Sir Lance A Lot
Lance Armstrong says he will return to the Tour de France next year. Details to come Thursday after the individual time trial. Stay tuned!
-Le Tour Babe
July 22, 2009
Armstrong to Return in 2010?
July 22, 2009
Saxo Attacks + Astana Errors = Saxo Advantage
Frank Schleck Wins, Bro Andy Moves Up, Armstrong Moves Down
Frank Schleck wins (right), Andy Schleck (center), Alberto Contador (left)
In the final days of the Tour de France, the race is down to a battle between teams Saxo-Bank and Astana. Saxo’s Frank Schleck won stage 17 called the “queen of stages” because of its extreme difficulty through the Alps. The 103-mile race passed over five large mountaintops but the real trouble started on the penultimate climb where Schleck and his brother Andy attacked the main contenders. Only Alberto Contador in the yellow jersey and his Astana teammate Andrés Klöden were able to stick with the Schlecks.
Astana Mistake One
On the Col de Romme, Lance Armstrong covered repeated attacks from Frank Schleck, but Armstrong’s head was down when Schleck attacked one last time and Armstrong lost the ability to react apparently because of a leg cramp. That was a pivotal moment for Armstrong, a move (or lack of one) that cost him his number two spot in the overall standings.
So, the foursome of Saxo-Bank’s Andy and Frank Schleck and Astana’s Contador and Klöden painfully pushed up the last climb– the steep Col de la Colombiére.
Astana Mistake Two
Then Contador eff’d up. He attacked when the Schleck brothers were right on his wheel and his teammate Klöden was at the rear. Klöden faded back (probably wondering, what the hell?) before the top of the climb but the Schleck brothers had no trouble sticking to Contador. Now Contador was without a teammate to help him in the final descent. “Getting lots of question why AC attacked and dropped Klöden. I still haven’t figured it out either,” Armstrong twittered.
General Standings Shake-up
The Astana mistakes dropped Klöden and Armstrong down in the overall standings and moved the Schleck brothers up in the rankings and more threatening to Contador’s yellow jersey. I bet the chairs will be far apart at Astana’s dinner table tonight.
-Le Tour Babe
July 22, 2009
Armstrong’s Boss to Quit?
Lance Armstrong’s team director is going to leave Astana at the end of this year’s Tour de France. So says the French news service AFP. Johan Bruyneel on the unemployment line? No. Apparently he and Armstrong will start a new team. Maybe they’ll call it Headstrong?
-Le Tour Babe
July 21, 2009
The Domestique
Domestique: The rider who works for the rest of the team.
-Le Tour Babe
July 21, 2009
Tour de France Stage 16: The Armstrong We Remember
Mikel Astraloza wins Stage 16.
It was a dog-eat-dog battle over the two Saint-Bernard mountains in Stage 16 of the Tour de France. Spain’s Mikel Astarloza broke away with a small group early in the 100-mile race to Bourg-Saint-Maurice and won it.
On the second climb, team Saxo-Bank picked up speed and the peloton shred like a cat-clawed armchair. Saxo brothers Andy and Frank Schleck attacked. Alberto Contador in the yellow jersey and Britain’s Bradley Wiggins responded without hesitation. 
Lance Armstrong dropped back for several minutes, looking like an abandoned puppy, as several of the main contenders rode away. But the cancer survivor in Armstrong knows how to fight pain. In an amazing surge of strength, Armstrong waited until the steepest part of the climb and brought himself back up to the big boys. The group stayed together on the desent and finished one minute behind Astraloza. Contador remains in first place overall followed by Armstrong, Wiggins, Andres Kloden and Andy Schleck.
Jens Voigt crashes in Stage 16.
The steep zigzag descent was disastrous for Saxo’s senior rider Jens Voigt, who crashed riding some 45 miles-per-hour. Voigt hit the pavement with his face and was taken to the hospital. Now, Saxo and its closest rival Astana have lost two instrumental riders. (Astana’s Levi Leipheimer dropped out with a broken wrist last week.)
Tomorrow is another painful day in the Alps. Painful for the racers, but oh, so pleasant for the fans.
-Le Tour Babe
July 21, 2009
Tour de France Week Two Recap
The Tour de France is two-thirds of the way through. Fifteen stages and 1600 miles are behind us. Six more days, 545 miles to go, including one more individual time trial and three days in the Alps. By the end of the second week, the race took on a new dimension.
Tough nuts: Lance Armstrong learns any chances of an eighth Tour championship are over.
Mon ami Paul plays Contador winning stage 15.
Tough legs: Armstrong’s Astana teammate Alberto Contador wins stage 15 and takes over the yellow jersey.
Mon ami Hardy as Hincapie.
Tough luck: America’s sweetheart George Hincapie misses getting yellow by five seconds in stage 14.
Mon ami Robert as a disappointed Leipheimer.
Tough break: Levi Leipheimer drops out of the Tour after breaking his right wrist.
Mon ami Chad as Nocentini after he relinquishes yellow jersey.
Italy’s Rinaldo Nocentini wears the yellow jersey for eight days.
Mon ami Brent playing the part of Wiggins.
Luxembourg’s Andy Schleck wears the young rider’s white jersey.
Britain’s Bradley Wiggins takes over Garmin-Slipstream team leadership from Christian Vande Velde and could be on the podium in Paris.
Defending Tour Champion Carlos Sastre is wearing 001 number on his back but is no where near #1 this year.
Mon ami Randy as Thor "God of Thunder."
Belgium’s Thor Hushovd has only two more flat stages to keep the green sprinter’s jersey away from Britain’s Mark Cavendish.
Race commentators Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin are still the best in the biz, but VeloNews’ Jason Sumner has a promising future in Tour de France journalism.
-Le Tour Babe
July 20, 2009
Armstrong in Hi Def
I didn’t realize how really good looking some Tour de France riders are until I watched it on my friend’s high definition television. Wow… now I can see those bulging calves and blue eyes just like I was standing on the roadside. I wonder if I can put my life in HD?
Lance Armstrong on HD-TV.
The Tour de France on my klunker 13".
-Le Tour Babe
July 19, 2009
Contador takes over yellow in the Swiss Alps
Spain’s Alberto Contador won today’s tough stage 15 in the Tour de France that ended in the mountains of Verbier, Switzerland. At the bottom of the final climb, Contador pulled away from the main contenders and finished more than a minute ahead of the next rider Luxembourg’s Andy Schleck. Contador moves into the yellow leader’s jersey. Lance Armstrong finished in ninth, not having the legs to respond to accelerations of even Spain’s Carlos Sastre and Australia’s Cadel Evans, who Armstrong has surpassed in the mountains before. Armstrong tipped his hat to Contador. “He showed he is the best climber in the Tour,” said a teary-eyed Armstrong, who conceded there will be no tour championship for himself this time. That was a tough moment.
During his podium appearance, Contador punched his arms up and clinched his teeth as if to say, “I’ve shown you all now that I am the team leader, so there!” The kid’s got moxie.
Team Astana has plenty to celebrate: Contador is now in yellow, Armstrong is in second place overall and the team takes first in overall team standings.
An amazing performance from Britain’s Bradley Wiggins of Team Garmin-Slipstream, who now sits in third place overall.
Finally, a stage ending that got my heart racing!
-Le Tour Babe
July 19, 2009
Podium Poser
Here’s what happens when a nutty fan pretends to be a Tour de France racer, according to Cyclingnews.com.
July 18, 2009
Hincapie goes “Waah, Waah, all the way home.”
Mon ami Paul playing the part of "Big George" Hincapie.
George Hincapie, America’s handsome sweetheart and long-time Tour de France veteran, missed getting the yellow leader’s jersey by five seconds in the mostly flat Stage 14. Afterward, he pouted like a French supermodel that no one in his 12-man break helped him accomplish his days’ goal. None of the other riders were interested, and rightly so. As much as we love you “Big George,” why should your competitors help you better your overall standings? All those guys hoped for was a stage win. And it was a well-deserved win for the Russian Serguei Ivanov who took off from the break with eight miles to go and soloed in for the stage victory. It was the first stage win for the struggling Russian Team Katusha, which may have just nailed another year on its sponsorship contract.
-Le Tour Babe
