July 10, 2009
Alberto Contador makes today's front page headlines.
In the week leading up to today’s difficult mountain stage in the Tour de France, there’s been a lot of talk about who team Astana would make its race leader. Today, Alberto Contador earned that spot. The Spaniard shot off the peloton like a pistol in the final climb of the 139-mile race from Barcelona to Andorra. None of the major race contenders could respond to his attack and Lance Armstrong didn’t try, either because he didn’t have the legs or was committed to helping his teammate. We can guess what Armstrong was thinking at that moment. Contador started the day in third place in the overall standings, 19 seconds behind Armstrong. The bold move on the road to Arcalis ski area puts Contador two seconds ahead of Armstrong.
Contador’s performance overshadowed the spectacular race up the road between nine men who escaped the peloton early in the day. Brice Feillu of France won the stage– an amazing feat considering this is his first time in the Tour. Many guys dream of racing in this competition. It’s unheard of that first-timers win stages. At the top of the mountain, Feillu received congratulations from his proud, older brother and teammate Romain, who finished 28 minutes behind him.
Fabian Cancellara, who wore the yellow jersey since the Tour started six days ago, suffered two flat tires and may have tired himself out trying to catch back onto the peloton. Once the main field hit the final climb, Cancellara fell back and finished nine minutes after the stage winner and six minutes after the main race contenders… conceding the maillot jaune.
Moving into the yellow jersey is Italy’s Rinaldo Nocentini– another rider celebrating his first time in the Tour de France. What a day for the cycling history books!
Contador showed he is deserving of the yellow jersey. But it’s too early to say who will win the Tour de France. With more than seven hundred miles covered, there are still two weeks left in the bike race, and anything can happen. The Tour continues tomorrow in the Pyrenees.
-Le Tour Babe
July 9, 2009
My friend Todd playing the God of Thunder.
The rain in Spain took its toll on the train, but Norway’s Thor Hushovd had the strongest legs in a sprint finish to win Stage Six. Today’s 113-mile race from Girona to Barcelona was wet and soggy. Several riders crashed on the slick white lines on the roads. There were a few broken bones for sure.
The most valiant effort of the day was from Garmin Slipstream’s David Millar of Britain, who rode for some 20 miles on his own but was caught by the nervous peloton with less than a mile to the finish.
The hills took their toll on the world’s fastest sprinter Mark Cavendish who finished 16th and just barely holds onto his sprinter’s green jersey over Hushovd.
Switzerland’s Fabian Cancellara will ride again tomorrow in the yellow leader’s jersey as the Tour heads to the Pyrenees. Cancellara is virtually tied with Lance Armstrong in the overall standings. Tomorrow’s stage is one of the toughest and longest in the Tour, with five difficult mountain peaks. It will be an important race for Astana and could set the stage for a battle between Armstrong and his teammate, climbing wonder-boy Alberto Contador. It’s going to be a test of strength as well as a darn cool head-game.
-Le Tour Babe
July 9, 2009
This year’s award for best looking jersey goes to Cervélo. The team looked fashionable in Stage Four wearing its black and white time trial skinsuits with the large é on the shoulder. The bold accent aigu catches the eyé and says, “É, you! Which way to the race, é? É, do you know what time it is?” Cervélo’s uniform has a certain je ne sais quoi.
Garmin Slipstream’s jersey has fashionista potential but needs more argyle on the sleeves. If you’re going to do argyle, no need to be shy. Put more crazy orange and blue triangles all over. When it comes down to it, the yellow leaders jersey is the most important color in the peloton; although, it looks better on rain boots, é?
-Le Tour Babe
July 8, 2009
What’s with Ben Stiller on the podium? And what’s with his hair? The actor appeared on Versus television coverage of the Tour during the Stage Four team time trial and later put the yellow jersey on Tour leader Fabian Cancellara. Stiller looked like he just stepped off the set of Zoolander with that “derelicte” bleached hairdo. Is he trying to look Euro? Pepé le Pew!
-Le Tour Babe
July 8, 2009
Thomas Voeckler wins Stage Five.
Those of us who live at the beach can appreciate the sea breeze, but Tour de France riders were cursing it today in Stage Five– 122 miles along the Mediterranean coast in Southern France. But the strong crosswinds worked in favor for Frenchman Thomas Voeckler, who started a breakaway in the first mile of the race and went on to win the stage. Voeckler had five other riders help him stay away from the peloton during the four and a half hours of racing. In the last three miles, Voeckler took off from his small break for a solo finish, shaking his head as he crossed the finish line in disbelief of his stage victory. You’d think because the Tour is in France that the French would dominate stage wins– but that isn’t so. Today, Voeckler proved otherwise. Trés bien.
-Le Tour Babe
July 7, 2009
With temperatures soaring into the 90s, Tour de France racers are trying to stay cool. The Garmin-Slipstream team has a secret weapon to fight the heat: pantyhose filled with ice. The New York Times says the team’s doc stuffs knee-highs with ice cubes for the riders to put in their jerseys. I’ve got a pair of sexy nylons you Garmin boys can borrow to match your argyle chamois!
-Le Tour Babe
July 7, 2009
Armstrong photographed by Annie Leibovitz.
Lance, Lance, Lance. If you don’t get enough of Lance Armstrong during this year’s Tour, just wait for the movie. Sony Entertainment is documenting the seven-time Tour champion’s comeback to cycling. Probably won’t sell as many tickets as Michael Jackson’s funeral, but they could get a good box office turnout if they shoot Armstrong naked. Ooo la la!
-Le Tour Babe
July 7, 2009
Showing he is worthy of a Tour comeback, Lance Armstrong is moving his way up the chart toward the yellow leader’s jersey. After today’s team time trial, Armstrong is in second place just a fraction of a second behind Fabian Cancellara. Armstrong’s team Astana won the 24-mile race in 46-minutes, 29-seconds. The course was technical; more than a dozen cyclists fell on the narrow roads through Montpellier, including Russia’s Tour contender Denis Menchov who won the Giro d’Italia in May. Isn’t there a saying, “when champions fall?” By the end of Stage Four, the Kazak-sponsored team Astana has six of its nine Tour racers in the top 11 spots in the GC (General Classification). Alberto Contador, Armstrong’s teammate and possibly fiercest competitor, is in third place.
Helmet Head
Now, you may be asking, what’s with the Flash Gordon helmets? Yes, they are true geek-wear but also aerodynamic, so they help the cyclists ride faster. Teams spend lots of money designing flashy gear like this to win races. You won’t find one on America’s Top Model. Or maybe?
What’s a Time Trial?
My friends pretending to be in a paceline.
The time trial is a race against the clock. There are two individual time trials and one team time trial in this year’s Tour. In today’s stage, all nine members of the team start together and go as fast as they can by rotating turns at the front of their paceline, so their teammates can draft out of the wind behind them. Several minutes pass before the next team starts. This continues until all 20 teams have left the start gate. At least five of the team’s nine riders must complete the race in order for the team’s time to count, and the timeclock is stopped when the fifth rider’s wheel crosses the finish line.
-Le Tour Babe
July 7, 2009
Jason Sumner and Ron Kiefel commentate the Tour for VeloNews.
Where are you watching the Tour? If you can’t afford a ticket to France, catch live race coverage on Versus TV and watch recaps online at VeloCenter– this year’s new amped-up Tour coverage from VeloNews.com. Jason Sumner is the Gen-X version of Phil Liggett (the Tour’s most famous long-time commentator). Sumner even looks like a younger version of Liggett minus the British accent. Sumner’s sidekick is Ron Kiefel, who raced in the Tour for 7-Eleven back in the 80s. Kiefel is as round as Bob Roll but lacks the vocal character. Neal Rogers reports from the field with Andy Hood, who is more comfortable reporting with computer than a microphone. But they’re just warming up, so I’d give ‘em a few more stages and their race coverage could be even better than Versus. Look out Craig Hummer!
-Le Tour Babe
