2008 Tour de France Stage 20 - Sat July 26: Cerilly-St. Amand-Montrond (ITT), 53 km



thoughtforfood said:
Lets not start the "Cadel lost because everyone else dopes" excuse train. He had every opportunity to win the race in the mountains, and he didn't take the initiative to do so. He didn't win.
Well to be fair, it doesn't appear that Silence-Lotto has a TEAM doping program if and only because they aren't exactly the strongest team in the world (that isn't to say that Cadel - or anyone by themselves - is clean - I've got no idea).
 
Bro Deal said:
I have not been very happy with this year's Tour. It seems even more of a farce than before.

Vande Velde spent years on Postal then moved to Liberty Seguros and then to CSC before becoming a clean cyclist on Slipstream, where he challenges for the Tour podium. Uh, yeah...right.

Sastre pulls out an amazing time trial performance ala Leipheimer and Contador.

Schumacher must be jacked to the moon. He could win next year if he slightly improves his climbing.

The whole CSC team looks suspicious as all get out.

Et cetera.
I wonder what VdV teammates think of him.
 
fscyclist said:
Alright, Aussies. Time to go to cry yourselves to sleep now. Won't be an Aussie Tour champ for at least another decade.
Wouldn't count out Rogers if he can get some luck, and I for one hope Trent Lowe continues to progress....he rode for Jittery Joe's, and not only do I know the guys who started the coffee shop chain, but I rode with the DS in the '90's.
 
classic1 said:
How do you explain the Schlecks poor rides? Sastre 12th at 2 1/2 minutes in a final TT is pretty much to form. Evans at 2 minutes isn't to normal form. He rode poorly. End of story.
I'd be keeping a 6ft gap if I was in the media trying to interview Cadel.
 
fscyclist said:
Alright, Aussies. Time to go to cry yourselves to sleep now. Won't be an Aussie Tour champ for at least another decade.
Honest question from someone FAR from an expert - How good is a healthy Michael Rogers anyway?
 
thoughtforfood said:
Wouldn't count out Rogers if he can get some luck, and I for one hope Trent Lowe continues to progress....he rode for Jittery Joe's, and not only do I know the guys who started the coffee shop chain, but I rode with the DS in the '90's.
Rogers is the Tommy D of Australia.
 
serpico7 said:
Sastre's doping control results will NOT be ready by tomorrow, correct?
Don't count on him getting busted. They SHOULD be more sophistocated than that, or they wouldn't have let him take the stage.
 
classic1 said:
How do you explain the Schlecks poor rides? Sastre 12th at 2 1/2 minutes in a final TT is pretty much to form. Evans at 2 minutes isn't to normal form. He rode poorly. End of story.
If Evans would have ridden a minute faster then that would probably be about where he would be expected to ride in relation to Cancellara and the uber man from Germany. He still would have lost to Sastre.

F. Schleck is overhyped. Andy is too young.
 
thoughtforfood said:
Ouch....but could be true. Maybe we need to start a "Mick Rogers is lighting it up" thread?
They are interviewing Potatohead, HE pisses me off just looking at him.
 
thoughtforfood said:
They are interviewing Potatohead, HE pisses me off just looking at him.
Speaking of, does anyone know if his head has grown larger over the years?
 
thoughtforfood said:
They are interviewing Potatohead, HE pisses me off just looking at him.
From last years time trial to this years time trial schumacher had over a 4 minute turnaround in the last time trial (He was 2.26 back of Evans last year), this is with him being on the attack each of the last 4 or 5 days? I always give every one a benefit of the doubt, innocent before guilty, but this is just way to hard to even fathom.

LIke it has been said, I think it was more about Cadel riding that bad, more then Sastre riding that good. Sastre compared to the other riders isn't that much more exceptionally, he rode a little better which is believeable, just Cadel wasn't good. He never looked comfortable, he was riding with mouth wide open within the first 5 km, trying to scrounge for the power.
 
I think Sastre road well but not particular amazing unfortunately in relation to Cholet Evans rode the worst race of his life.

I think though this clearly shows Evans to be a clean rider who showed deterioration which is normal without recovery drugs during a long 21 stage tour.

Seb Lang did well as did Kohl i think an improvement on Cholet.

Garmin Chipotle has 4 riders in top 15 for stage 20, great performance for a new team.
 
Capt.Injury said:
From last years time trial to this years time trial schumacher had over a 4 minute turnaround in the last time trial (He was 2.26 back of Evans last year), this is with him being on the attack each of the last 4 or 5 days? I always give every one a benefit of the doubt, innocent before guilty, but this is just way to hard to even fathom.

LIke it has been said, I think it was more about Cadel riding that bad, more then Sastre riding that good. Sastre compared to the other riders isn't that much more exceptionally, he rode a little better which is believeable, just Cadel wasn't good. He never looked comfortable, he was riding with mouth wide open within the first 5 km, trying to scrounge for the power.
Evans tires at the end of Tours. His second long ITT is weaker than the first.

Sastre on the other hand looked like a machine going up the Alpe.
 
plectrum said:
I think though this clearly shows Evans to be a clean rider who showed deterioration which is normal without recovery drugs during a long 21 stage tour.
When did he stop doping? When he left Mapei or when he left T-Mobile?
 
Evans has lost, looking at him on and off the bike over the last 3 weeks, justice has been done, well done Carlos, very well deserved. Won the queen stage of the tour and then the overall, brilliant.
 
Bro Deal said:
Evans tires at the end of Tours. His second long ITT is weaker than the first.

Sastre on the other hand looked like a machine going up the Alpe.
The main difference was Sastre had CSC all around him, while Cadel's only company from the team was his team car, and some days, I thought that the car was stuck in the gruppetto.

I definately see Evans leaving, just to where is the question. People keep saying Slipstream Chipolte, but I am thinking that you could see him find his way to Team Columbia, because I dont think they ever expect Rogers to be what he is, and Kirchen would be an excellent helper. I have nothing to base this on, just kind of a gut feeling.
 
Capt.Injury said:
.... just Cadel wasn't good. He never looked comfortable, he was riding with mouth wide open within the first 5 km, trying to scrounge for the power.
He's an anxious guy I think. Too much anxiety... blood vessels constrict. Maybe.

Good ride by Sastre though. At least he won decisively as well.
 

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