Stage 21: Vino outsprinting, Lance wins 7

Vino outfoxed the sprinters for the stage win, but the tour belongs to Lance

Stage 20 : Lance too Strong

It's in these words that Ullrich summed up the day .
Ullrich accomplished his mission finishing third on the podium. In his 8th Tour de France Ullrich never finshed worth than 4th.
But the day belonged to Lance. Lance won his first stage of the tour the same way he won all 7 of his TDF wins, in majestic fashion.
Lance can start drinking champain and enjoy the last race of an amazing career.

Rare good day for T-Mobile today!!

Ullrich had nothing to smile about in this year's tour. But after today Ullric was relieved, he could take time on Rasmussen and he's feeling confident.
So confident that for the first time he's mentioning next year's tour.
Ullrich said that with Armstrong gone, his chances to win the tour are very good. I don't disagree.
T-Mobile gained back the lead after today's stage. They lost it yesterday when Kloden had to withdraw with a wrist fracture.

Stage 18: Serrano wins

Marcos Serrano of team Liberty Seguros attacked on the final climb, leaving behind him Axel Merckx (Davitamon-Lotto) and Cedric Vasseur (Cofidis) to win the stage.
Aboard a break away group of 10 that almost had a 15 minutes advantage on the peloton, Serrano outfoxed the bunch for a very good win for team Liberty Seguros.
The main peloton broke apart on the last climb due to hard work by team CSC, eventually the usual suspects Lance, Basso and Ullrich found themselves with cadel Evans ahead of everybody. They stayed together till the end.
Ullrich gained a valuable 37 seconds on Rasmussen, Rasmussen is 2 minutes 12 seconds ahead of Ullrich now, with Ullrich probably making up that time in the time trial.
Rasmussen won the best climber jersey. It's already a successful tour for the Dane even if he doesn't finish on the podium come Paris time.
Tomorrow's stage is flat and is going to be disputed between sprinters. Mainly Hushevod, O'Grady and McEwen fighting off the green jersey.

Stage 16 17

Unfortunetly I was not able to watch those stages sue to an excess of work
A good source of information is
http://www.eurosport.com/

Stage 15: Hincapie well deserved

Hincapie won today his first ever TDF stage. After being the ultimate teammate for Lance for so long now, I can only say that's well deserved.
Hincapie managed to catch a break of 14 men, that at some point had 18 minutes advantage on the peloton.
The breakaway group contained Hincapie (Discovery Channel), Pereiro (Phonak), Oscar Sevilla (T-Mobile Team), Michael Boogerd (Rabobank), Pietro Caucchioli (Credit Agricole) and Laurent Brochard (Bouygues Telecom), Pereiro doing most of the work managed to pull away from everybody with only Hincapie on his wheels, Pereiro eventually finshed second and was awarded the combativity jersey.
Lance finished with Basso 5 minutes back but one minute ahead of Ullrich who couldn't stay with the 2 for the second straight day.
Basso moved to second overall overtaking Rasmussen, a fight for the third podium place will be between Rasmussen and Ullrich with Rasmussen having 1minute 50 seconds advantage, but Ullrich will pull back some time of the time trial.
Tomorrow is a rest day and tuesday is the last day in the mountains, final chance for people to attack Lance. Should be as exciting as today.

Stage 14: Totschnig the stage win, Armstrong the big winner

First stage at the pyreness came fast, exciting, and full of attacks.
The first one coming just 10 km after the start. It involved 10 men notably Totschnig, who attacked from the group at the foot of the Port de Pailhères, taking Liquigas' Stephano Garzelli and Boygues' Walter Bénéteau with him.
He would hang on to get win one of his most best rides in his career.
Texcitementent of the day was however coming from elsewhere, T-Mobile attacked as soon as the first climb started. The attack was so fierce that Armstrong found himself isolated without teammates very quickly, and the group reduced to a small select group of riders.
At the top of the first climb the group only contained the giants of the tour Ullrich, Armstrong and Basso.
On the descent other people could catch up, notably Vinokourov who seemed to be cracking at the first climb.
At the start of the final climb, Ullrich attacked again taking with him Armstrong , Basso , Landis and Leipheimer. That group found itself quickly reduced to 3. Ullrich cracked with less than 2 km to go, and Lance outsprinted Basso to finish second.
Today witnessed finally a good move by Ullrich, despite not winning the stage, Ullrich showed he had a big heart and courage.
Today Lance stamped authority on the tour relegating Rasmussen to 1'47 seconds.
Today we saw a very courageous ride by Vinokourov.
Today we saw Basso is here to stay, and clear indication that he will attack tomorrow.

Looking ahead to tomorrow's very tough day in the mountains.
I predict Basso as the winner of the stage putting at least a minute on everybody else.

Sploush

Stage13: McEwen master of the sprint, Valverde big disappointment

It's very rare that a sprinter wins a flat stage between the alps and the pyrenees.
Such stages are usually won by "baroudeurs", they did try today Thomas Voeckler (Bouygues Telecom), Carlos Da Cruz (FDJ), Juan Antonio Flecha (Fassa Bortolo), Ludovic Turpin (Ag2R), Sylvain Chavanel (cofidis) and Chris Horner (Saunier Duval) -- shuttled off the front just 25 km into Friday's race. But the crazy pace of the peoloton caught the last 2 just 200 meters beforet the finish. A good work by Lotto team propelled McEwen to an awesome sprint. Hushevod, the green jersey leader finished fifth and his lead is growing smaller by the stages.
Big disappointing news for Valverde today who withdrew because of a recurring knee injury, the star of the future was in tears today, but looking back later on his first TDF, he will be satisfied with his performance.
Look out for Valverde next year.
Tomorrow is the start of the pyrenees, it's Ullrich time. Ullrich will attack at some point tomorrow, and he will probably distance himself from everybody except Lance or maybe even Lance.
Tomorrow will be very exciting, I for one will wake early and enjoy it.

Sploush

Stage12: Moncoutié on Bastille day

A disappointing French contingent of riders (except for Moreau) had to step up today and win one for the home country on Bastille day. Moncoutie did step up and insure a french success today in Stage 12. An uninterested peloton let a a breakaway group of 13 riders do all the show today. Moncoutie eventually taking the stage win.
Tom Boonen withdrew before today's stage thus leaving the green jersey to Thor Hushevod who's now leading the sprinter's race.
Lance and team Discovery lost the valuable services of Beltran due to an ankle injury but otherwise it was an easy day for the TDF favorite.
Tomorrow's stage will be a sprinter's race (usual suspects McEwen, O'Grady, Hushevod), and main tour contenders will use it as a rest day ahead of the pyrenees.
My pick McEwen

Beware of Ullrich in the pyrenees

A recurring theme I keep reading on the forums is that Ullrich is "not man enough" to attack.
If you watched the TDF in previous years, you would notice that Ullrich never does a major a move in the first week.
Vino inherently admitted today what T-Mobile was hiding all the time. the crash affected Ullrich, but he's getting better now.
Ullrich will not be happy staying Lance's wheels all the time.
He will eventually try something in the pyrenees.
Probably he wont be successful to pull away from Lance but he'll try and he will be on the podium in Paris either second or third depending on Basso's performance.
Don't discount him just yet!!!

Sploush

Stage 11: Vino's resurrection!

It was an incredible stage today and Vino was the unlikely hero.
After a disastrous stage 10 where Vino cracked, Vino broke away on the first beyond-category ranked climbs. Along with Santiago Botero, the 2 riders stayed ahead of the peloton much to the surprise of everybody (Hincapie). Eventually Vino would outsprint Botero to take the stage win, they finished 1'15'' ahead of a group containing Lance and all other major contenders.
Vino's win today serves as a moral boost for a distraught T-Mobile team.
Discovery did their job and didn't allow real damage.
Frenchman Moreau took the third place and sits in third place in the overall standings. Being a good time trialist he should be seen as a possible contender.
Tomorrow's stage doesn't have any major climbs but could be dangerous as lots of not so expected to contend riders will take a shot at winning the stage.
It would be nice to see a T-Mobile rider attack like Vino today but it's unlikely before the pyrenees.
My dark horse pick for tomorrow: Valverde.

Stage10: Valverde the win, Lance with authority

The current and the future TDF phenomena finished today ahead of everybody.
Valverde (his first TDF) outsprinted Lance (crushed other contenders) for the Stage win. Lance stamped his authority on the tour as he gained back the yellow jersey and he's unlikely to let it go.
It all started when Team Discovery rode with an infernal pace blowing away the peloton. One by one the main contenders of the tour faded away. First Beloki, Mayo then Vino(the biggest loser today finished 5' from Lance) then Lance team mates, then Ullrich and Kloden(who stayed with his team leader, they finished 2 minutes back) then Basso ( Surprisingly), then they were 4 Lance (awesome as always), Valverde, Rasmussen(the king of the mountains, surprisingly 2nd in the tour)and Mancebo (great ride). Valverde eventually outsprinted Lance for the Stage win.
Today's Biggest winners were
1) Valverde (excellent first tdf so far, the future TDF phenomena by Lance own words)
2) Lance Armstrong (crushing opposition)
3) Iles Balears team ( Surprisingly very good)

Biggest losers
1) Vino (Many ppl had him as favorite, he'll contend with helping Ullrich now)
2) Ullrich and Kloden ( lost 2 minutes on Lance)
3) Basso ( thought by many as a possible winner, lost 1 minute today)
4) Mayo and Beloki ( didn't expect anything anyways)


Tomorrow's Stage should be equally exciting. Can't wait

Sploush

Stage 10 preview

Warning!!!, first day in the alps, rough battle ahead!!
The usual suspects will fight off the stage win.
Lance, Vino, Ullrich, Basso, Beloki and maybe even Kloden will be the heroes of one the most exciting stage in the tour de France yet!!!
Tomorrow will reveal the true contenders of the TDF, my guess is after Stage 10, contenders for the overall lead will be narrowed to at most 4 riders.
People wake up early and enjoy!!!

Sploush

Stage 9: Change in Yellow

We expected T-Mobile to attack, but it was Rasmussen. An incredible break away for 150km, initially thought to be a push to protect the polka-dot jersey, but stayed away all the the way to the stage win.
The biggest Winner today is Jens Voigt from the awesome CSC team, he's the new yellow jersey, finishing 3rd with Christophe Morreau, 3 minutes behind Rasmussen but more importantly 3 minutes ahead of the peloton and Lance.
Voigt is a very serious threat to the GC win, although commentator don't portray him as one. He's a very good TT specialist and he's on a very strong CSC team.
Tuesday, as we enter the Alps, should be very exciting.
Can't wait.

Sploush

Stage 8: The most exciting so far

Stage 8 is only the first stage in the mountains and things are already looking very exciting.
One of the most fun stages so far unfolded as follows:
A breakaway group consisting of Weening, Vasseur, N.Jalabert, Sorensen, Scholtz, Commesso and Flecha managed to get a lead of 4'30'' before Weening demolishes the group and breaks away. Meanwhile, the yellow jersey Lance Armstrong, who found himself isolated, was under a series of frantic attacks namely by the T-Mobile trio.
One of them succeeded, as Kloden got away piping Weening atop the summit of the Col de la Schlucht - 15 km from the finish .Those 2 stayed ahead of the main pack and Weening returned the favor to Kloden at the finish line bettering him by barely 2 millimeters.
The main pack containing Armstrong and the other favorites finished 27 seconds back.
It was a good day for Radobank team who won the stage with Weening but also the polka-dot jersey with Rasmussen who attacked early in the mountains to secure enough points.
Hushevod won a sprint to close the gap on Boonen in the green jersey race.
While Kloden made up 39 seconds on everybody putting himself on the 9th spot in the overall lead.
Today's stage showed some weakness in the Discovery team and tomorrow's stage also in the mountains (steeper than today) might give us a great idea who will be wearing the yellow in Paris.
I will be glued to my TV so I am sure you will!!!

sploush

Stage 7: Masterful McEwen

Another stage, another crash, another heroic breakaway. The hero today Florian Wegmann from Gerolsteiner, encouraged by the idea of crossing his country Germany ahead of the peloton, he rode alone away for about 150Km or 90 miles. He got caught before the end, but he was rewarded with the polka-dot jersey and the combativity jersey.
The stage win was settled by a masterful sprint by McEwen.
Looking ahead for tomorrow in the mountains (finally! ). I am looking forward to lots of attacks, early on by Wegmann and Voeckler for a fight for the polka-dot jersey but specially at the last climb with T-Mobile (probably Vino) attacking Lance Armstrong. I can't predict the outcome of stage 8, but boy it's going to be exciting.

Stage 6: Poor Mengin, Lucky Lorenzo, Good job Vino

If you watched Stage 6 of the tour de France, you would have had the same sympathy to Mengin as anybody who watched.
Mengin, on home soil, was the hero of a very long breakaway that almost gave him a win. Almost, because Lady luck struck and poor Mengin was the victim of bad fall a km away from the finish line.
With the peloton crashing like Domino pieces, an opportunistic Lorenzo Bernucci jumped onto the lead and the stage win.
Vinokourov who avoided the crash finished second and made up 12 seconds on the overall standings.
Hushevod, who also avoided the crash made up lots of grounds on the green jersey standings. But the day should have belonged to a heroic Mengin, but a crash in very bad weather conditions robbed him from a precious win.Stage organizers did awar him the combativity jersey for the stage,but that's merely a small consolation.

Sploush

Ullrich unfairly criticized!!

I am not a big Ullrich fan but that's unfair, after all he won the tour de france once, and almost every year finished second except last year where he finished 4th.

Sploush

Stage 5 Mc Ewen's Revenge

One day after being disqualified by tour officials, Robbie McEwen bounces back to beat Tom Boonen in an awesome sprint. Robbie's win today is of great significance to the green jersey race. Robbie himself conceded it will take a miracle for him to win but he showed Boonen can be beaten in sprint. Boonen is leading Hushovd by 29 points, O'Grady by 30 and Mc'Ewen by 45 points.
Looking ahead to tomorrow's race, a breakaway should win it, and with Armstrong's team willing to let anyone who's not a threat for the overall win getaway, lots of teams will look to send their riders in a long lonely adventure.
Brace yourself for an exciting stage 6 full of getaways.

Sploush

Stage 4 TTT Armstrong in yellow, Unlucky Zabriskie

The team time trial, one of the most exciting stages of the tour before the mountains, was full of drama.
On a day where Lance took back the yellow jersey thanks to a great performance by Discovery team, Zabriskie was robbed by cruel twist of fatih (skipped chain) leading to a nasty fall meters away from safety .
CSC team fought really hard to keep the yellow jersey in Zabriskie's shoulders but, arguably slowed by his fall, arrived only 2 seconds after team Discovery. Third place finish went to T-Mobile with a strong performance (but not strong enough, they were my pick to win and I was proven wrong).4th place went to a surprisingly good Liberty Seguros team lead by Roberto Heras and with teammates like Jacksche, Beloki and Gonzalez de Galdeano, we'll hear from them again before the end of the tour.
So as it stands now, Lance Armstrong leads his team-mate Hincapie by 55 seconds and will probably keep the yellow jersey for a long time.
Looking ahead to tomorrow's stage, it's a sprinter stage and victory will probably be disputed by Boonen, Mc'Ewen and O'Grady or my pick.
My pick Thor Hushovd.

Sploush

Boonen for the double

Tom Boonen from Quick Step confirmed today he's the man to beat in the green jersey race. Boonen dominated today's sprint again, he won in front of Wrolich and O'Grady taking his lead in the green jersey race to 20 points.
Erik Dekker is in the polka-dot jersey thanks to a great getaway,(I predicted it yesterday).
He also wins the red shirt jersey for most aggressive racer of the day.
Tomorrow's time trial will be very exciting, and we'll see probably a change in the yellow jersey.
My pick: T-Mobile, they are going to bounce back tomorrow.

Sploush

Stage 3 should we expect the same race as today?

Tomorrow's stage is probably going to be a sprinter race again. Unless we have a getaway that goes all the way (Erik Deker maybe), but that's very improbable, the teams are going to work hard for their sprinters and wont let this happen.
But what may be exciting is the Polka-Dot jersey, Voeckler is going to battle to keep it!!!
Expect another getaway by him to collect more points.

Sploush

Stage 2: Boonen Sprints to Victory, Voeckler masterful

In a massive chaotic sprint, Boonen confirmed what many said about him after last year's tour de France. He's the favorite to win this year's green jersey. Boonen outsprinted Thor Hushovd and Robbie Mc Ewen to win this year's 2nd stage. He will be wearing tomorrow the green jersey.
The Heroics of the day belong to Voeckler on home soil, His breakaway with 3 other riders for 130 km was highlighted by a masterful sprint to get the Polka-Dot jersey, they got caught 4 km before the end but, his mastery of attack and counter attack was one of today's tour de France best moments.

sploush

Vinokourov 3rd, Ullrich 12th...Is Vino the T-Mobile team leader?

It was not all bad for T-Mobile in today's Tour de France first stage, the Kazakh Vinokourov provided a ray of sunshine and finished third and with David Zabriskie expected to fade away, he's the closest chaser of Lance. So is Ullrich going to work for Vino now? Is Vino the T-Mobile leader?... In my opinion, not yet.
Ullrich is only 13 seconds behind Vino and in the mountain stages Ullrich may be stronger. But if Ullrich form continues to be not at par with the best, It is a possible scenario that T-Mobile fans should start cheering for Vino.

Marc

Stage 1:David Zabriskie the actual winner, Lance Armstrong the real winner, Ullrich already lost...Maybe!

David Zabriskie from Utah, the CSC rider, is the Tour de France yellow jersey. In his first Tour de France, the US time trial champion, won the first stage beating Lance Armstrong by 2 seconds.
But Zabriskie a time trial specialist is not expected to keep the yellow jersey for long, the real winner of today's first stage is "who else" Lance Armstrong. Lance put at least 50 seconds on all the other contenders. Lance looking good for a 7th win.
Ullrich had the worst start possible (it's true he finished 12th) but he was crushed by Armstrong overtaking him at the 3 km point. That was humiliating and demoralizing by Ullrich's own words. He vowed he'll fight on and for the sake of having an exciting race I say .... Good luck Jan!!!

Sploush

Ullrich crashes on eve of tour de France...is the tour over?

Eurosport is reporting that Ullrich during training, it's not clear how serious is the crash dubbed "a freakish accident".
Keep your finger crossed, I would hate seeing the lone competitor for lance Armstrong gone like that.

sploush