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Three category 5 climbs?!?

All I can say is... yawn. Hey, I can still hope for a breakaway! Damn lazy sprinters.

Three category 5 climbs?!?

All I can say is... yawn. Hey, I can still hope for a breakaway! Damn lazy sprinters.

Aren't those "S"'s, ie. sprint points? Looks like there's just 1 category 4 climb.

Oops. I'm even less impressed.

H'm. OK, in the silly predictions department: Thor for the win, Millar will get one more day as "Grimpeur." I think it's going to take McEwen another day or so to fully recover.

Maybe we should start a "Crash Pool...." ;)

I think we'll see the usual suspects leading the charge to the line tomorrow. I'll call Robbie pulling it out in tribute to Freddie's bad break today.

Oscar Freire for the win.

30km average speed for one of the last hours... I wish I was in that peleton

"On days like this riders tend to fall asleep" - that's me going to the fridge for a cold one...

Guys...any internet audio feeds that actually WORK??? Help please...

The shot of the motorbike rider at the back of the peleton taking a picture of the snail on the front of his bike was priceless.

"On days like this riders tend to fall asleep" - that's me going to the fridge for a cold one...

Steegmans just did exactly that. Stupid crash. He seemed to simply not be paying attention there.

Guys...any internet audio feeds that actually WORK??? Help please...

steephill.tv go to tour de france, click for live links, choose the versus video feed and you'll get video and audio (it's liggett and sherwen).

Guys...any internet audio feeds that actually WORK??? Help please...

http://eurosport.yahoo.com/audioplayer.html

sopradic

Dang it they're going to slow...my PVR is going to stop recording before they're done! Now I really wish I networked that computer so I can Remote connect to it.

Come on TMobile get Cavendish up there

Awww.... yeah. I even had this as my 'Joker' stage for the winner in my fantasy cycling thing-a-ma-doodle.

Wow!

The stealth of the Yellow Jersey!

HOLY CRAP! CANCELLARA!!!!!

taught all the sprinters a lesson with that effort!

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Well, Cancellara finally made it exciting after 6 hours of boredom there. What an incredible move! And not only does he now have two wins, but he's got the yellow jersey for another day. Man, CSC's glad they brought him this year!

(One thing though: watch the replay and he pulls up early to celebrate and almost lost it!)

Holy Crap! That was friggin' awesome!!!

Wow. That's all I can say, wow. Further proof that Cancellara is indeed a monster.

Why did the 4-man break start doing the cat and mouse dance at the end? They could've easily kept away from the peloton.

Great finish! Makes the yellow jersey proud!

^^ 6 Hours? wow it only seemed like 8

Nice finish. Boring stage, eh? :D

That was great!!!! Any ideas on when a stage last finished in a similar fashion? Never?..

Great finish... Yellow Jersey actually winning a stage!!! He's not even known as a sprinter!!!

Wow. Props to Cancellera...proper representation of the Yellow Jersey.

whoa, talk about timing it to perfection, catching up to the bunch in the last 500meters :o props to Cancellara for bridging that gap and forcing the peloton to chase up !

what a stage!! :D glad i stayed up (2:51 am here is aus)

The view from above tops stage 1's. Cancellara MURDERED that break. It was one of those moments when they looked back, and as they were looking back, he was flying past. That was definitely a gutsy move.

Wow. That's all I can say, wow. Further proof that Cancellara is indeed a monster.

Why did the 4-man break start doing the cat and mouse dance at the end? They could've easily kept away from the peloton.


Good question. They looked like the Four Stooges, pushing each other off the podium.

But then, 3 of the 4 in the break are French, after all.:)

What an awesome stage. This TDF has been great so far.

Good question. They looked like the Four Stooges, pushing each other off the podium.

But then, 3 of the 4 in the break are French, after all.:)

Happens quite often; can't speak from firsthand experience (in my races, never had the fortunate occurance of being in a breakaway with over a minute gap with under a few kilos to go), but some of it has to do with desparation...either continue to work together and watch the gap slowly trickle down until the peloton swallows you up, or take your fate into your own hands and try and break away for a solo.

It's worked in the past...but odds are certainly against you.

so, i need to just watch the last hour of the recap/replay coverage on VS tonight? cool. sounds like a great ending. later.

Why did the 4-man break start doing the cat and mouse dance at the end? They could've easily kept away from the peloton.

Because it's a team sport. When you're in the break, your team's entire possibilities are in you. 4th place might be a nice finish for an individual, but for a team, it's only a little above average. Don't think of it as 4th out of 189 riders, think of it as 4th out of 21 teams. Then think about the fact that the winner gets 10 times the coverage for the team and sponsor as 2nd place. Your job in the break is to win, and you go all or nothing. If the break does stay away and you come in last, it's going to be a quiet bus ride back to the hotel.

Yeah, I *thought* it was going to be boring.


I was wrong.

Because it's a team sport. When you're in the break, your team's entire possibilities are in you. 4th place might be a nice finish for an individual, but for a team, it's only a little above average. Don't think of it as 4th out of 189 riders, think of it as 4th out of 21 teams. Then think about the fact that the winner gets 10 times the coverage for the team and sponsor as 2nd place. Your job in the break is to win, and you go all or nothing. If the break does stay away and you come in last, it's going to be a quiet bus ride back to the hotel.

What? How is a guy who was just in a >200km break going to help a teammate less than 1k from the line? 4th place in a successful break is better than middle of the peloton, especially when all the teams with sprinters are gunning so hard for you.

Not to mention that Auge had a chance at yellow if he finished 18 seconds (I think) ahead of Cancellara. You think he'd be upset about 4th place and a yellow jersey?

I guess cancelera has to have pretty good top speed to do so well in the prologue, but still surprising he could break away from a pack doing 55kph, never mind stay ahead of Zabel trying to get up to his wheel.

Because it's a team sport. When you're in the break, your team's entire possibilities are in you. 4th place might be a nice finish for an individual, but for a team, it's only a little above average. Don't think of it as 4th out of 189 riders, think of it as 4th out of 21 teams. Then think about the fact that the winner gets 10 times the coverage for the team and sponsor as 2nd place. Your job in the break is to win, and you go all or nothing. If the break does stay away and you come in last, it's going to be a quiet bus ride back to the hotel.


I guess we see things differently.

If the peloton never catches the break, I've always assumed it just be a free-for-all among riders in the break.

Not that I know anything about race strategy, but it seems logical (if I'm a team director) to have my team just sit in the peloton and bid their time if my team was represented in the break, let every other team do the work trying to bring the break back in.

I'm just sayin'

What? How is a guy who was just in a >200km break going to help a teammate less than 1k from the line? 4th place in a successful break is better than middle of the peloton, especially when all the teams with sprinters are gunning so hard for you.

Not to mention that Auge had a chance at yellow if he finished 18 seconds (I think) ahead of Cancellara. You think he'd be upset about 4th place and a yellow jersey?


Auge needed the 1st place time bonus as well as 18 seconds.

Auge needed the 1st place time bonus as well as 18 seconds.

I guess I missed that in all the excitement. I tuned in right towards the end.

Anyway, the point remains. Auge got the KOM jersey out of all this, and sadly enough, that may end up being the highlight of the entire Tour for Cofidis. There's a reason the breakaway consisted of the following teams: Cofidis, Agritubel, Francaise de Jeux, and Liquigas.

If the peloton never catches the break, I've always assumed it just be a free-for-all among riders in the break.

Right, and the freshest rider wins the free-for-all. So the guy who starts wheelsucking first wins ... which means everybody is in a sort of race to the bottom to do the least.

BTW, it was Vogondy who had a shot at yellow. Auge is much further down, no chance.

Forum full of race directors here... Lol.


What a finish.

Just watched it again...

Forearms flat, aero position, and mashed like hell. He was the first one to commit for the finish line and took it...

B a l l s t o t h e w a l l .

What? How is a guy who was just in a >200km break going to help a teammate less than 1k from the line?

They're not slowing up to help teammates (???) they're slowing up to be fresher than their breakmates, so that IF the break makes it, they can take the win. Obviously there's a contradiction here -- there always is in tactics. It's prisoner's dilemma: if I pull, I lose, but if nobody pulls, I also lose.

4th place in a successful break is better than middle of the peloton, especially when all the teams with sprinters are gunning so hard for you.


Again, it's a team sport. Individual placing, especially for non-stars like the guys in this break, means nothing. They're not out there to feel good about a 4th place in a tour stage; they're there to deliver the win. And if the best they can do is 4th out of the break, then they just wasted an entire stage for their team. The guy who pulls the break in and feels proud of his 4th is, well, not a team player and will probably be looking for a new contract next season. He'd be like a guy in a basketball game who never passes and always shoots, but walks away after his team loses thinking, hey, I just set a new personal record for points per game.


Not to mention that Auge had a chance at yellow if he finished 18 seconds (I think) ahead of Cancellara. You think he'd be upset about 4th place and a yellow jersey?

Vogondy.

Definitely the most beautiful Tour stage finish I've seen in a long time. What really struck me was Cancellara's smooth time trial form contrasting with the sprinters rocking their bikes and rolling their shoulders desperately behind him. Not sure if Cancellara rides the track, but you could put track riders in a sprint against roadies, and it would look pretty similar. But then, the overhead shot shows Zabel and Boonen moving at about twice the speed of Cancellara!

What I didn't understand was why Auge just didn't keep the break moving. He bridged to the 2-up break in order to take the KOM points. It looked to me like the other 3 conceded the full value of the KOM to him. So now, he's got the polka-dot jersey and I would think that this would mean that Auge now should repay this by conceding the stage by being the leadout man. This would have put an end to the cat and mouse, and I think the break would have got across the line first had he done this. Auge probably had enough left to take 3rd anyway (like the Steegmans/Boonen sprint previously, it's the responsibility of the leader to get past his leadout man).

- L.

Incredible finish. The yellow jersey taking a flat non TT stage, now that doesn't happen very often. Hats off to Cancellara.

http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/photos/races07/tdf07/tdf07st03-100togo.jpg

xxx

yep, and believe me when i type this - that cat 4 climb is nothing compared to some unrated climbs that come after the pyrenees.

the only reason why they have a cat 4 climb is to keep the mountains jersey interesting.

They didn't put the climb in purpose. They have a cat4 climb, because they cannot cross whole France without climbing at least one hill on their way. This is France, not Nevada. of course it will give a few points to the polka dot jersey. This is the only reason why Augé has been on the attacking side over the last days. It's a nice way for Agritubel to show themselves before the serious stuff starts on Thursday.