Geslin, Pineau, Gilbert, Ludewig, Pereiro Sio, and Turpin
- Cadel Evans is the rider of the day in my opinion. He is the only one that is a slight threat to Lance in this stage. He was only 12'57" behind before the start of todays stage and held 44th place. After today's stage he has moved up to 9th place. Amazing for this rookie rider.
- Of the 4 riders that won today's stage, none of them have ever won a stage before and 2 of them were rookies.
- Oscar Pereiro Sio won the stage.

Top 10 in the stage:
1. Oscar Pereiro Sio (Spain) PHO - 180.5km in 4h38’40" (38.863km/h)
2. Xabier Zandio (Spain) IBA - at same time
3. Eddy Mazzoleni (Italy) LAM - at same time
4. Cadel Evans (Australia) DVL - at same time
5. Philippe Gilbert (Belgium) FDJ - at 2’52"
6. Anthony Geslin (France) BTL at 2’25"
7. Jorg Ludewig (Germany) DOM at 2’25
8. Juan Antonio Flecha (Spain) FAS at 2’25"
9. Ludovic Turpin (France) A2R at 2’25"
10. Cedric Vasseur (France) COF at 2’25"

Top 10 in the GC:
1. Lance Armstrong (USA) DSC - 2,826km in 66h52’03" (42.034km/h)
2. Ivan Basso (Italy) CSC - at 2’46"
3. Mickael Rasmussen (Denmark) RAB - at 3’09"
4. Jan Ullrich (Germany) TMO - at 5’08"
5. Franciso Mancebo (Spain) IBA - at 6’31"
6. Levi Leipheimer (USA) GST - at 7’35"
7. Cadel Evans (Australia) DVL - at 9’29"
8. Floyd Landis (USA) PHO - at 9’33"
9. Alexandre Vinokourov (Kazakstahn) TMO - at 9’38"
10. Christophe Moreau (France) C.A - at 11’47"

mechanicalbrain

19-07-2005, 11:29

hey its nice to see not just one but THREE american bicyclist on the top 10. you seem to follow this closly but ive done a little endurance bike riding and i know that the distance these guys pull is insane even if it wasnt a race.

Cory

24-07-2005, 05:40

It's not official yet, as there's one stage left, but Lance has won again (It's tradition not to attack the leader on the final stage to Paris, so basically Lance just needs to avoid crashing and taking himself out of the race).

He opened his lead up to 4:40 in the individual time trial in the 20th stage of the race, and his first stage win of the year.

He also collected his 83rd career yellow jersey, second only to Eddy Merckx

Lance will be the only rider ever to win 7 tours, with four of the sport's greatest riders behind him at 5 a piece.

Personally, I think Lance is the greatest athlete of all time. To win 7 Tour de France's alone would be an epic achievement in and of itself, but to do that after being told there were overwhelming odds of him dying from cancer is nothing short of unbelievable.