TOUR De FRANCE UPDATEJULY 14
TOUR De FRANCE UPDATEJULY 14
The Tour is at its hump after ten days of racing. Lance Armstrong leads the Tour and is well on his way towards a record-breaking fifth win. It’s not going to be easy with only 1088.4 miles remaining in racing.
STAGE 3: ST. DIZIER TO CHARLEVILLE MEZIERES
Course description: This course is 104.1 miles long and mostly on rolling terrain. There’s one Categorie 4 climb, three intermediate sprints, and one Categorie 4 climb.
Alessandro Petacchi, an Italian Fassa Bortolo rider, won his second field sprint stage victory. The nervous pack behind him crashed again, just like in Stage 1.
Armstrong update: All five Americans completed the race in the same time frame as the Petacchi. Fred Rodriguez was 23rd; Tyler Hamilton 43rd; George Hincapie, 68th, and Lance Armstrong, 69th. U.S. As Armstrong’s main domestique, Hincapie is Armstrong’s postal rider. Hincapies’ job is to ensure Lance and his seven remaining teammates are safe and to pull him up to close gaps. It doesn’t matter where you finish in the Tour if you aren’t going to be competing in the final sprint. It doesn’t matter where you finish, all that matters is that your main group stays on the same pace.
Dario Cioni, an Italian mountain biker, was also in the race and finished in 125th place. Petacchi’s Dario is also a member of the same team.
Man in yellow: Jean-Patrick Nazon, Jean Delatour rider from France, earned the right to sport the yellow jersey by scoring high in the three intermediate sprints.
STAGE 4: JOINVILLE – ST. DIZIER
Course description: A 42.9 mile team time trial. The first caravan was 20 miles south of Joinville. The nine-rider teams race to St. Dizier in five minute increments. The team time trial focuses on how well the nine-rider groups work together to maintain and get up a high speed along the course. The rolling, slightly downhill course is very fast. Each rider receives the same time as their teammate who crosses the line first.
Winner: U.S. They were smoked by Postal! Although they’ve been close in the past. This is America’s first win at the TTT. To cross the line
Armstrong update: Lance moved to second in General Classification after his win, one second behind Victor Hugo Pena from Columbia.
Hugos second advantage was beating Lance in the prologue. U.S. also won the TTT victory. Hinapie, a postal rider, was fourth at 0
STAGE 5: TROYES to NEVERS
Course description: Despite being more hilly, only one climb carries a Cat 4 rating. Three intermediate sprints are available along the 122.1-mile route.
Winner: After more than four hours of racing, reeling in a three minute escape group led Laszlo Bodrogi from Quick Step, Stage 5 came to a mass sprint which was won again by Alessandro Petacchi. This was the third stage win of the Fassabortolo rider.
Armstrong update: U.S. Postals’ game plan is for Lance to cross the finish line safely on the same
Now, the peloton has 195 riders. 185 of them were on the winner’s time. Can you imagine riding with 185 riders at 30 mph? Average for 122.1 miles
Man in yellow: His s.t. G.C. finished in the 63rd position. Pena is still the leader in yellow.
Cioni finished 41st on the Tour.
STAGE 6: NEVERS to LYON
Course description: 142.9 mi with three sprints, and two Cat 3 climbs.
Sprinter Petacchi won the mass sprint again
Armstrong update: Fred Rodriguez, top American, was 16th. Armstrong, Hamilton, Landis, and Hincapie were ranked 39th, 40th and 48th respectively. Dario Cioni, a mountain biker, was completely out of the game at 183rd.
The Man in Yellow: How strong are Lances’ team? The top eight G.C. The U.S. holds the top eight G.C. The U.S. Postal Team holds the positions. Hugo is still leading, Armstrong is second, Hincapie, fourth, at 0
STAGE 7: LYON to MORZINE
Course description: The longest stage at 143.2 miles is the first day of the Alps. There are two designated sprints and one Cat 1. Temperatures are reaching the 229 cm mark.
Quick Step-Davitamon Frenchman Richard Virenque was the winner. He played a significant role in all of the breakaways. Virenque was able to grab the most KoM points, but he eventually rode all by himself. The finish time was approximately
Armstrong Update
Virenque won Man in Yellow: He put himself in the yellow
Do you remember four time stage winner Alessandro Petacchi? The Tour was canceled by the Italian as expected. Sprinters don’t like climbing, and Alessandro said that he couldn’t hold on to the climbs any longer.
STAGE 8: SALLANCHES TO LALPEDHUEZ
Course description: This stage is the most difficult of the 03 Tour. It covers 136.1 miles and includes two sprints, one Cat 3, one Cat 2, and two Hors Categorie climbs (HC).
Winner: Iban Maio Virenque kept his breaks under control as he climbed the most famous climb in the world. Mayo sped away from the remaining four riders in the lead group after four-and-a half miles. It took
Armstrong update: The Americas Tour Champion, who admitted to suffering from injuries, finished third at
The Tour’s Man in Yellow: It is funny how things work. Yesterday Lance was only two minutes behind yellow. He won the leader’s jersey today with a time of forty seconds faster than Joseba Beloki, a Spanish ONCE-Eroski rider.
STAGE 9: BOURG DOSANS TO GAP
Course description: The pack starts by climbing a Cat 1 climb. It then climbs up the Col dIzoard HC climb. The 114.6 mile stage is completed with two sprints, one Cat 2 climb, and one Cat 3 climb.
Winner: Six miles from the finish, Kazakhstan star and Telekom rider Alexandre Vinokourov climbed the final Cat 3 climb to secure the Stage in a timed of
Armstrong update: Lance was riding hard in an effort to reel Vinokourov in, but he had a frightening moment when Beloki ran out in front of his bike. The Texan made use of his MTB skills and narrowly avoided the Spaniard. He then jumped off the road to moto across a hayfield, cyclocross through a ditch, and rejoined the chase group. Lance was fourth overall at 0
Dario Cioni was the lone mountain biker and placed 79th.
Man in yellow: Lance, still in yellow, is the MAN in peloton with a total G.C. Time of 4
WHAT DO WE THINK?
Every day, the U.S. The U.S. Postal Service rides with a plan that will bring Lance home safely in yellow Before Stage 9, there were only two riders with the necessary team support and full range of riding skills to challenge Lance. Joseba Beloki, Jan Ullrich and party boy Jan Ullrich. The Posties have been riding to keep Lance safe, time-wise, from his main rivals.
Unfortunately, Beloki’s injuries from the terrible crash have ended his Tour hopes. Lance will not have it easy, however. Vinokourov’s top placing and stage victory have earned him 21 seconds of Lances G.C. time. The Telekom rider is a serious threat. Hamilton is in fifth place overall
Jan Ullrich won 1997 the Tour.
