Fabulous in Yellow
Sprinter stage yawn... no way, it's le Tour.
Neutral roll-out, early break, and a catch for the sprint finish. Done. not quite keep reading.
I absolutely love the break, most of the time it is guys you have never heard of getting out there to get a little TV time for the people who pay their rent. Sometimes you get a Ryder, a Chavanel in there and they do something magical. It is that chance, that ever so small percentage that is the thrill. To paraphrase Jens, they do it because if they don't then there is no chance. Plus if you really kick @$s you get to wear the RED ANGRY number the next day, which lets everyone know that you are not afraid to lay it down.
Sprinters caught the break with about 15-20k to go, big surprise there. The peloton could see the break up the road the whole day. Imagine looking over your shoulder for 145k and seeing the peloton just 2:00min back. That takes brass ones. The run it to the finish was so crazy fast, and no one crashed. HTC did their thing, Cervelo put some bodies up there and every other sprinter had at least one teammate with them.
Failure to launch, what happened to Cavo? Get over it, it is bike racing at it's best. You are only as good as your last race. Cavo, pick up your imaginary phone and dial up the Mannix Missile from 2009, because time travel is possible. Case in point: Alessandro Petacchi. Ali Jet went back in time and got his legs from 2003 (4 stage wins). Yeah, we all thought Stage 1 was a fluke, crash filled, no contenders, we will give the "old guy" a W. Enter Stage 4 with "all the heads of state" sprinting, and Petacchi did not steal one this time, HE OWNED IT!!!! Robbie "love or hate him" McEwen was on Petacchi's wheel and got wasted in the Jet wash, said "just didn't have the legs to come around". Right, you didn't have the legs, because they were RIPPED off 10meters from the finish. Thor? It's different when you are not sprinting Andy.
Not a Trivia question: Can anyone explain how 1k from the finish Garmin has no one in the same area code as the sprint, but they manage to get Dean and Hunter 2nd and 5th? They weren't even working together, they were on opposite sides of the bunch. Move Up, Work Together.
New face to check out, if you have not heard of him: Brent Bookwalter of BMC. He was with BMC before they got Evans and Hincappie. Give him a look.
Trivia Question: Is Footon-Servetto the worst looking kit in the Pro Peloton?
Yes. The Footon kit is the worst. Ag2r is a close second. The lesson here? Brown and cycling kit do not go together. On any level..
ReplyDeleteWell brown shorts may be a good idea if you have a GI bug and have to ride again the next day. Maybe Footon had a plan all along... new team.... new pros... first time in the Tour. That would scar the poo ought of me as well. We're making fun of the kit, but we'd be poking more fun of white shorts with brown stains.
ReplyDeleteI think these kits are ugly, ugly, ugly... a close second 80's vintage Carrera kits... back in the day those italians looked silly in there denim look lycra shorts.... they even had faux jean pockets on the bum. Matched with those big ass oakley glasses that looked like goggles.
They were quite a sight.
mbeal