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Hello phellow Tour De France fans. Today, July 3rd begins the 23 days of the most difficult race on the planet. This thread will hopefully stay bustling with the happenings of the 91st running of this race.I am an avid cyclist both mountain and road, and hope to be able to update everyone of the happenings each day for those who do not get a chance to watch.

*OLN is the official broadcaster for the Tour this year. The leeches at CBS get to air the final stage down through the Champs Elysse to Paris.



Bicycling.com also is providing expanded coverage for the web.

Ok guys this will be the year to watch, Lance Armstrong will win this race. It will be 6 in a row, which has never been done before. This will be an exciting year indeed. 1999, 2000, 2001,2002, 2003 soon to come 2004!
Check out www.wearyellow.com to learn how to support the Lance Armstrong Foundation for Cancer Research.

Where's ETP??
She loves the Tour and Lance

Chicago Sun Times has an article (from AP) speculating that the organizers have set this year's route specifically to try to foil Armstrong's attempt at his 6th straight.

Wouldn't it be wonderful to see him win despite all their attempts to stop him!

I just know it's Lance's year. OLN does such an excellent job with coverage. I wish they covered the NY Marathon instead of ABC.

OK people, my first official report.
The prologue began today in Liege, Belgium. Great performances from all of the 188 rider field on this 6.1 k (3.8mi) Time Trial. The top spot was taken by the young swiss rider Fabian Cancellara with a time of 6:50.94.
In 2nd spot would be our favorite 5 time tour winner Lance Armstrong, with a time of 6:52.58. Keeping tabs on a few of Armstrong's adversaries this year, the German Jan Ulrich finished 16th with a 7:07.41 and not too far ahead of former CSC team rider Tyler Hamilton of the US with a 7:08.09. A rather dissapointing 36th placing for the famed Italian sprinter, Mario Cipollini, crossing the line with a 7:13.88 in his half cut off speed suit which struck a sore spot with the judges just before his race. Nothing spectacular today, which is not uncommon for the Prologue, being a bit conservative for most is the name of the game.
Tomorrows Stage 1 race will take place from Liege to Charleroi which is a total distance of 202.5 KM. A few 4% grades will face the riders, but nothing too drastic. It will be a good day for the sprinters, who love to get on it in the first stage, with also some good team cooperation amongst the ranks. (Geez I should be a sports writer)

Date: July 04

Distance: 121.1mi/195km


Type of Stage: Road, rolling hills

Principal Difficulties: Tricky cobblestone roads and the smaller, steeper climbs endemic to the spring classics like Liege-Bastogne-Liege or Fleche Wallonne.

What to Watch For: Traditionally, the first road stage is a sprinter's delight, but the parcours in the Walloon region of Belgium is quite hilly, following some of the course of L-B-L before heading west to Charleroi. A nervous field will certainly spring a breakaway, probably one well-represented by most teams.

Likely Protagonists: A good day for the rouleurs, guys who can punch it through crosswinds and the heavy rollers of Belgium. CSC's Kurt Asle Arveson or Jakob Piil could play a role. Although it's Independence Day in the U.S., the Americans in the field are either heavy favorites or working for them. American Bobby Julich, also of CSC, is a possible hope here.

How this Stage Affects the Race: Likely not at all; unlike last year's devastating crash in the sprint finale of the first stage, the day's ride has enough hills that a break will probably stay away as the sprinters hide in the bunch and wait for the flatter stages of Northern France. That said, there probably will be a group finish, including most if not all of the favorites.

Local Flavor: Revisiting the classics theme, Charleroi is well-known to most of these races, as it's on the Fleche Wallonne route.

Go Lance and don't forget www.wearyellow.com

I thought Lance looked great today. Was that the new bike?

I was happy for Cancellara . . . and happy that Lance looked in great form.

Oh, and I just ordered 10 yellow "LIVE STRONG" wristbands. Notice that Roll was wearing one during the coverage?

I love OLN and their website. The Tour's site is good, too.

I don not believe that was the new bike, I have seen the new bike on the web and in Bicycling magazine and that just did not look like it. They may debut it in the next time trial. I did notice Bob wearing his LiveStrong band, he was wering it a couple of days ago in a tour preview as well. I ordered a 10 pack last week, good product. Just can't wait to see how Lance and USPS do tomorrow, should be a good race.

I didn't think it looked like "the bike," either...or at least not the one I've seen on TLC.

The Posties rode well today. Just watched a rerun. Lance looks sooo ready. Screw the book and it's authors. Even mild-mannered Phil Leggett seemed to have his feathers ruffled a bit it . . . didn't he refer to it as the "badly written" book or something like that?

This month's Wired magazine had an interesting piece on Lance and some of the technology incorporated into his bike and equipment...

EDIT: Here... http://www.wired.com/wired/

Looks like if you check back on July 6 you can see it too...

GO LANCE!!!!!

Brad McGee from Aussie came in 4th

creeky wrote:Brad McGee from Aussie came in 4th

And he looked really strong, too. He's such a good sprinter. I hated that Matt White went down in practice. It's going to be a tour to remember, for sure.

Well today's Stage was a wet one. From the drizzle this morning causing wet and slick riding conditions. During the first half of the stage the mood was quite conservative and cautious due to the conditions. Until about the 30km mark where a small group of 6 sprinters decided to try and break away from the Peloton. The breakaway did not last long, as they were reeled in by the main group about 15km later.Traditionally Stage 1 is a day for sprinters to really push hard and fight for those early time bonuses. Due to the conditions there were numerous accidents, none severe nor large, mainly individual riders and most were too far back to receive television coverage.
Coming down towards the last 10km of the stage, multiple groups attacked and began to make their expected breakaway into town, not oo far ahead of the main group though.. With about 4km to go Marc Wauters of the Rabobank team,along with Jakob Piil of Team CSC are leading their own little expedition, but the Peloton is closing in on them fast. Just seconds later the AG2R team begins to swallow up the attempt of Wauters and Piil as the sprinters began to battle for their setup and initial positions for the final sprint to the finish. Team Fassa Bortolo pulls up to lead and help their star Alessandro Petacchi and GC leader Fabian Cancellara into the sprint, but riding right on their heels, ready to pounce, is some of those well known sprinters. Eric Zabel, Thor Hushovd and Danilo Hondo all ready to get on the pedals coming into the last 1/2km. The sprint begins and the heat is on, Petacchi, Zabel fighting for the front spot, but from out of the fog comes Robby Mcewen and Jann Kirispuu fighting for the win at the line. At fist as they cross it looked like Mcewen, but after looking at the replay it is AG2R rider Jaan Kirispuu who squeeks out the win.
Unfortunately many superb riders did not perform too well today. One of the top sprinters in the Tour, such as Mario Cipollini, who did not really perform up to expectations placing 38th and Iban Mayo just ahead of Cipollini in 34th. Another dissapointment was Australian rider Brad McGee, (Sorry Creeky) after a great ride in the Prologue yesterday, it was a bit off having him come in quite a ways behind the Peloton.
The Armstrong Update: Today was not a key stage for Lance, just kind of feeling out he other riders, receiving support from his USPS team and playing it safe in the slick conditions. He however is 3rd in the GC and behind 8 seconds, not even a slight problem for Armstrong and Team USPS.

Charleroi-Namur

Date: July 05

Distance: 121.1mi/195km


Type of stage: Road, rolling hills

Principal difficulties: Another hilly day in the Ardennes; the finish, in the cobbled streets of this ancient town renowned for its hilltop castle, could be exciting.

What to Watch For: Another breakaway attempt. A near carbon-copy of stage one, the terrain will be broken and hilly, with winding roads that favor small groups once they can get far enough ahead that they're out of sight of the main field.

Principal Protagonists: Although Fassa Bortolo is built around sprinter Alessandro Petacchi, this is a perfect stage for Luxembourger Kim Kirchen, a former winner of the Grand Prix de Wallonnie, which finishes atop the castle road.

How this Stage Affects the Race: Again, likely not at all. The roads here have fewer roundabouts than France or northern Belgium, although the finish could be a bit tricky. Watch for the yellow jersey to change hands at least once during these early stages as the time gaps from breakaway groups to the main pack will be enough to unseat early leaders who miss a move.

Local Flavor: Namur's hilltop citadel is now a four-star hotel. The ancient walls and parapets recall the area's geographical significance on the banks of the river Namur.


www.wearyellow.com

I so want to stay home (sick - - cough - - cough) the day of the TTT. USPS is going to blow everyone's legs off. They looked so strong yesterday and again today.

Ride, Posties, Ride.

Great discussion Lastplane! You really should be a sports writer!

The 20th Annual Tour de Paris will be held on July 17th and we broadcast OLN's coverage of the other Tour . . .

BTW, Lance's Grandparents live here and I got to meet Lance when he was a kid visiting them.

Just like Lance, I am in France.
I will completely miss the Tour as we travel, but on July 23 it goes right through our old village, just before climiibing the Col de la Faucille.
Vive le Tour
Vive la Fraancee
Vive Lance

The strength and stamina of these riders always amazes me. 100+ miles per day, through the mountains.

They do know that cars and MOTORcycles have been invented correct?

land_shark3 wrote:The strength and stamina of these riders always amazes me. 100+ miles per day, through the mountains.

They do know that cars and MOTORcycles have been invented correct?

I can't even imagine the amount of pain and suffering they CHOOSE to go through every day . . . and not just during the tour. They have to train almost all year round to be ready for 25 days of that kind of brutality.

East Texas Parrothead wrote:I can't even imagine the amount of pain and suffering they CHOOSE to go through every day . . . and not just during the tour. They have to train almost all year round to be ready for 25 days of that kind of brutality.

I'm sure its similar to my training regiment. I mean I train my liver and head all year round for just a few Buffett shows.

Actually, the other day I was wondering about the Tour. I wonder if I could complete ONE stage in the time it takes Lance to do the tour? Probably not.

land_shark3 wrote:

East Texas Parrothead wrote:I can't even imagine the amount of pain and suffering they CHOOSE to go through every day . . . and not just during the tour. They have to train almost all year round to be ready for 25 days of that kind of brutality.

I'm sure its similar to my training regiment. I mean I train my liver and head all year round for just a few Buffett shows.

Actually, the other day I was wondering about the Tour. I wonder if I could complete ONE stage in the time it takes Lance to do the tour? Probably not.

I've often thought the same thing. For real.