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saluki said:

I think that you have to accept that it looks very bad for Landis. Not only did he loose 8 minutes, but no one was driving the pace today, either in the flats or the mountains. When Hushovd finishes that high in a mountain stage it tells you something about the way that the stage was ridden.

It all depends on where he is within his current cycle of training load. He may be using this week of racing to end a cycle in which case he wouldn't be expected to ride well. That is why it is so hard to judge where a rider is during the DL or TDS so close to the TDF. Typically a rider who does exceptionally well during this week has peaked too early and fades during the TDF.

saluki said:

Trash continues to prove that he is a bigot.

Mate calm down... cool your jets and keep your shirt on. What I was saying was he was riding like a European who want to win races outside the Tour... perhaps its you who is the bigot and and looks for an political agenda and can't see I was paying a compliment to LL.

You proving yourself to be like all the wooping Americans I see on the mountains of the Tour... except they won't be there this year because there interest in cycling is gone ! :p

WBT United 1 Saluki All Stars 0

tcklyde said:

There are going to be some people hurting at the end of this one! Can't wait! Levi is riding so well. Can Kohl and Moreau keep it up? Will Menchov make a move for the jersey? What about Azevedo? Nice.

T,

Superb stage today.

Eurosport showed an hour of highlights today - it was compelling viewing.
Mayo and Valverde's break away from the group was an excellent move.
Sevilla and Arroyo tried to stay with them but they were burned off.

The chasing group containing LL, Piepoli, Hincapie, Acezvedo, Kohl, Menchov, Voekler, Sorenson frractured as Piepoli started a series of attacks on the Mollard.

That group was whittled down to LL, Moreau, Piepoli, Kohl, Azcevedo - Aczevedo lost contact and then Kohl, leaving LL, Moreau, Piepoli, contesting thrid place.
Poor old Menchov looked like he was dying out there - he had a tough day and ended up finishing with the Hincapie group.
(Menchov didn't want the camera on him toward the end of the stage).

Moreau is doing really well.
LL looks very smooth.
But Piepoli is climbing out of his skin.

Great to see Mayo back : Valverde did well too.

Interesting times.

limerickman said:

T,

Superb stage today.

Eurosport showed an hour of highlights today - it was compelling viewing.
Mayo and Valverde's break away from the group was an excellent move.
Sevilla and Arroyo tried to stay with them but they were burned off.

The chasing group containing LL, Piepoli, Hincapie, Acezvedo, Kohl, Menchov, Voekler, Sorenson frractured as Piepoli started a series of attacks on the Mollard.

That group was whittled down to LL, Moreau, Piepoli, Kohl, Azcevedo - Aczevedo lost contact and then Kohl, leaving LL, Moreau, Piepoli, contesting thrid place.
Poor old Menchov looked like he was dying out there - he had a tough day and ended up finishing with the Hincapie group.
(Menchov didn't want the camera on him toward the end of the stage).

Moreau is doing really well.
LL looks very smooth.
But Piepoli is climbing out of his skin.

Great to see Mayo back : Valverde did well too.

Interesting times.

Yes, it was a great stage! LL once again seemed very in control. He isn't one for big fireworks, but he is consistent. Mayo looked like he couldn't believe he had won the stage.

As for Piepoli, just amazing. Isn't he close to 35 now? Moreau, too, also 35.

I only caught the last climb on video (the stage ENDED at quarter to 8:00 AM my time) so I didn't hear much about the crash that took out Turpin. That's sad news and not so good for AG2r, but I gather Menchov also crashed. I wonder if that slowed him down in the final climb?

tcklyde said:

Yes, it was a great stage! LL once again seemed very in control. He isn't one for big fireworks, but he is consistent. Mayo looked like he couldn't believe he had won the stage.

As for Piepoli, just amazing. Isn't he close to 35 now? Moreau, too, also 35.

I only caught the last climb on video (the stage ENDED at quarter to 8:00 AM my time) so I didn't hear much about the crash that took out Turpin. That's sad news and not so good for AG2r, but I gather Menchov also crashed. I wonder if that slowed him down in the final climb?

ES didn't show menchov or Turpin's crashes. But you could see the gravel marks on Menchov's shoulder as he was trying to get back on to the group.

LL looked really smooth. Piepoli tried to break away several times as the group split and LL and Moreau were the only ones who could go with him.
Which is really impressive on both their part.

Mayo pulling away from Valverde was like Mayo in the old days (2003/4).
Impressive stage today all round - LL deserves his win.
He's Mr Consistent - and for that alone he deserves his win.

Yesterday a stage winner, today suffering in a hospital and out of the Tour. Life is a [censored], poor Ludovic. 🙁
Luckily enough Menchov's crash wasn't so bad, so we can count on him for the Tour.
In the whole race I think the most impressive team was Ag2r. Lavenu must be very pleased (he's a briancon native)
Good performance (and not Landaluze this time) for Leipheimer as well. Disappointment for Landis and Vino though.

Mayo suddenly appearing from nowhere excellent! If he is back to the form he showed 3 years ago then he'l be another factor in the tour, not to win but his attacks in the mountains will shake up the other contenders. Valverde looked good too but leipheimer is the one who is impressing me. Especially his calmness, when others attack he doesnt panic and just rides at his own pace until he catches them up. Thats the sign of a man at ease with his form and maybe a good omen for his tour?

superdanuk said:

Valverde looked good too but leipheimer is the one who is impressing me. Especially his calmness, when others attack he doesnt panic and just rides at his own pace until he catches them up. Thats the sign of a man at ease with his form and maybe a good omen for his tour?

I discussed the pressure of the Tour with Levi's coach (mine too) recently. Levi is a calm guy and feels only moderate pressure-the opposite of Lance. Levi has done the Tour enough to know what is coming and what to expect. His numbers in training, and now his performance in the DL give him confidence that he is ready for what is coming. His coach has worked with grand tour winners in the past and also knows what is needed and what to expect.

More here... http://www.velonews.com/news/fea/9937.0.html

WarrenG said:

More here... http://www.velonews.com/news/fea/9937.0.html

Nice interview - thanks for the link.

Interesting that LL has been sleeping in a "big" altitude tent since December - I wonder if his wife joins him?

He looks great in the race thus far, hopefully even saving little for next month.

It's unfair to say that Levi is less stressed than LA. Anything short of a win after 1999 would have been considered a failure, whereas Gerolsteiner is not, obviously, seeing things that way. I think if Levi got onto the podium in any position, Gerolsteiner would be very happy.

[font=Verdana]Not sure if anyone saw the coverage of DL today... the stage was early to accommodate the French Open final... however there was a shot of Landis being dropped very early in the stage... at one point he almost stopped to get off his bike then looked at the camera and started riding again... his team car pulled up to him and he had a long discussion with his manager in the team car and then the camera cut away.... he didn’t look in very good condition.. maybe the heat was affecting him….? His shoulders were dropped and his head was down… he looked defeated…. Allan Pieper was quoted as saying that a lot of the riders come to DL to win and some some come to DL to get conditioning but those who are getting final conditioning should at least be up the front of the peleton having a few digs to check their form ie Valverde….

....shame for Landis, he is a good rider and I hope he can get his form back in the next 4 weeks…. those who live in Europe or have been watching the World Cup should know its really hot at the moment in Centeral Europe and maybe this hit Landis ? [/font]

whiteboytrash said:

[font=Verdana]
....shame for Landis, he is a good rider and I hope he can get his form back in the next 4 weeks…. those who live in Europe or have been watching the World Cup should know its really hot at the moment in Centeral Europe and maybe this hit Landis ? [/font]

True... However, it's not going to get any cooler from now till July...

musette said:

It's unfair to say that Levi is less stressed than LA.

If you had spent much time with each of them you'd see for yourself that what I said is true. You can also read what others on Discovery say about being around Lance compared to what you can glean from the interviews with Levi.

DV1976 said:

True... However, it's not going to get any cooler from now till July...

Landis is from San Diego, California. Anybody in contention for the Tour should at least be able to stay with the pack on a stage like today's. If he's not sick, and it seems like he'd be saying that by now, he's got something going wrong for him. Like I said previously, his watts/kg back at Tour of California in February was almost as high as what he'd want for July.

Well, Landis is not the only rider about whom one might wonder as a result of the DL. What about Vino? Or Popo? 😉 But I have to say that Landis' losing 14 minutes in today's stage is very strange.

Levi's stress level is a lot different because he had never had to defend the Tour de France. Obviously, since he hasn't won it, and nobody at his team is currently expecting him to win it this year. That's very different from the expectations surrounding LA. Also, Gerolsteiner has yet to prove it's a team capable of bringing home a yellow jersey winner in the Tour.

Note I am not saying that LA is not more Type A than Levi, or that LA is a lot more demanding as a team leader than Levi (and Bruyneel a much more demanding DS than the Gerolsteiner guys). I am saying that the comparison is unfair to LA because he was living with a much higher set of team, sponsor and public expectations.

johnSFO said:

Nice interview - thanks for the link.

Interesting that LL has been sleeping in a "big" altitude tent since December - I wonder if his wife joins him?

He looks great in the race thus far, hopefully even saving little for next month.

If I were married to Odessa Gunn...
http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2001/apr01/odessa/odessa_glam.jpg

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://perso.wanadoo.fr/cyclinfo/Odessa%2520Gunn8.jpg&imgrefurl=http://perso.wanadoo.fr/cyclinfo/FGun.htm&h=360&w=243&sz=21&tbnid=JT1x4p6EnvdXrM:&tbnh=117&tbnw=78&hl=en&start=4&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dodessa%2Bgunn%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den%26sa%3DN

I'd plunk for the larger altitude tent for two!!!

I heard on cycling.tv or OLN that Eddy M of TM is dating Basso's sister.

musette said:

I heard on cycling.tv or OLN that Eddy M of TM is dating Basso's sister.

Is she prettier than you?

Great news musette!
I have just heard that Hushovd, Mayo, Menchov, & Gilbert have all, at some stage, watched the Discovery Channel. So you can mark their wins down as yet more "Virtual wins" for DSC!
By the way, have you ever said "Lance's tour wins show what a great/nurturing team Cofidis is"? Didn't think so.

bobke said:

If I were married to Odessa Gunn...
cyclingnews.comodessa glam.jpgOpen ↗

images.google.comimgresOpen ↗

I'd plunk for the larger altitude tent for two!!!

Someone ask,,, no, tell her to give those sunglasses back to Hincapie. Man that's like someone drawing a mustache on the Mona Lisa.

lw