MILLAR!!!-prologue........

Steven L. Sheff

On 7/5/03 11:15 AM, in article be713e$dnl$1@news7.svr.pol.co.uk, "DaveG" <DaveG@Yah_Boo.com> wrote:

> Ahhh,F***!(chain slipped apparently) Lance is off the pace(purposely??) McGhee wins yellow in the
> Prologue.

Great rides by Jan Ullrich and Tyler Hamilton as well ... Both of whom came to the line ahead of
Armstrong.

Unofficial

1 - 096 MC GEE (AUS, FDJ) 00:07:26.160 2 - 061 MILLAR (GBR, COF) 00:07:26.240 at 00" 3 - 179
ZUBELDIA (ESP, EUS) 00:07:28.252 at 02" 4 - 131 ULLRICH (GER, TBI) 00:07:28.266 at 02" 5 - 008 PENA
(COL, USP) 00:07:32.240 at 06" 6 - 071 HAMILTON Tyler (USA, CSC) 00:07:32.430 at 06" 7 - 001
ARMSTRONG Lance (USA, USP) 00:07:33.550 at 07" 8 - 011 BELOKI Joseba (ESP, ONE) 00:07:35.330 at 09"
9 - 021 BOTERO Santiago (COL, TEL) 00:07:35.400 at 09" 10 - 004 EKIMOV Vjatceslav (RUS, USP)
00:07:37.020 at 10" 11 - 196 RICH Michael (GER, GST) 00:07:37.060 at 10" 12 - 041 LEIPHEIMER Levi
(USA, RAB) 00:07:37.860 at 11" 13 - 005 HINCAPIE George (USA, USP) 00:07:37.880 at 11"

Mathias De Beld

DaveG <DaveG@yah_boo.com> wrote:
> Ahhh,F***!(chain slipped apparently)

On France 2 they showed Brad McGee's bike, and apparently, he was riding with a flat rear tire for
the last 600 meters...

--
Mathias De Belder

Robert Chung

"DaveG" <DaveG@Yah_Boo.com> wrote in message news:be713e$dnl$1@news7.svr.pol.co.uk...
> Ahhh,F***!(chain slipped apparently) Lance is off the pace(purposely??) McGhee wins yellow in the
> Prologue.

I happened to be standing at the 700m to go mark and Miller's chain came off right in front of me. I
had been keeping track of the time splits and Miller passed me 7 seconds ahead of McGee's time.

Daveg

"Robert Chung" <invalid@nospam.com> wrote in message news:3f0714d1$0$12470$626a54ce@news.free.fr...
>
> "DaveG" <DaveG@Yah_Boo.com> wrote in message news:be713e$dnl$1@news7.svr.pol.co.uk...
> > Ahhh,F***!(chain slipped apparently) Lance is off the pace(purposely??) McGhee wins yellow in
> > the Prologue.
>
> I happened to be standing at the 700m to go mark and Miller's chain
came off
> right in front of me. I had been keeping track of the time splits
and Miller
> passed me 7 seconds ahead of McGee's time.
>

FFS! I did not want to hear that but thanks,Millar will be gutted but fair play to McGhee,a great
ride by the sound of it,what with the alleged flat tyre. The fun begins!!

--
ATB-DaveG

Daveg

"Steven L. Sheffield" <stevens@veloworks.com> wrote in message
news:BB2C668D.346C%stevens@veloworks.com...
> On 7/5/03 11:15 AM, in article be713e$dnl$1@news7.svr.pol.co.uk,
"DaveG"
> <DaveG@Yah_Boo.com> wrote:
>
> > Ahhh,F***!(chain slipped apparently) Lance is off the pace(purposely??) McGhee wins yellow in
> > the Prologue.
>
>
> Great rides by Jan Ullrich and Tyler Hamilton as well ... Both of
whom came to the line ahead of Armstrong.
>

Lance was 13 seconds down on McGhee at the halfway stage(IIRC) according to Eurosport! How times
have changed,4 of the top 13 finsihers are US cyclists.

--
ATB-DaveG

> Unofficial
>
> 1 - 096 MC GEE (AUS, FDJ) 00:07:26.160 2 - 061 MILLAR (GBR, COF) 00:07:26.240 at 00" 3 - 179
> ZUBELDIA (ESP, EUS) 00:07:28.252 at 02" 4 - 131 ULLRICH (GER, TBI) 00:07:28.266 at 02" 5 - 008
> PENA (COL, USP) 00:07:32.240 at 06" 6 - 071 HAMILTON Tyler (USA, CSC) 00:07:32.430 at 06" 7 - 001
> ARMSTRONG Lance (USA, USP) 00:07:33.550 at 07" 8 - 011 BELOKI Joseba (ESP, ONE) 00:07:35.330 at
> 09" 9 - 021 BOTERO Santiago (COL, TEL) 00:07:35.400 at 09" 10 - 004 EKIMOV Vjatceslav (RUS, USP)
> 00:07:37.020 at 10" 11 - 196 RICH Michael (GER, GST) 00:07:37.060 at 10" 12 - 041 LEIPHEIMER Levi
> (USA, RAB) 00:07:37.860 at 11" 13 - 005 HINCAPIE George (USA, USP) 00:07:37.880 at 11"

Nick Burns

No kidding? Now I don't feel as bad for Millar since the guy that beat him overcame a mechanical
problem as well. Those guys can really light 'em up.

"Mathias De Belder" <Mathias.DeBelder@advalvas.be> wrote in message
news:be722q$1ubjl$1@ID-153762.news.dfncis.de...
> DaveG <DaveG@yah_boo.com> wrote:
> > Ahhh,F***!(chain slipped apparently)
>
> On France 2 they showed Brad McGee's bike, and apparently, he was riding with a flat rear tire for
> the last 600 meters...
>
> --
> Mathias De Belder

Jean-Yves Hervé

In article <be76mc$1uo$1@news6.svr.pol.co.uk>, "DaveG" <DaveG@Yah_Boo.com> wrote:

> Lance was 13 seconds down on McGhee at the halfway stage(IIRC) according to Eurosport!

He was 9" down on Millar 4" down on McGhee and Ullrich

At the end he is

7" on McGhee and Millar 5" down on Ullrich

> How times have changed,4 of the top 13 finsihers are US cyclists.

For me the number that screams "how times have changed" is the number of Belgians in the TdF this
year: 8 only!

Now, who were the biggest flops in this Prologue? I would say

135 Christophe Moreau @ 37"
71 Alexandre Vinokourov @ 25"
64 Aitor Gonzalez @ 23"
172 Axel Merckx @ 43"
41 Iban Mayo @ 19"

jyh.

--
=====================================================================
jean-yves herve' /\ Department of Computer Science \/ e-mail --> jyh@cs.uri.edu and Statistics /\
University of Rhode Island \/ Tel. --> (401) 874-4400 Kingston, RI 02881-0816 /\ Fax. --> (401)
874-4617 USA \/
=====================================================================

Robert Chung

"jean-yves hervé" <jyh@cs.uri.edu> wrote in message
news:jyh-9CEEB8.15354005072003@clamcake.uri.edu...
> In article <be76mc$1uo$1@news6.svr.pol.co.uk>, "DaveG" <DaveG@Yah_Boo.com> wrote:
>
> > Lance was 13 seconds down on McGhee at the halfway stage(IIRC) according to Eurosport!
>
> He was 9" down on Millar 4" down on McGhee and Ullrich
>
> At the end he is
>
> 7" on McGhee and Millar 5" down on Ullrich

If Millar hadn't had the chain problem, LANCE would've finished 14 seconds down.

Moreau's time was a shock.

Wayne Pein

Robert Chung wrote:

> "DaveG" <DaveG@Yah_Boo.com> wrote in message news:be713e$dnl$1@news7.svr.pol.co.uk...
> > Ahhh,F***!(chain slipped apparently) Lance is off the pace(purposely??) McGhee wins yellow in
> > the Prologue.
>
> I happened to be standing at the 700m to go mark and Miller's chain came off right in front of me.
> I had been keeping track of the time splits and Miller passed me 7 seconds ahead of McGee's time.

Did it come off due to bouncing from cobbles? I'd be surprised if he was shifting between rings. I
didn't think that was necessary.

Wayne

Mathias De Beld

Wayne Pein <wpein@nc.rr.com> wrote:
> Did it come off due to bouncing from cobbles? I'd be surprised if he was shifting between rings. I
> didn't think that was necessary.

French television interviewed him after his prologue, and between all the puffs and gasps for air
and all his disappointment, he murmured something in French about it happening quite regularly that
the chain would drop off the outer plate. "It's a problem with our plateaux." he kept repeating.

The commentators speculated that yes, it was probably because of the cobbles. Then again, I haven't
seen a similar problem for any other rider, so he might just have been very unlucky today...

--
Mathias De Belder

Robert Chung

"Wayne Pein" <wpein@nc.rr.com> wrote in message news:3F073799.534CF647@nc.rr.com...
> Robert Chung wrote:
>
> > "DaveG" <DaveG@Yah_Boo.com> wrote in message news:be713e$dnl$1@news7.svr.pol.co.uk...
> > > Ahhh,F***!(chain slipped apparently) Lance is off the pace(purposely??) McGhee wins yellow in
> > > the Prologue.
> >
> > I happened to be standing at the 700m to go mark and Miller's chain came
off
> > right in front of me. I had been keeping track of the time splits and
Miller
> > passed me 7 seconds ahead of McGee's time.
>
> Did it come off due to bouncing from cobbles? I'd be surprised if he was shifting between rings. I
> didn't think that was necessary.

The road was smooth, and had been for almost 2km. He'd just made a 45 degree left hand turn and was
accelerating when he held up his hand and pointed to his chain. I could see it was slack, then he
passed from my view.

Most of the cobbles were in the first 500 meters and then along the right bank of the Seine up to
the Pont de la Concorde. The last half of the course was really quite smooth. That said, at the
right hand turn just after the Pont one of the team cars lost a time trial bike from its roof rack.
Ouch. I don't think it was a cheap bike.

Msa

"Mathias De Belder" <Mathias.DeBelder@advalvas.be> wrote in message
news:be7dpm$203q5$1@ID-153762.news.dfncis.de...
> Wayne Pein <wpein@nc.rr.com> wrote:
> > Did it come off due to bouncing from cobbles? I'd be surprised if he was shifting between rings.
> > I didn't think that was necessary.
>
> French television interviewed him after his prologue, and between all the puffs and gasps for air
> and all his disappointment, he murmured something in French about it happening quite regularly
> that the chain would drop off the outer plate. "It's a problem with our plateaux." he kept
> repeating.
>
> The commentators speculated that yes, it was probably because of the cobbles. Then again, I
> haven't seen a similar problem for any other rider, so he might just have been very unlucky
> today...
>
> --
> Mathias De Belder
>

I could only see one shifter on the aero's...only one front ring?

--
Mark

"Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak"

Jeff Jones

"Mathias De Belder" <Mathias.DeBelder@advalvas.be> wrote in message
news:be7dpm$203q5$1@ID-153762.news.dfncis.de...
> Wayne Pein <wpein@nc.rr.com> wrote:
> > Did it come off due to bouncing from cobbles? I'd be surprised if he was shifting between rings.
> > I didn't think that was necessary.
>
> French television interviewed him after his prologue, and between all the puffs and gasps for air
> and all his disappointment, he murmured something in French about it happening quite regularly
> that the chain would drop off the outer plate. "It's a problem with our plateaux." he kept
> repeating.
>
> The commentators speculated that yes, it was probably because of the cobbles. Then again, I
> haven't seen a similar problem for any other rider, so he might just have been very unlucky
> today...

Happens to my chain on cobbles (slips into small ring), but I don't look after my bike nearly
as well as I should. Dunno what causes it - crappy gear cable? The front derailleur
adjustment seems ok.

But even though an Aussie with a flat tyre won, I do feel sorry for Millar who I think was worse off
than mcgee in terms of mechanicals.

cheers, Jeff

Msemlf

"DaveG" <DaveG@Yah_Boo.com> wrote in message news:<be713e$dnl$1@news7.svr.pol.co.uk>...
> Ahhh,F***!(chain slipped apparently)

From the brief snippit on OLN, it looked as if the chain came off on the outside (based on my
perception of Millar's hand position when placing it back on). This could be due to excessive BB
flex, or worn chainwheel teeth - this seems plausible given Mr. Chung's description of events
(accelerating out of corner).

MSEMLF

Kyle Legate

DaveG wrote:
> Lance is off the pace(purposely??)
>
No, not purposely. Why is it that when Lance doesn't win, you people think he lost on purpose?

Erik Bonser

Personally i think David made a mistake by not using a front derailleur. Yes i know hindsight is
20/20, and he wanted to save weight by not using it or a inner chainring because you didn't need to
shift on this course. I believe that if he had a front derailleur the chain would not have jumped
off the big ring and thus costing him 5 or more seconds and the win. lesson learned i hope. "msemlf"
<msemlf@aol.com> wrote in message news:a7fb0019.0307051316.64927ad6@posting.google.com...
> "DaveG" <DaveG@Yah_Boo.com> wrote in message
news:<be713e$dnl$1@news7.svr.pol.co.uk>...
> > Ahhh,F***!(chain slipped apparently)
>
> From the brief snippit on OLN, it looked as if the chain came off on the outside (based on my
> perception of Millar's hand position when placing it back on). This could be due to excessive BB
> flex, or worn chainwheel teeth - this seems plausible given Mr. Chung's description of events
> (accelerating out of corner).
>
> MSEMLF

Wayne Pein

MSA wrote:

> "Mathias De Belder" <Mathias.DeBelder@advalvas.be> wrote in message
> news:be7dpm$203q5$1@ID-153762.news.dfncis.de...
> > Wayne Pein <wpein@nc.rr.com> wrote:
> > > Did it come off due to bouncing from cobbles? I'd be surprised if he was shifting between
> > > rings. I didn't think that was necessary.
> >
> > French television interviewed him after his prologue, and between all the puffs and gasps for
> > air and all his disappointment, he murmured something in French about it happening quite
> > regularly that the chain would drop off the outer plate. "It's a problem with our plateaux." he
> > kept repeating.
> >
> > The commentators speculated that yes, it was probably because of the cobbles. Then again, I
> > haven't seen a similar problem for any other rider, so he might just have been very unlucky
> > today...
> >
> > --
> > Mathias De Belder
> >
>
> I could only see one shifter on the aero's...only one front ring?
>

On cyclingnew Millar said, 'I lost at least 5 seconds when the chain got caught between the
chainrings - that happened to two other guys on the team today."

Wayne

Daveg

"Kyle Legate" <legatek@mcmaster.ca> wrote in message
news:c3d2a4a4b8cd914251d8398694efb0d8@free.teranews.com...
> DaveG wrote:
> > Lance is off the pace(purposely??)
> >
> No, not purposely. Why is it that when Lance doesn't win, you people
think
> he lost on purpose?
>

hehehe-'cos he's the king of bluff merchants!! Remember?? I don't think he was today of course but
the possibility remains nonetheless.
--
ATB-DaveG

Zeno

Mathias De Belder wrote:
> Wayne Pein <wpein@nc.rr.com> wrote:
>
>>Did it come off due to bouncing from cobbles? I'd be surprised if he was shifting between rings. I
>>didn't think that was necessary.
>
>
> French television interviewed him after his prologue, and between all the puffs and gasps for air
> and all his disappointment, he murmured something in French about it happening quite regularly
> that the chain would drop off the outer plate. "It's a problem with our plateaux." he kept
> repeating.
>
> The commentators speculated that yes, it was probably because of the cobbles. Then again, I
> haven't seen a similar problem for any other rider, so he might just have been very unlucky
> today...
>

Yes, why didn't his teammates have the same problem? I didn't realize that derailleurs have become
so unreliable. They must have been riding a corn cob rear cluster on that flat course. Was Millar
stuck with an old Simplex rear? Perhaps there is a (another) anti-Millar conspiracy.

IMO, Millar brings his own bad luck to every big race. It's like he subconsiously manufactures it so
he will have an excuse why he, once again, didn't perfom up to his full potential.

Zeno