Fausto - Where is the update?

[glen]

Keep us informed! Your thread is so helpful, keep it up!

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Check here or here.

Yow! Check out this podium girl.

 

[glen]

"I'm sad and disappointed," said Simeoni, who before today's dramatic breakaway has been more known for his stated intention to take Armstrong to court over remarks made about him in France's Le Monde newspaper last year.

To many, the Italian's escape was regarded as a defiant message to Armstrong, something he denied.

"It's not to make a statement," said Simeoni. "It's more a question of pride. I came here on good form, and with the intention of taking something away from it. But the Tour's not over yet, and I still plan to go for a stage win."

What si that all about?
What did Lance say?

 

[waggy]

someone pushed another guy? heh i missed a LOT of this years race. bummer

 

[DurocShark]

Originally posted by: DonVito

Yow! Check out this podium girl.

Looks like the guy's reaching for something more fun than a bottle of Arrowhead!

 

[FrustratedUser]

Originally posted by: DonVito
Check here or here.

Yow! Check out this podium girl.

All podium girls are hot. But the hottest are always in yellow. Check out the last few days of super hot brunettes.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Glen:

Simeoni was "sad and disappointed" because his breakaway was absorbed by the peloton, and he wasn't able to seriously compete for the stage win.

As for the Simeoni/Lance controversy, here is a summary from this time last year. Lance called Simeoni a "liar" in Le Monde:

Armstrong stands accused in latest drug furore
From Jeremy Whittle

THE controversy over Lance Armstrong?s links with Michele Ferrari, the Italian sports doctor on trial in Italy over the supply of doping products, resurfaced last night. Filippo Simeoni, the Italian rider, plans to take the Tour de France champion to court for alleged defamation in the wake of remarks the American made in Le Monde in April.

?My dignity has been offended,? Simeoni said. ?I want a public apology. Armstrong can?t say what he wants and not be punished.?

Both riders have been clients of Ferrari, but while Simeoni has testified that the doctor gave him banned products, Armstrong has resolutely defended his adviser against any wrongdoing.

The furore over Armstrong?s relationship with Ferrari erupted at the 2001 Tour when the American publicly admitted that he was among his close advisers. Despite proceedings beginning against Ferrari, who has firmly denied all charges, Armstrong has continued to defend the relationship.

In the interview published in April, Armstrong attacked the credibility of Simeoni?s testimony after the Italian had given evidence in the trial. Simeoni said that proceedings against Armstrong had to be instigated before July 14.

Simeoni, a professional since 1995, won a stage of the Tour of Spain in 2001 and rides for Italy?s Domina Vacanze team, who missed this year?s Tour after they failed to qualify.

 

[SZLiao214]

Originally posted by: DurocShark

Originally posted by: DonVito

Yow! Check out this podium girl.

Looks like the guy's reaching for something more fun than a bottle of Arrowhead!

Wouldn't you to if you spent all day sweating with a bunch of other guys?

 

[glen]

Originally posted by: DonVito
Glen:

Simeoni was "sad and disappointed" because his breakaway was absorbed by the peloton, and he wasn't able to seriously compete for the stage win.

As for the Simeoni/Lance controversy, here is a summary from this time last year. Lance called Simeoni a "liar" in Le Monde:

Armstrong stands accused in latest drug furore
From Jeremy Whittle

THE controversy over Lance Armstrong?s links with Michele Ferrari, the Italian sports doctor on trial in Italy over the supply of doping products, resurfaced last night. Filippo Simeoni, the Italian rider, plans to take the Tour de France champion to court for alleged defamation in the wake of remarks the American made in Le Monde in April.

?My dignity has been offended,? Simeoni said. ?I want a public apology. Armstrong can?t say what he wants and not be punished.?

Both riders have been clients of Ferrari, but while Simeoni has testified that the doctor gave him banned products, Armstrong has resolutely defended his adviser against any wrongdoing.

The furore over Armstrong?s relationship with Ferrari erupted at the 2001 Tour when the American publicly admitted that he was among his close advisers. Despite proceedings beginning against Ferrari, who has firmly denied all charges, Armstrong has continued to defend the relationship.

In the interview published in April, Armstrong attacked the credibility of Simeoni?s testimony after the Italian had given evidence in the trial. Simeoni said that proceedings against Armstrong had to be instigated before July 14.

Simeoni, a professional since 1995, won a stage of the Tour of Spain in 2001 and rides for Italy?s Domina Vacanze team, who missed this year?s Tour after they failed to qualify.

Is there any doubt that they are all on banned drugs?

 

[JEDI]

"Among the top overall contenders, Lance Armstrong (U.S. Postal Service-Berry Floor) is sixth at 9:35,"

stage 10

how many stages are there?

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: JEDI
"Among the top overall contenders, Lance Armstrong (U.S. Postal Service-Berry Floor) is sixth at 9:35,"

stage 10

how many stages are there?

20 total. The layout of the race is very unusual this year, in that the most challenging mountain stages are at the end, including a time trial up L'Alpe d'Huez, perhaps the most famous mountain climb in the Tour. This was largely done to limit Lance's odds of winning (though he is still the overwhelming favorite, and looks very strong to this point).

The fact that he's 9:35 down is meaningless at this point in the race. USPS let a breakaway, consisting of a few riders who are not competitive for the overall title, get away a couple of days ago. Lance will recover this time quite easily on the first day in the mountains. A couple of years ago, in what he calls his easiest Tour win, he was down by something like 37:00 at this point in the race.

Tomorrow is the first stage with any climbs of any consequence, but they are still very limited compared to the last week of the Tour.

 

[glen]

Originally posted by: DonVito

Originally posted by: JEDI
"Among the top overall contenders, Lance Armstrong (U.S. Postal Service-Berry Floor) is sixth at 9:35,"

stage 10

how many stages are there?

20 total. The layout of the race is very unusual this year, in that the most challenging mountain stages are at the end, including a time trial up L'Alpe d'Huez, perhaps the most famous mountain climb in the Tour. This was largely done to limit Lance's odds of winning (though he is still the overwhelming favorite, and looks very strong to this point).

The fact that he's 9:35 down is meaningless at this point in the race. USPS let a breakaway, consisting of a few riders who are not competitive for the overall title, get away a couple of days ago. Lance will recover this time quite easily on the first day in the mountains. A couple of years ago, in what he calls his easiest Tour win, he was down by something like 37:00 at this point in the race.

Tomorrow is the first stage with any climbs of any consequence, but they are still very limited compared to the last week of the Tour.

Why would putting the climbs last hurt Lance?
Isn't he supposed to dominate in the mountains?

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: glen

Why would putting the climbs last hurt Lance?
Isn't he supposed to dominate in the mountains?

He's probably the best climber of the major contenders, but I think what Jean Marie LeBlanc, the organizer of Le Tour, was after was to have a "pure climber" (i.e., a rider who is small and lean, and not necessarily strong in time trials) win. This is historically unusual - the last climber to win was the late Marco Pantani, in 1998, and relatively few climbers have won the Tour over the years.

LeBlanc and company also set up weird rules for the team time trial to prevent one team (in particular, USPS, the pre-race favorite and victor of that stage) from taking too large an advantage.

It's rare to have either of the two individual time trials on a major climb like L'Alpe d'Huez, and by the time they reach the second ITT (the penultimate stage), it's possible a pure climber could have taken such an advantage that the ITT would not allow enough time to be recaptured. As it happens, Lance is clearly a better climber than his main rivals, Ullrich and Hamilton, and Iban Mayo, who climbs like an angel and was considered a dark horse, is already significantly down on time due to a crash on Stage 3. At this point, Lance still looks like a strong favorite.

 

[glen]

ooooh, Does a Time TRrial mean that Lance gets teh time of the slowest person on his team?

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: glen
ooooh, Does a Time TRrial mean that Lance gets teh time of the slowest person on his team?

No. In the Team Time Trial, each team starts with its full complement of riders (9, unless the team has had someone drop out before that stage). The time of the fifth rider across the line is applied to the entire team, _BUT_ if one or more riders have dropped off the back during the stage (USPS lost one rider in the TTT, rookie Benjamin Noval, who I don't think had any technical problems - he just couldn't hang), they take their actual times.

The problem with this is that generally any rider who doesn't finish a given stage within 15% of the fastest time is kicked off the Tour. This is especially problematic in a TT, becuse they're short stages, and unlike a road stage, a laggard can't form a group with other riders to take up chase (it's estimated that a rider saves 40% of his energy by drafting another rider, which is how they attain such crazy sustained speeds on a TTT - USPS rode just over 40 miles in 1:12 this year, in spite of torrential rains and a tricky course). If your team leaves you on a TTT, you are a hurtin' unit.

This rule is often waived, especially when, as has happened from time to time, a breakaway stays off the front by a large differential in a road stage. IIRC, there was a breakaway of a handful of riders in 2002 that took something like a 35-minute lead at the end of a stage, so enforcing the rule would have meant that something like 150 riders, including all the favorites, would be kicked off.

 

[glen]

Thanks.
What happened with the pushing at the end of the race today?
The announcers even had different opinions on it.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: glen
Thanks.
What happened with the pushing at the end of the race today?
The announcers even had different opinions on it.

I dunno - I didn't see it. It's times like this that we need the actual Fausto - I'm just a hollow substitute!

It's not uncommon for riders to use their elbows and even heads to jockey for position in sprinting for the line, but I don't know what happened today. It couldn't have been TOO dramatic if neither of those sites mentions it and no riders were taken out of the Tour; Robbie McEwan doesn't have a reputation as a thug. The finish-line pic looks pretty clean as well.

EDIT: Was it this - after the stage was won? It looks like Stuey O'Grady (in the red-white-and-blue Cofidis jersey, near the left) might have muscled in on Robbie McEwan (the stage winner, in green), probabaly out of frustration, just after the finish. Hard to tell. Luckily nobody went down - a crash in that situation, at that speed, would have caused an extremely dangerous pileup.