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Euskaltel - restoring basque honor
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| Mads_0 |
Posted on 30-06-2008 18:05
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Domestique
Posts: 614
Joined: 14-10-2007
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Tour de France - Stage 17
The queen stage of the tour! First, it's the Galibier and the Telegraphe on the way down. Then, it's the Col de la Croix-de-Fre. And for the grand finale, The BRUTAL, Alpe d'Huez. We're not gonna try anything superhero like on this stage. We're gonna sit tight, watch the proceedings and take care of Sammy untill the final climb. Then it's up to him, our plan is to stay on Menchov. If we're to advance, he's the guy we want to take some time from.
Breakaway of the day. The strongest climber of them Being Velo.. these guys must be wondering what the hell they're doing...
Velo is admiring the landscape as the peleton gains on them. Steady and slow climb for the peleton though. No action so far. Galdos will have a hell of a time today.
At the top of the Galibier, who else! Moreau and Contador attack, they're followed by Jens voigt.
Contador doesn't like his companions and he bursts away from them on the Telegraphe. He's definately on a mission today!
But they're all caught on the flat between the two first climbs. The Croix-de-Fer is looming up ahead. It's very nervous and something will definately happen.
And here we go, only the remnants of the initial breakaway are ahead now. Lotto and Rabobank are sending the big boys up front as Gesink starts his session of torture on the pack.
But the peace and quiet lasts only for a little while as Gadret tries to follow Contador in another attack from the spaniard. I hope Gadret knows what he's getting himself into.
Remarkably Gadret is hanging on to the Astana ace. With 5.2km to the top the peleton is starting to reduce and soon, only Astarloza will be left with Sanchez.
But Gadret has to give in. Contador is on his own now and he has a massive gap on the peleton. Astarloza is now alone on the job and will have to protect and fetch water for Sanchez all the way to the Alpe d'Huez. Sanchez is feeling exeptionally good today though. His form doesn't get any better than it is and he said over the radio that the really high pace isn't bothering him much at all.
Top of the climb, Moreau, Pereiro and Soler attack again. These 3 have probably attacked a minimum of 3 times in every stage that had anything even remotely resembling a climb.
34km to go now. Only Contador and Gadret out in front. Popovych is putting his last bits of strength into the chase as Astarloza gets ready to get the last bottle of water for today.
And here we are. Contador still in the lead as Gadret gets caught by the peleton. Up ahead, the renowned Alpe d'Huez. 15km of ruthless percentages. Sanchez is feeling really good!
12.5km to go. Contador is caught by repeated attacks from the peleton as Lotto and Rabobank absolutely burn their last two helpers. Leipheimer attacks in front of Sanchez... no reaction Evans.. Menchov goes!! Sanchez in counterattack! This will be a long gruelling climb!
But Sanchez looks the strongest! Only Menchov was able to close the gap to Sanchez but he looks bothered. Sanchez sets a relatively high pace.
6,4km to go, Leipheimer has given up the chase. He tried for a few km to close the gap but Sanchez' pace was too high. Now to see if we can get rid of Menchov! Sanchez lowers the pace for a little while to try and regain some strength to accellerate.
4,5km to go. Menchov is still hanging on, Sanchez will have to try now if he is going to try at all.
3,3km, Menchov is dropped. But he's using everything he has to come back though. This man just wont go away!
2,5km, Evans has given up his chase and is not gaining on us anymore. It will be Sanchez or Menchov. Sanchez has done ALL the work on this climb but Menchov seems to be hanging on by a thin thread after he closed the gap from the last attack. He's hanging further and further back of Sanchez' wheel.
1,5km, Sanchez opens the sprint early despite Menchov being on his wheel. And Menchov can't follow him at all! He gets up for a second and sits back down! Sanchez!
YES! Sanchez has won on the Alpe d'Huez! What a show by our captain!
Evans takes 3rd, Kirchen 4th and Leipheimer fights his way across the line almost 2 minutes behind. This will put Menchov ahead of Leipheimer and Leipheimer closest in the GC.
Reaction
What a ride... what a brilliant stage for us. Sanchez is in such good condtition, and to see him win like this. And on this stage of all.. it's fantastic. And the way he did it.. he just climbed up on his own pace and Menchov must've been hurting so bad! 5% more and he would've been dropped i'm sure of it! This will turn the GC around a bit in the top, but it wont make a podium any easier for us. There's still a small hill towards the end tomorrow. But there's also a matter of the 50km ITT still left to ride. So the podium will have to be next year. But that's ok, we've got 4th, one spot better than what we came for, and we've got some beatiful stagewins.. this one, we'll remember for a long time!
Stage
1 Samuel Sánchez Euskaltel - Euskadi 6h14'55
2 Denis Menchov Rabobank s.t.
3 Cadel Evans Silence - Lotto + 39
4 Kim Kirchen Team Columbia + 1'23
5 Levi Leipheimer Astana Cycling Team + 1'45
6 Juanma Gárate Quick·Step s.t.
7 Andy Schleck Team CSC - Saxo Bank s.t.
8 Óscar Pereiro Caisse d'Epargne + 2'36
9 Andreas Klöden Astana Cycling Team s.t.
10 Yaroslav Popovych Silence - Lotto s.t.
11 Christophe Moreau Agritubel s.t.
12 Fränk Schleck Team CSC - Saxo Bank + 3'36
13 Thomas Dekker Rabobank s.t.
14 Alberto Contador Astana Cycling Team s.t.
15 Tadej Valjavec AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
16 Mauricio Soler Barloworld s.t.
17 Sébastien Joly Française des Jeux s.t.
18 Thomas Voeckler Bouygues Télécom + 5'12
19 David Moncoutié Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone s.t.
20 Patrice Halgand Crédit Agricole + 6'00
21 Michael Rogers Team Columbia s.t.
22 Chris Horner Astana Cycling Team s.t.
23 Vladimir Gusev Astana Cycling Team s.t.
24 Charles Wegelius Liquigas s.t.
25 Sandy Casar Française des Jeux s.t.
26 Jens Voigt Team CSC - Saxo Bank s.t.
27 Robert Gesink Rabobank s.t.
28 David López Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
29 Jurgen Van den Broeck Silence - Lotto s.t.
30 José Angel Gómez Marchante Saunier Duval - Scott s.t.
GC
1 Cadel Evans Silence - Lotto 72h54'16
2 Denis Menchov Rabobank + 2'03
3 Levi Leipheimer Astana Cycling Team + 3'08
4 Samuel Sánchez Euskaltel - Euskadi + 3'39
5 Andy Schleck Team CSC - Saxo Bank + 8'16
6 Kim Kirchen Team Columbia + 9'28
7 Andreas Klöden Astana Cycling Team + 11'26
8 Óscar Pereiro Caisse d'Epargne + 11'31
9 Christophe Moreau Agritubel + 11'53
10 Yaroslav Popovych Silence - Lotto + 12'27
11 Juanma Gárate Quick·Step + 14'08
12 Fränk Schleck Team CSC - Saxo Bank + 14'42
13 Tadej Valjavec AG2R La Mondiale + 14'52
14 Mauricio Soler Barloworld + 15'00
15 Thomas Dekker Rabobank + 15'46
16 Michael Rogers Team Columbia + 16'25
17 Robert Gesink Rabobank + 17'30
18 Jens Voigt Team CSC - Saxo Bank + 17'49
19 Sébastien Joly Française des Jeux + 18'36
20 José Angel Gómez Marchante Saunier Duval - Scott + 19'43
21 David Moncoutié Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone + 19'44
22 Jurgen Van den Broeck Silence - Lotto + 20'18
23 Thomas Voeckler Bouygues Télécom + 21'27
24 Vladimir Gusev Astana Cycling Team + 22'13
25 Roman Kreuziger Liquigas + 22'52
26 Chris Horner Astana Cycling Team + 23'39
27 David López Caisse d'Epargne + 23'42
28 Johann Tschopp Bouygues Télécom + 24'17
29 Gustav Larsson Team CSC - Saxo Bank + 24'54
30 Janez Brajkovic Astana Cycling Team + 25'44
Points
1 Samuel Sánchez Euskaltel - Euskadi 20 238
2 Erik Zabel Team Milram 0 180
3 Thor Hushovd Crédit Agricole 0 168
4 Daniele Bennati Liquigas 0 166
5 Allan Davis Mitsubishi - Jartazi - Protech 0 152
6 Kim Kirchen Team Columbia 13 149
7 Cadel Evans Silence - Lotto 15 149
8 Tom Boonen Quick·Step 0 140
9 Heinrich Haussler Gerolsteiner 0 136
10 Levi Leipheimer Astana Cycling Team 12 131
Mountain
1 Cadel Evans Silence - Lotto 30 167
2 Denis Menchov Rabobank 35 145
3 Levi Leipheimer Astana Cycling Team 26 143
4 Samuel Sánchez Euskaltel - Euskadi 40 124
5 Alberto Contador Astana Cycling Team 64 122
6 Christophe Moreau Agritubel 46 116
7 Mauricio Soler Barloworld 28 104
8 Kim Kirchen Team Columbia 26 95
9 Andy Schleck Team CSC - Saxo Bank 16 82
10 Rein Taaramäe Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone 0 80 |
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| Mads_0 |
Posted on 30-06-2008 18:08
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Domestique
Posts: 614
Joined: 14-10-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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issoisso wrote:
Mads_0 wrote:
issoisso wrote:
Mads_0 wrote:
It really takes it our of a rider to ride a GT, and two GT's is the absolute max, the limit seems to be somewhere around 60 racedays, in that vicinity
fatigue is only from training. in case you doubt me, look in game where it says "fatigue (training)" 
Yeah, but doesn't it seem odd that only riders above a certain number of racedays lose max fitness(max number of bonuspoints from racedays reduced)
that's the effect of racedays, not fatigue
Either way, makes your riders suck |
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| alex153 |
Posted on 30-06-2008 18:12
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Protected Rider
Posts: 1396
Joined: 31-10-2006
PCM$: 200.00
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Damn, a lot of luck getting +5 on this of all days, but congrats on an magnificent win |
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| Karl_rab |
Posted on 30-06-2008 18:13
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Sprinter
Posts: 1888
Joined: 09-06-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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Absolutely fantastic stage, great riding and it just goes to show you cant get rid of the mighty russian 
Shame levi didnt totally blow up or else you could of had 3rd 
oh well you still have the points jersey 
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| MrContador |
Posted on 30-06-2008 18:14
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Domestique
Posts: 540
Joined: 26-03-2008
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What a thriller! Superb writing, and great result with Sanchez! |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 23-12-2024 11:38
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Bot Agent
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| Smoothie |
Posted on 30-06-2008 18:14
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Team Leader
Posts: 6622
Joined: 04-02-2007
PCM$: 300.00
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Leipheimer is catchable now, Well done Mads you keep on getting better and better. Amazing!! |
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| Mads_0 |
Posted on 30-06-2008 18:15
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Domestique
Posts: 614
Joined: 14-10-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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Karl_rab wrote:
Absolutely fantastic stage, great riding and it just goes to show you cant get rid of the mighty russian
Shame levi didnt totally blow up or else you could of had 3rd
oh well you still have the points jersey
And i reckon i'll keep it now. Should be able to get a few more points. But Menchov was annoying. No matter what he just wouldn't let go. Even managed to get s.t. |
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| Addy291 |
Posted on 30-06-2008 18:15
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 8915
Joined: 29-11-2006
PCM$: 200.00
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Great riding, podium is definately on now
YORKSHIRE BORN, YORKSHIRE BRED... |
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| issoisso |
Posted on 30-06-2008 18:22
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 22918
Joined: 08-02-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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don't tell me you still haven't realised Moreau and Soler are attacking for mountain points?
and if you have, why the whining about it?
Anyway, congratulations.
The preceding post is ISSO 9001 certified
"I love him, I think he's great. He's transformed the sport in so many ways. Every person in cycling has benefitted from Lance Armstrong, perhaps not financially but in some sense" - Bradley Wiggins on Lance Armstrong
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| BB95 |
Posted on 30-06-2008 18:30
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Stagiare
Posts: 242
Joined: 16-06-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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What A Race  |
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| hillis91 |
Posted on 30-06-2008 18:31
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Team Leader
Posts: 5903
Joined: 30-11-2006
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Awsome, go Sammy!
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| Ed |
Posted on 30-06-2008 18:38
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Amateur
Posts: 8
Joined: 16-09-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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Congratulations on winning the Alpe d'Huez...
It's in fact a great tour your doing with Sanchez! |
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| Mads_0 |
Posted on 30-06-2008 18:45
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Domestique
Posts: 614
Joined: 14-10-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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issoisso wrote:
don't tell me you still haven't realised Moreau and Soler are attacking for mountain points?
and if you have, why the whining about it?
Anyway, congratulations.
There be no whining here, you'd just think they'd go for full points and not the leftovers once in a while. Guess that's not their style |
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| Mads_0 |
Posted on 30-06-2008 18:48
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Domestique
Posts: 614
Joined: 14-10-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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bit of a break in posting guys. Will do a stage or two more later |
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| Iceman2807 |
Posted on 30-06-2008 18:48
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Amateur
Posts: 10
Joined: 28-06-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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what a stage!!!
great win on the most brutal stage of them all
way to go mads |
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| hillis91 |
Posted on 30-06-2008 18:54
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Team Leader
Posts: 5903
Joined: 30-11-2006
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Mads_0, you should get an admin to delete all replays expect the stages?
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| Ak4 |
Posted on 30-06-2008 19:25
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Stagiare
Posts: 226
Joined: 15-04-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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If there wasn't any time-trial you would get the 3rd place |
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| wackojackohighcliffe |
Posted on 30-06-2008 19:50
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7681
Joined: 19-02-2008
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great stage
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| Biathlon |
Posted on 30-06-2008 20:00
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Sprinter
Posts: 1813
Joined: 15-06-2008
PCM$: 300.00
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Wow nice winB)
Words to live by
"What would Lance do?"
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| mowinckel91 |
Posted on 30-06-2008 21:45
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Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 995
Joined: 24-02-2007
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What a victory... |
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