Tour de France

[Figrin D'an]

A little late, but why not? :)

The race is well underway, of course, and will start to hit the Alps mountain stages on Saturday. Lance Armstrong, whom is going for a record-tying 5th straight Tour win, is second overall behind one of his fellow US Postal Team riders. And, as most people whom following cycling know, Armstrong is one of the best "climbers" in history. He tends to completely annihilate his competition in the mountain stages, and on the steepest climbs, he seems to click into another gear while everyone else is gasping for air. And he manages to do all this after beating cancer and having his doctors tell him he would have to give up his cycling career.

There should be better competition for him this year, though. Two of his former teammates on US Postal are now leading their own teams and are expected to do well, Jan Ulrich is probably in the best shape since his own Tour win in '97, and there are a few others that have won impressively in other races this year that look to challenge for podium placement.

In the end, though, its still Armstrong's race to win or lose, and unless he falls or gets sick, it's hard to imagine him not standing in Paris wearing the yellow jersey. If he wins, he'll be recognized as one of the greatest cyclists ever, and stand with Miguel Indurain as the only riders to win the Tour five consecutive years.

Anyone been watching parts of the race, or following it so far?

[CMJ]

Yeah, I've been keeping track of it to an extent. Armstrong may be the best athlete in the world right now, it's a damn shame we don't appreciate him here.

[Droo]

You know, I had no idea the Tour de France had even begun. Of course, I should've been on the lookout for notices and what have you but there's been nothing on the news or in newspapers that has brought it to my attention. Any websites out there which are pretty good for catching up? Reading about the athletes, their history and all that jazz? I'd rather not miss out this year.

[Taylor Millard]

Originally posted by CMJ
Yeah, I've been keeping track of it to an extent. Armstrong may be the best athlete in the world right now, it;'s a damn shame we don't appreciate him here.

Not so CMJ-oh (sorry, reminded of something my dad once said). Austin, TX sure appreciates Lance Armstrong. Whenever you go down there you see a ton of "Go Lance!" signs.

Also he's been getting a buncha endorsements so we do appreciate him. What Armstrong has been able t'do is fricking awesome and I hope he wins the Tour again.

[Figrin D'an]

I'm sure in Austin, he's reached superstar status. Overall, though, he's still vastly underappreciated, IMO. He's been rightfully deserving of the title "Sportsman of the Year" for the past 4 years, easy, yet he's been overshadowed by the likes of Barry Bonds, Tiger Woods, and an aged Michael Jordan. Nothing against any of those guys, but I'd put Armstrong's performance the past 4 years against any of those other's accomplishments over the same timeframe.


Dru... ESPN.com site has decent info, and there's also the Tour's official site: http://www.letour.fr/2003/us/index.html

[Dutchy]

Originally posted by Figrin D'an
Armstrong is one of the best "climbers" in history.

I don't consider him the best climber, but the best athlete. The best climbers are more like Pantani, Van Impe or Bahamontes. Those are genuine climbers. Armstrong is a more all around cyclist.


There should be better competition for him this year, though. Two of his former teammates on US Postal are now leading their own teams and are expected to do well

I guess you mean Levi Leipheimer and Tyler Hamilton. Leipheimer fell in the first stage and had to leave the Tour. Hamilton, in that same stage, broke his collarbone, but did he give up? Nope, he continued the race and is still racing. I think he just became my personal sports hero. Racing the Tour de France with a broken collarbone, now that is showing character.


Jan Ulrich is probably in the best shape since his own Tour win in '97

Yes, he is and I like him, so I'm curious how he'll do. So far so good. Der Jan rules.


and there are a few others that have won impressively in other races this year that look to challenge for podium placement.

I'm curious about Gilberto Simoni, e.g., winner of May's Giro d'Italia. He's had a big mouth to challenge Lance, so let's see what it's worth. Simoni is an excellent climber.


If he wins, he'll be recognized as one of the greatest cyclists ever, and stand with Miguel Indurain as the only riders to win the Tour five consecutive years.

Together with Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault, who also won the Tour 5 times. Merckx is probably the best cyclist of all time, and arguably one of the 10 best athletes of all time.


Anyone been watching parts of the race, or following it so far?

Hell yeah! It's my #1 fave sports event. :)

[Dutchy]

Simoni lost 6 minutes to Armstrong today. Bye bye, Gilberto

Hamilton finished in the same group as Armstrong. Way to go, Tyler. :)

[Figrin D'an]

Hamilton has impressed me a lot by sticking it out, and considering the anti-doping policies, he can probably only take over-the-counter aspirin for the pain... that's guts. It's too bad about Leipheimer... he was expected to have a good Tour.


I agree that Armstrong isn't the very best climber, since there are certain climbing specialists. That was a bit overzealous of me. But, of the guys whom are well-rounded enough to challenge for the Tour overall victory, he's right there with the best. I'd pick him against Simoni and a few others just about every time. Just my opinion, though.

I won't disagree that Merckx is probably the best cyclist of all time. I think that, if Armstrong can push it to a sixth Tour win, you can at least make a good arguement for him. Anquetil, Merckx, Hinault and Indurain all won 5 tours, but only Indurain won it 5 consecutive years, which is what Armstrong is trying to match.

I just hope that people here in the US finally start to appreciate what an amazing athlete he is. He, and cycling in general, just doesn't get the props it deserves in America.

[Dutchy]

Eddy Merckx would still be the best, even with Lance winning a 6th Tour. Merckx won 38 Tour stages, 4 world road racing titles, 5 times Giro d'Italia, 7 times Milan-San Remo, at least one time the world title, Tour and Giro in 1 year, etc. For Armstrong cycling right now is the Tour de France and a very selective few other races, for Merckx it was every cycling race. We don't know if Armstrong could win more if he'd compete, but from the current results, even including that 6th Tour, Merckx wins hands down, IMO.

True, about Armstrong becoming the 2nd to win 5 consecutive. Doesn't make it much more impressive to me, though. One could also argue he has only been the best in a 5 year time span, while others have been the best in 7. On the other hand: if Armstrong hadn't become sick, he might have won 2 more in those years. On yet another hand: maybe he became this good because of those years, who knows.

And, yes, Armstrong doesn't receive remotely close the praise he should get in the US.

[Jedieb]

Cycling just doesn't really have a major presense in the U.S. It's a shame for Lance, but he's done well considering how little his sport is followed in the US. A great athlete and a gutsy competitor. I hope he pulls off #5.

[sirdizzy]

wow you guys know a lot about this subject, the only racer i could have named was Lance Armstrong and hes the one i am cheering for to win

[Dutchy]

Looks like Hamilton fooled everyone with his broken collarbone, because in today's tough Alpe d'Huez stage he finished in the same group as Armstrong in the first 10.

Armstrong didn't look as strong as recent years. He didn't place one single attack, but only defended attacks of others, Beloki among others. He took the yellow jersey anyway, so he still has the best chances to win. Curious about his time trials.

Mayo proved to be the promising new cyclist he is and won the stage.

[Dutchy]

Spectacular race today. Favorite Beloki fell and broke 3 bones, while Armstrong managed to avoid him and crossed a potato field, jumped off his bike to jump across a ditch and entered the group again on the other end. Amazing! Way spectacular. I guess it takes a champion to do something like that. :)

[Dutchy]

Jan Ullrich just beat Armstrong with 1 minute and 36 seconds in the first time trial!

Woohoo! Der Jan rules!

Ullrich is behind just 34 seconds now with one more time trial to go. The next 3 mountain stages will be very interesting.

[Figrin D'an]

I really wasn't expecting Ullrich to do that well in the time trial. I thought he could keep pace, then would try to make a move in the Pyranees stages. He was really impressive in the time trial, though. Armstrong is definately going to be pushed over the next few stages. If he loses the lead in the Pyranees, he might not be able to get it back.

It will be interesting to see if Ullrich can keep it up in Saturday's stage, or if he'll be a little tired from Friday.

[Dutchy]

One of the best time trials I've seen in years. He looked very powerful from start to finish.

If Armstrong loses the lead in the next 3 mountain stages, then he'll definitely lose the Tour. He needs about 2 minutes MORE lead, for there's another time trial coming up in which Ullrich could win another minute and a half.

Yes, I hope Ullrich can keep up his excellent condition the next days. I think he can, for there wasn't a moment of weekness throughout today's race.

[Dutchy]

In today's stage Ullrich won another 19 secs on Armstrong, whose chances on a 5th consecutive victory diminish by the day.

[Figrin D'an]

This is really shocking. If Armstrong doesn't build a larger lead over the course of the next two stages, he's not going to be able to hold the small lead that he does have.

Stage 14 has four category-1 climbs, so it's likely to be the criticial stage. I have to agree with what Richard Virenque said, though. One of them will crack eventually, the other will open up a large lead, and the race will basically be over before the final time trial. It's just a matter of which one.

[Dutchy]

Stage 14 doesn't have a finish on top of a mountain though, where stage 15 has, plus it has two category 'hors' climbs.

I don't know if any of them can take a large lead. So far it sure doesn't look like it.

One thing is sure though: this is one of the most exciting Tours I've seen. Of course behind 1989's edition, when LeMond beat Fignon by 8 secs on the final day in the time trial.

[Dutchy]

Armstrong entered at least one top 5. That is, the total number of days they've worn the yellow jersey.

1. Eddy Merckx - 96 days
2. Bernard Hinault - 78 days
3. Miguel Indurain - 60 days
4. Lance Armstrong - 52 days
5. Jacques Anquetil - 51 days

[Figrin D'an]

Originally posted by Dutchy
One thing is sure though: this is one of the most exciting Tours I've seen. Of course behind 1989's edition, when LeMond beat Fignon by 8 secs on the final day in the time trial.

As much as I would like to see Armstrong win going away, I have to admit that this type of finish would be one hell of way to conclude what has been a great Tour.

[Dutchy]

Well, it looks more and more like that. Today Vinokourov won 43 secs, so now the top 3 are only 18 secs apart:

1 001 ARMSTRONG Lance USA USP in 61h 07' 17"
2 131 ULLRICH Jan GER TBI at 00' 15"
3 028 VINOKOUROV Alexandre KAZ TEL at 00' 18"

Tomorrow's tough mountain stage should be a very exciting race!

[Figrin D'an]

Wow... Armstrong fell in Stage 15, but he managed to increase his lead. He pulled away from both Ullrich and Vinokourov in the last 10k and won the stage. He's now 67 seconds ahead of Ullrich, and 2 min. 7 sec. ahead of the Vinokourov.

Much as Armstrong did a couple of years ago when Ullrich fell, Ullrich waited for Armstrong to recover before continuing. That shows just how much mutual respect there is between those two. Things seem to be set up now for a showdown between Lance and Jan to decide the Tour. 67 seconds isn't insurmountable, but it does increase Armstrong's chances of victory.

This has been amazing to watch.

[Dutchy]

Agreed. What a stage.

Armstrong should win the Tour now. In the 1st time trial he lost 96 secs, but he had some probs with being thirsty. Saturday he won't let that happen again and lose 67 secs. It hasn't been set yet, though. Maybe Jan can do it, but I doubt it. It'll be interesting for sure.

[CMJ]

The commentators seemed pretty certain he locked the Tour up with this stage win.

[Figrin D'an]

I'm not willing to go quite that far with a prediction, simply because the tour this year has been so strange. Leaders falling, riders with broken bones still trudging on, Armstrong's previous dominance seeming to disappear. Ullrich is an excellent time trial rider, so I'm not counting him out just yet. Although, a 67 second lead does make things easier for Armstrong.

[Figrin D'an]

Well... Armstrong did it. He finished 3rd in Stage 19, the final time-trial, but he added about 4 seconds to his overall lead over Jan Ullrich. So, with the ride into Paris on Sunday being pretty much a formality, Armstrong will win the Tour de France for the 5th consecutive year.

Congrats to Lance... he's cemented himself as one of the greatest riders in Tour history, and is easily the greatest American cyclist ever. :)

[Dutchy]

Yup, true. :)

Ullrich fell down in the time trial, btw. But it wouldn't have had much of a difference if he hadn't. Overall, the whole Tour, Armstrong was better. Not much, but enough to win his 5th. Impressive for sure.