I'm without a computer for a few days, so don't expect more updates soon. But i assure you that the story will continue.
I have raced three mountain stages in the Vuelta though, and I can say that Cadel has been very impressive so far
Flat, boring stage where Petacchi took the victory, McEwen did a better sprint than usual and came 4th
Stage 7 - Barbastro - Andorra 224km Mountain
A big mountain stage, with two 1 categories at the end with the finish at Andorra De Arcealis where Jan Ullrich took
his magic victory in the 1997 tour. Cadel Evans is motivated and wants to move up in the GC.
Herrado Lopez is in front before the last climb, but the peleton is soon catching up.
Ricco has attacked but all the favourites are there including Michael Rogers.
Now Denis Menchov attacks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The other favourites have not reacted yet, but the russian looks strong.
Now Michael Rogers have cracked, he can not follow the other GC men's pace. Actually good news for Evans and Contador
because Rogers have crushed them in all the tt's so far.
With 8kms to go, Contador and Evans are together, only watching each others moves, but Menchov is getting away.
Menchov is still looking good, can he improve his third place from the tour?
Contador attacks again, Cadel still has the power to respond though, Ricco is also riding a great race.
Cadel has come back to Contador and now attacks!!!!!!!!!!!! Sensational ride from Cadel
Here comes Menchov, a great stage victory for the russian, will he take the golden yersey too?
Cadel arrives to a great 2nd place, we can see Conta in the background though.
Contador has been outclassed by both Menchov and Evans, but it's worse for Michael Rogers who loses his race lead.
Evans loses 0'51 to Menchov but gains 0'42 on Conta, Rogers loses a whopping 3'48.
Menchov also has the race lead with 27s to Evans.
Stage 8 - Andorra - Pla D'Beret 160km Mountain
Another big mountain stage which finishes with first a HC mountain, and then the short but sharp finish to Pla D'Beret
where race leader Denis Menchov won in the 2006 Tour. Can he reapeat the feat today? Also will Contador try to attack Evans?
Let's find out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Franco Pelizotti has attacked over a mountain top and gains a big lead, he looks cool on the descent.
Pelizotti is nearing the top of the HC climb and he still has a big advantage, but luckily he's a bit behind in
the GC.
A beautful victory for Pelizotti, he rode almost the whole race by himself, and also moves in to the top 10 in GC
Now let's concentrate on the action behind, Contador has attacked and he's gaining ground on the Menchov group!!!!!!!
Cadel can see Contador, so it will probably come together before the Pla D'Beret
Contador is caught by the Menchov group as the final climb begins, but he still has energy left to
ATTACK!!!!!!!! Contador is fearless and attacks again, now there is only 4 left, Contador, Evans, Menchov and Sammy Sanchez
What's this? Conta and Evans has got a small gap to the Menchov, is the russian finally cracking?
Yes!!!!!!!! Menchov has cracked, but he's trying to limit his losses together with Sammy Sanchez
Cadel Evans sprints to the line with a small gap to Contador, will it be enough to take the golden yersey?
Pelizotti with a dream stage, but who has the golden yersey?
Yes!!!!! Cadel Evans has taken the golden yersey in the pouring rain at Pla D'Beret, it's still very close tough with
Menchov only 7s behind and Contador 28s behind.
Stage 9 - Viella - Sabinanigo 190km Hilly
Should be a easy stage for Cadel and Silence Lotto to defend the yersey altough there can always be suprises.
Cadel looks good in his new golden yersey, now he wants to keep it to Madrid.
Paxti Vila holds a small gap before the last 2nd Category climb of the day, there is still over 50kms to go to the finish
from the top so it could end up in a mass sprint
But look who it is Contador is attacking again, what now Cadel?
Cadel is now responding with a huge gear, the aussie is in great shape
There is a small group at the top, and Cadel is actually first over, now it's only a 55kms mostly downhill and flat to
the finish.
With 44kms to go, we have a 6 man leading group with Contador, Evans, Menchov, Karpets, Bruseghin and Valjavec.
Evans plays it cool and skipps a few turns at the front, we can see that Marzio Bruseghin is visably irritated with
the aussies racing.
After lot's of attacking during the downhill it's now only 5 men, Evans, Contador, Karpets, Mosquera and Piepoli. The main
bunch is not far behind though.
Look at this, Cadel Evans has more powers left and attacks with Leonardo Piepoli!!!!!!!!!!
The sprint has started with Piepoli and Evans going for it, look how close the main bunch is!!!!!!!
Yes!!!!!!!!! Cadel wins his first stage victory in this Vuelta, he easily beat Piepoli in the sprint, it would have been
worse had it been Ricco
A wonderful stage win for Cadel
Cadel also increased his lead in the GC and now leads with 27s to Menchov
Evans in super form in Spain
Silence Lotto's Cadel Evans is dominating the Vuelta Espana, now he sees a chance to finally win a grand tour.
" I feel that this is the year to win the Vuelta, im in great shape and i'm better than ever in the mountains, of course
i still have to watch out for Menchov and Contador as their really close in the GC. I will now focus on the Angliru stage
wich i think will define who will win the Vuelta, hopefully it will be me".
Cadel Evans smiling in the Vuelta, with good reason.
A tribute to Sammy Sanchez ( unrelated to story)
I just want to say congrats to Samuel Sanchez after his incredible win in the Olympics. I have always admired Sammy because
of his attacking nature and his good morale and sportmanship. Today he showed that he is one of the best cyclist's in the
world, Congrats Samu!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Samuel Sanchez showing great emotions on the podium
A) Cor Evans actually looks like pinochio doesn't he?
That letter after A)It's not really the Vuelta he's standing at is it? Why did you put up the picture you founs with a bluddy great TOUR DE FRANCE in the background?
C)Well done in the Vuelta!
D)WELL DONE SAMI! I didn't want you to win while you were in the group with Fabian Cancelarra, but you were my sdond fave in the group. Although if I hadn't come across him the Euskaltel Story I probably wouldn't care.Edited by Wiggo on 10-08-2008 06:38
[quote]MayMaggot wrote:
A) Cor Evans actually looks like pinochio doesn't he?
That letter after A)It's not really the Vuelta he's standing at is it? Why did you put up the picture you founs with a bluddy great TOUR DE FRANCE in the background?
I forgot that it was an old picture from 07, (+ i was really tired when i put together the story)
Goldberger wrote:
Il Imbatimbo looks set to take another tour
"Im Imbatimbo"? is that a botswanan name?
Evans seems strong in the mountains but weak in time trials. that's weird. very weird. Good for you though, since there are no more flat TTs left: this is a climbers' Vuelta Edited by issoisso on 10-08-2008 11:39
The preceding post is ISSO 9001 certified
"I love him, I think he's great. He's transformed the sport in so many ways. Every person in cycling has benefitted from Lance Armstrong, perhaps not financially but in some sense" - Bradley Wiggins on Lance Armstrong
Evans seems strong in the mountains but weak in time trials. that's weird. very weird. Good for you though, since there are no more flat TTs left: this is a climbers' Vuelta
Haha I read that they called Valverde Il Imbatimbo in a article somewhere, it's supposed to mean unbeatable in spanish but I guess i have spelled it completely wrong. I'm going to blame lack of sleep again
As for the vuelta, yeah it looks good for Cadel altough i'm a bit worried about the angliru, because it will be difficult to match Contador's endless attacks up a 23% slope
Yaroslav Popovych has placed 5th in a tough Deutschland tour and was optimistic about his chances in the coming tour of Poland.
" I think i rode a great race, had I been a bit luckier I could have maybe been on the podium, but i will admit that Valverde,
Klöden and Schleck where stronger than me in the mountains".
Boasson Hagen Silence Lotto's next transfer target?
The Norwegian super talent Edvald Boasson Hagen could be the next big signing for Silence Lotto. Several experts have said
that Boasson Hagen has not progressed good enough in Team High Road and could need a new team. His Contract expires in 2009
but Silence Lotto could be willing to buy Hagen. Team manager Redant said " Edvald is one of the biggest talents in this
sport and we would love to have him on our team". Silence Lotto have started talking to Boasson Hagen and a possible
transfer is expected to take place in October.
Hey guys, I have a problem now, I changed computer for a few days ago, PCM worked exellent on the computer i had before, but now the game is slow and the screen even goes white and the whole computer stops when i start to play I play on the lowest graphical detail ecxept 1+ on spectators. I need help to find out if there is something i can do or if I just should give up? This would mean the end of the story
System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 8/10/2008, 15:17:09
Machine name: ACER-2266C0EBDB
Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp.050928-1517)
Language: Norwegian (Bokmål) (Regional Setting: Norwegian (Bokmål))
System Manufacturer: Acer, inc.
System Model: Aspire 5670
BIOS: ZB1 v1.3232 3B32
Processor: Genuine Intel(R) CPU T2050 @ 1.60GHz (2 CPUs)
Memory: 1022MB RAM
Page File: 534MB used, 1923MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.2180 32bit Unicode
Card name: ATI Mobility Radeon X1600
I play on the lowest graphical detail ecxept 1+ on spectators. I need help to find out if there is something i can do or if I just should give up? This would mean the end of the story
