Professional Cycling - Somebody tell Rasmussen

Does Rasmussen know that he's not supposed to win or contend the Tdf this year? He might be thin but he doesn't know any better, and he isn't tired. He will definitely hang with Lance until the next TT.
Could Ulrich look any more unmotivated and tired. He does nothing but follow. No attacks, doesn't get dropped too badly, he's just doing his time.
Why is Julich ahead of Basso right now in the GC?
Anyone see Armstrong back out of that sprint when he knew he couldn't win.

In Tuesday's stage Kloden and Ulrich on the road together trying to make it up to Armstrong, valverde, Rasmussen and Mancebo.

I never saw Ulrich leading Kloden. Kloden was left to lead the pace on his own. Ulrich never took a turn in the front.

This will be the last time Ulrich or any other contender can step up and be victorious over LA. Wouldn't you think that either win or lose Ulrich would be busting is ### to have a go at LA one more time?

They're already calling him 'Rasmoochin' on some of the other boards

Rasmussen has no team support. If he is going to make a play, it will be at one of the mountaintop finishes - stage 14 or 15.

Ulrich can't match the climbing pace. He never has been able to, so why would he now? Since Lance destroyed him in stage one, what difference can he make in the race? He will loose more time in the mountains to come.

I really like Ullrich, but I wish I would see some tactics from him and T-Mobile, the day that Kloden and Vino attacked was great but Jan just sat there, I don't understand the thinking at T-Mobile. Lance gained a minute on the ITT, and more minutes on the mountains, and Jan just sits there, where does he plan on making time? Is he just happy to be close, Hinoult has a saying, "No gifts" maybe Jan could learn from that. I would enjoy another Lance victory more with Jan nipping at his heels.

Why is Julich ahead of Basso right now in the GC?

???

Basso is in 4th, Julich is in 17th.

They're already calling him 'Rasmoochin' on some of the other boards
Who was he moochin the other day when he was kickin' LA's arse from start to finish? That's Disco's fault if they want to do all the work for the rest of the riders. I wouldn't be wasting my guys if your guys wanted to do all the work either.

This Rasmussen guy seems to be the real deal. Either he has a serious poker face, or he is fairly comfortable climbing at Disco's pace. I bet Lance wishes he had pulled back a couple of minutes on this guy Saturday. I doubt if he is given any more breakaways, and the TT may be his undoing, but I am really rooting for a podium finish for Ras.

Richard

With a rest day after stage 15, I wonder if he'll try to do what he did the last time?

im sure he'll lose time in the TT.i dont think hes a TT specialist is he?

We are gonna know on Sunday night who is real and who is not. At this point in the Tour, most of the contenders are tired, many have been in crashes, and many have injuries. Saturday and Sunday are going to be brutal. If a rider is still within two minutes of the yellow jersey on Sunday night, he is certainly "for real".

If Ullrich and Basso truly are riding to win the Tour, Saturday and Sunday are the best shots at gaining a lot of time. This week-end is likely to be the most exciting part of the 2005 Tour. We will find out who is "for real". And we will see who "is looking forward to the 2006 Tour".

im sure he'll lose time in the TT.i dont think hes a TT specialist is he?
Here is the stage 1 position of Rasmussen.
174 057 RASMUSSEN Mickael RAB DEN 03' 14"

I'm thinking he'll need a good 5 min lead going into the TT if he wants yellow.
I keep hearing references on OLN that he just wants the KOM jersey. That's all he really cares about.

His 3' 04" placing in the first tt was also when he was not conecentrating on gc plaement.

He said in one interview that he had 2 goals, be in polka dots, and win a stage at some point during the tour. So im sure he rode competitively in the tt, no one at this level of sports doesnt at least try, but i doubt he was trying to give it his all, as lance was.

Now that he's met his 2 goals, and done them both early, and finds himself sitting in a gc contention spot, my bet is he rides the next tt a lot faster. He may not be a tt specialist, but im sure hes gonna place higher than in his first tt.

I do hate the fact that hes basically leeching onto another team to get where he is, but thats part of the sport.

Rasmussen finished 3 minutes down in a 19 km ITT. The boy is gonna lose 5 or 6 minutes to Armstrong in the final time trial. He wants the KOM because he can win it.

If a rider is still within two minutes of the yellow jersey on Sunday night, he is certainly "for real".

If I rider is still within 2 min of the Yello? How about if a rider can get to within 2 min of the yellow? Other than the kid in the dots everyone is outside 2 min and closer to 3 or 4 min down.

Other than the kid in the dots

Now thats funny......hahahahah

It would be nice to not see a blow out by Lance. I say have a few people withina few seconds going into paris, now THAT would make the race worth it by far!!

???

Basso is in 4th, Julich is in 17th.

My bad Devil, I saw Julich 4 min behind Basso, musta confused w/ someone else. Will Basso hang with lead pack in the mountains this weekend? Looked kinda tired after that drop on Stage 10.

I really like Ullrich, but I wish I would see some tactics from him and T-Mobile, the day that Kloden and Vino attacked was great but Jan just sat there, I don't understand the thinking at T-Mobile. Lance gained a minute on the ITT, and more minutes on the mountains, and Jan just sits there, where does he plan on making time? Is he just happy to be close, Hinoult has a saying, "No gifts" maybe Jan could learn from that. I would enjoy another Lance victory more with Jan nipping at his heels.

My thoughts exactly, it's like he's hiding in the pack and that's got to piss his sponsors off because for being as good as he is he gets less face time it seems than any in the top 15-20. Funny that he is ahead of Vino in the GC but who did we see on tv yesterday - Vino. Part of it I know is Discovery will never let Ullrich attack successfully so that has got to wear him down.

I like Ullrich, but you have to look at things realisticaly:

He gave up 2 minutes in the first mountains.

He gave up over 1 minute in the first ITT

Where the hell is he going to gain any time?

His only chance would be to infiltrate a early break on rolling terrain that had enough combined horsepower and motivation to hold off the Disco's. Good luck with that.

Rasmussen has no team support.

Menchov and Boogerd ain't chopped liver. Menchov was sick, but he must be getting better cause he ain't dropped out, and Boogerd has won in the mountains here a few times plus he won Paris-Nice. He can still drag it up the hills. And Breukink knows a thing or two about riding the TDF.

When I say Rasmussen has no team support, that would be compared to Disco. Rasmussen is the only Robobank rider in the front group on the climbs.

He teammates are all outstanding cyclist otherwise they would not be on the team, but once the climbing starts in ernest, he has to go back to the car himself for food and water....

I like Ullrich, but you have to look at things realisticaly:

He gave up 2 minutes in the first mountains.

He gave up over 1 minute in the first ITT

Where the hell is he going to gain any time?

His only chance would be to infiltrate a early break on rolling terrain that had enough combined horsepower and motivation to hold off the Disco's. Good luck with that.

I know he's kinda boxed in timewise, it's frustrating to watch talent shutdown and wait for 06 TDF. By the way - don't know if I ever told you I grew up in Bethesda MD., went to BCC high School, and vacationed at Rehobeth and Ocean City as a kid. MD is a great state.

My perfect podium in Paris: Armstrong, Vinokourov, Rasmussen. I don't know if Vino can pull back that much time though. Maybe Valverde has a better shot of making the podium. Maybe Moreau could make the podium, but I know nothing of his TT skills. I'm guessing Rasmussen probably loses the podium spot in the TT too. Armstrong, Vino and...?

Valverde is supposed to be really hurting with tendonitis in his knee. The Spanish papers actually said that he is not going to start tomorrow. The team has denied that and said he will....

... I don't understand the thinking at T-Mobile...
The one year Jan did something special during Lance's reign ... was the year he wasn't at T-Mobile. Hmmm ...

They're already calling him 'Rasmoochin' on some of the other boards
More like Rasputin. You can't kill this guy.

This should be a great weekend. And we've got an outdoor festival to view Saturday's stage at in Seattle:
http://www.cascade.org/EandR/tours/tour_cyclism.cfm

Lance is great but let's see some drama! Last year was so stale...

when i saw the post title, i thought the punchline would be "...to eat a hamburger."

i ts goo to see anyone nipping at lance's heals. if rasmussen has to take over for the rest of the "favorites" so be it. i want to see a race, not a one man, one trick show.

The one year Jan did something special during Lance's reign ... was the year he wasn't at T-Mobile. Hmmm ...


I'm glad to see I was not the only one who thought this. I saw another post saying that " Jan is finished" I thought he was finished when he resinged with T-mobile. I'm sure he could have found a diffrent team that would have given him 100% support.

when i saw the post title, i thought the punchline would be "...to eat a hamburger."


QFT.. That is one skinny dude!!

Ras"muffin" is a heck of a climber, but will give up 6 or 7 minutes in the final time trial. Ullrich finds it hard to attack when he's already at 100% on the climbs. After Vino and Kloden launched those attacks, you would think Ullrich would go if he could. Valverde is gone to tendonitis, so Ras is the man to dethrone the champ, and he needs 6 or 7 minutes to do it............. ain't gonna happen! Accidents or illness are the only things that can stop NUMBER SEVEN!!! The wildcard has already been played with Triki gone. Wonder who'll take up the slack of stringing out the climbers on the first half climbs of each stage?

Rasmussen will get buried in the TT. Might just hang on for a podium finish.

I'm glad to see I was not the only one who thought this. I saw another post saying that " Jan is finished" I thought he was finished when he resinged with T-mobile. I'm sure he could have found a diffrent team that would have given him 100% support.

Well yeah. Just look at the situation this year. The pink team is in the middle of the Tour Day France and Walter is staying up all night posting on Bike Forums instead of tending to whatever it is the director needs to by tending to. :roflmao:

After what happened to Uli in the opening ITT and the catch of Basso on the ITT last year Rasmussen must be a little concerned. If the speed differential is great like it probably will be it could make the highlights film and get replayed for years.

Speed differential??? There will be a cloud of dust similar to the Tasmanian Devil in the cartoons, then as it goes by, Rasmussen will be spinning round and round on his backside, then getting up, adjusting his shell, remounting his bike, and humming "Dum, De, dum... as he plods away in a 54x14.....

Ras"muffin" is a heck of a climber, but will give up 6 or 7 minutes in the final time trial. Ullrich finds it hard to attack when he's already at 100% on the climbs. After Vino and Kloden launched those attacks, you would think Ullrich would go if he could. Valverde is gone to tendonitis, so Ras is the man to dethrone the champ, and he needs 6 or 7 minutes to do it............. ain't gonna happen! Accidents or illness are the only things that can stop NUMBER SEVEN!!! The wildcard has already been played with Triki gone. Wonder who'll take up the slack of stringing out the climbers on the first half climbs of each stage?

Ok guys, I'm glad you thought of this. So for Saturday/Sunday stages I think Lance is gonna do some dropping of Rasamataz. It seems this tour Lance got alot of press from the PTT and although the image of him passing Ulrich is indelible I think he wants to leave the game with a really classic drop. I know the ITT will be a gimme over Rasmutten but I really think he wants to put some time on Raz before the TT just for pride, showmanship - whatever. Saturday is kind of flat at first but that last climb - there will be some carnage. What do you guys think.

I like the Rasmussen story. The lack of team support plus the plain "gutsiness" of his race so far is just amazing. I was wondering what you guys think of his chances on Sunday. He is solidly at the top of the KOM, but obviously his time puts him in solid contention for the GC (TT notwithstanding). If someone like Moreau attacks early on Sunday it will force Rasmussen to race early.

Now, here's my question. I keep reading this stuff about his unwillingness to carry water on ascents. Could he dehydrate on those multiple early climbs if he is forced to go with a break on Sunday?

After Saturday's Stage it seems Raz was dropped pretty good. This seems odd to me in light of Ulrich's performance, I assumed Raz was a much better climber. Is Raz holding back for tomorrow's very tough stage? I suspect we may see him attack early, forcing Lance to either concede time and depend on the TT to drop Raz back or Lance will have to keep Raz in check tomorrow?

Tomorrow will tell. Ullrich looked pretty good today.

After Saturday's Stage it seems Raz was dropped pretty good. This seems odd to me in light of Ulrich's performance, I assumed Raz was a much better climber. Is Raz holding back for tomorrow's very tough stage? I suspect we may see him attack early, forcing Lance to either concede time and depend on the TT to drop Raz back or Lance will have to keep Raz in check tomorrow?

Tomorrow will tell. Ullrich looked pretty good today.

I was a little surprised as well. I suspect Rasmussen might just not have the same level of "explosiveness" that allows Armstrong, Basso, Vinokourov, etc. to open up gaps like they do. I think the comparison to Ullrich is a valid one...except that Rasmussen's musculature is smaller than Ullrich's and that makes Rasmussen more efficient for longer climbs, but limits his ability to turn big chainrings.

I think Rasmussen's chances at gaining time on Armstrong are kind of screwed. If he tries to ride off, Armstrong will go, drawing Basso and Ullrich and whoever else can hold on. At that point Armstrong's rivals become allies as they all want to move up in the standings over Rasmussen (although it is kind of humourous watching Armstrong try to talk other riders into going with him when they either don't want to or can't). If the tour were a week longer with two or three more nasty mountain stages, I think Rasmussen would dominate.

Raz has failed to prevent further time gap damage during stage 14. He suffered more time loss to Armstrong, Basso and Ulrich. Is Raz a flash in the pan? He might be interesing to watch in Stage 15 after a day of rest.

More than likely he realizes that the three biggies (Armstrong, Basso and Ulrich) will take back any time won and more during the next TT, so he may have refocused his efforts toward the KOM.

The one year Jan did something special during Lance's reign ... was the year he wasn't at T-Mobile. Hmmm ...

I think Jan would benefit from leaving T-Mobile; but, it may be too late in the game for him.