Professional Cycling For the Fans - TdF Stage 1 - Saturday July 4 - 15km ITT - Monaco

damn! here comes contador.

Anyone else getting the feeling that someone's about to destroy 20 and make Levi et al look like they are at the kiddie table?

Hmm. "Destroy" was a bit weak.

nice! but damn, cancellar, still... wow.

Damn.

that was pretty fun! Here's to tomorrow!

This almost seems too predictable. We need some rain on the TTT to neutralize the obvious.

Predictable? the order maybe but the gap?!

Awesome outcome - almost surprised that Lance remained in the top 10

Predictable? the order maybe but the gap?!

Read my previous quote. It seemed almost too obvious as Phil and Paul kept drooling over Levi. They are a punter's wet dream.

3 Astana riders in front of LA; this should shut him up for a few days. :)

Sorry I wasn't listening to Phil and Paul.

3 Astana riders in front of LA; this should shut him up for a few days. :)

makes him a domestique I guess :D

He actually looked stronger than I expected. He'll get better over the week.

Off to place a bet on Astana for the TTT, I wonder what odds I'll get:)

Eurosport has better objective commentary with Sean Kelly but Phil and Paul make this what it is--entertainment. Because they have to get the ratings for Versus and its core audience, it's very obvious in what they say and who they cover the most and this is why I love it.

makes him a domestique I guess :D

He actually looked stronger than I expected. He'll get better over the week.

Off to place a bet on Astana for the TTT, I wonder what odds I'll get:)

:roflmao2:

and there's a bet I wouldn't go against. :D

Read my previous quote. It seemed almost too obvious as Phil and Paul kept drooling over Levi. They are a punter's wet dream.

I'm convinced they both sleep with life-size cutouts of Lance, Levi and "Big Georgie." Wonder if their wives are jealous.

:lol: I think Bobke actually get's paid in Hampton Hotels credits every time he mentions Lance. They talk about Contador's 2nd place ride for 10 seconds.

edit: They talk about the sprinters tomorrow and don't even mention Boonen because drugs are bad. Irony.

Fabian Cancellara is a baller!

Surprised Lance slipped back so far. 10th spot, hope the imbecile shuts up now.
Paul and Phill need to get off Levi and Lances shaft.

Sastre is going to have a hard time pulling back each second he lost today, even if he is the better climber. Plus the Schleck monkeys combo arent going to make things easy for anyone.

Anyone know if they'll cover any of the F1 circuit? The Grand Hotel Hairpin? Nouvelle Chicane? The tunnel? I can't tell from that map.

Parts of it are the same, but only a few. The F1 circuit varies every few years, but here it is in general:
http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd48/a_ascari/mapa_trazado_ENG.jpg

Good Luck to them all

One thing I was surprised to see where some roads that branched off left open. No orange cones, no orange triangles, no red arrows, nothing. There were parts in the course where there were Y forks in the road, and other than spectators in the distance, it was impossible to tell which fork to take, and either road was so easy to turn onto. I know from racing that when your head is down, especially in a descending position or TT position, your peering almost over your eyebrows, and your vision is so blurry from all the bumps in the road because your resting your arms on the handle bars, you almost cant see where your going. Add sweat to the mix stinging in your eyes a little.

Luckily most, if not all the riders ride the route a few times.

Parts of it are the same, but only a few. The F1 circuit varies every few years, but here it is in general:

Good Luck to them all

wrong f1 track!

Contador may be the guy to beat this year, could be Alberto,Levi and Lance in Paris.

holy **** cancellara

+1, this dude is just damn fast.

Just the first stage though, hell Cavendish pretty much slept though it... not too much to be made of it, outside it was lots of fun and I think the Astana ego-tripping may have seen a little resolution. Oh, and maybe a good showing from Evans just to tell folks he still exists.

But, if it's ANY indicator, I hope it means a fun Tour this year!

Astana's deck is fully stacked. In modern cycling, has there ever been a team that occupied all 3 podium spots in Paris?

My husband and I had a side bet on where Armstrong would finish in the prologue. The loser pays for tonite's dinner. After much anguish on his part, his guess was 4th and mine was 10th.

The grilled chicken with onions and mushrooms was particulary good tonite! :D

Just curious, but how many times in sports history have we seen "dream teams" completely disintegrate? Very curious to see how Astana will really do when/if egos need stroking and chest need pounding.....

Just curious, but how many times in sports history have we seen "dream teams" completely disintegrate? Very curious to see how Astana will really do when/if egos need stroking and chest need pounding.....

Look no further than T-Mobile a few years back. Ulrich, Kloden, Vinokourov, Julich, Botero, Zabel it looked great on paper, but they still couldn't beat LA.

That being said, Contador looks really strong, he may not need all of Astana to help him out, we'll see.

I really dont see Astana staying together much longer with the present cast of characters. Three guys who all should have a chance to win and there can only be one leader. Its a great team but it will eventually be divided against itself.

Look no further than T-Mobile a few years back. Ulrich, Kloden, Vinokourov, Julich, Botero, Zabel it looked great on paper, but they still couldn't beat LA.

That being said, Contador looks really strong, he may not need all of Astana to help him out, we'll see.

And the yankees and I think a few basketball teams and.....

Just curious, but how many times in sports history have we seen "dream teams" completely disintegrate? Very curious to see how Astana will really do when/if egos need stroking and chest need pounding.....

True, true.


Look no further than T-Mobile a few years back. Ulrich, Kloden, Vinokourov, Julich, Botero, Zabel it looked great on paper, but they still couldn't beat LA.

That being said, Contador looks really strong, he may not need all of Astana to help him out, we'll see.

He def smoked that TT today. The team adds so much defense though, can the peloton disrupt it?

Very cool pic of Cancellara IMHO:

http://cdn.media.cyclingnews.com//2009/06/21/2/par2624609_600.jpg

The amount of commercials in the prime time re air on versus is crazy.

That is why I DVR the morning show.

anyone have uploaded or willing to upload the coverage of this stage? I loved the support that the Giro saw from a couple of guys uploading daily. I have no access to versus and am gone in the mornings when they air it anyway.

Sorry if this has already been asked, but what about Kloden? Was his time special or not? I don't know much about Kloden and not sure how well he TT's.

What was up with Cancellara taking a bottle (aerodynamic equivalent of a boat anchor)?

You have an awesome TT bike then put on a bottle for just a 20 min ride.

Didn't look like anyone else had a bottle, at least not on the frame.

Not that it cost him the win, but it certainly cost a few seconds.

a measley 10 mile race and everyone is counting lance out already ?

What was up with Cancellara taking a bottle (aerodynamic equivalent of a boat anchor)?

You have an awesome TT bike then put on a bottle for just a 20 min ride.

Didn't look like anyone else had a bottle, at least not on the frame.

Not that it cost him the win, but it certainly cost a few seconds.
You never know, bottle could have been on purpose to put the bike at UCI weight limit. Im sure if you can pick up on that, he might have given it a thought ;) ;)

Surprised Lance slipped back so far. 10th spot, hope the imbecile shuts up now.
Paul and Phill need to get off Levi and Lances shaft.


riiiight when has lance said anything other than if contador is the #1 rider on July 4th I will be the best domestique I can possibly be?

phil and paul support lance because 99% of the people who watch Versus are Americans who have only heard about cycling because of him...



What was up with Cancellara taking a bottle (aerodynamic equivalent of a boat anchor)?

You have an awesome TT bike then put on a bottle for just a 20 min ride.



Didn't look like anyone else had a bottle, at least not on the frame.

Not that it cost him the win, but it certainly cost a few seconds.

it has been proven on some bike frames in wind tunnel testing that a bottle is MORE aero than without.

you really think the TT KING isn't going to test that out? ;)

Chad

What was up with Cancellara taking a bottle (aerodynamic equivalent of a boat anchor)?

You have an awesome TT bike then put on a bottle for just a 20 min ride.

Didn't look like anyone else had a bottle, at least not on the frame.

Not that it cost him the win, but it certainly cost a few seconds.

if Cancellara does it, i would do it too.

What was up with Cancellara taking a bottle (aerodynamic equivalent of a boat anchor)?

You have an awesome TT bike then put on a bottle for just a 20 min ride.

Didn't look like anyone else had a bottle, at least not on the frame.

Not that it cost him the win, but it certainly cost a few seconds.

As stated it is said that the some frame and rider combos are more aero with a bottle on the down tube than without.

On that note, clearly you did not notice, but anyone have any input on why Sastre wasn't using the P4 issue water bottle? Did I miss some note in the UCI rules that makes that bottle illegal?