Professional Cycling For the Fans - What are the chances ...

... Ullrich can/will make up 6 min on Armstrong in the TT? I know he is very good when it comes to tt's but is he good enough to even get close? If he does I think it will make for a very interesting last few days. Maybe even an actual race on the last day?;) That would be a bit different.

:beer:

On a good day Ullrich might scratch some seconds off Armstong but anything over a minute is quite unlikely. Basso might also in a good day scratch some seconds off Armstrong but he will probably struggle on the flat ITT. All said, probably Lance will increase his lead on the rest of the contendors. I think considering the time difference and the stages remaining Klöden has the best chance to end up second.

Did not Armstring say he wanted to be at least 4min in front of Ullrich before the last tt? I would think that he was worried that Ullrich may be that good this year and ride that much faster then Lance. After seeing Ullrich pull it together yesterday I figure he is going to tear it up today. I realize that 6 min is a lot to make up but if he can get close, Armstrong, Basso and Ullrich all going at it in the last few stages is going to make for an exciting finish.

:beer:

I think Ullrich has a very good shot at beating his own record (for most times in 2nd place), Basso has lost tons of time in the uphill TT's and flat TT's in the past. As for Ullrich still getting into Yello, that would be pretty hard, especially after today (I don't expect Jan to get closer to Lance today).

Andrew

Ullrich has two chances: slim and none. :)

On the flat TT last year when Lance unfortunately let himself get severely dehydrated, Ullrich was still only able to gain, what a minute and a half? Barring something bizarre happening to LA, I won't be holding my breath looking for Jan to pick up significant time on a severe uphill TT. He may hold his own, but I will be surprised to see more. I am a bit concerned about that his attack yesterday may have wasted some resources that could have been put to better use today. Hopefully the effort was not sustained long enough to have dipped too deeply.

i thought the most that could be lost was 2 minutes, so his chances of making up six minutes is almost impossible.

i thought the most that could be lost was 2 minutes, so his chances of making up six minutes is almost impossible.
The limit for time lost was for the team time trial only. There is no limit to the
amount of time one can gain/lose on the Individual TTs.

Marty

Did not Armstring say he wanted to be at least 4min in front of Ullrich before the last tt?...

I think maybe he said he wanted to have 4 mins in the bank for the TT, it's because he wanted to win the GC by 5 mins.

:)

On the flat TT last year when Lance unfortunately let himself get severely dehydrated, Ullrich was still only able to gain, what a minute and a half? Barring something bizarre happening to LA, I won't be holding my breath looking for Jan to pick up significant time on a severe uphill TT. He may hold his own, but I will be surprised to see more. I am a bit concerned about that his attack yesterday may have wasted some resources that could have been put to better use today. Hopefully the effort was not sustained long enough to have dipped too deeply.

Exactly what I was going to say. Plus, Jan now needs 8 minutes. Better be attacking early tomorrow. USPS better be attentive. I have a feeling they will be.

They will have to crack Armstrong tomorrow.

Going by Armstrong's form, I would be suprised to see him finish worse than 2nd in that final time trial. At best, Ullrich will maybe get two minutes, unless a freak accident occurs.

Lance, I think, is unstoppable all the way to Paris, even if he might lose one of the remaining stages, unless... something terrible happens, like an accident or so.

He's not only superlative but highly psyched up, not to talk about how hot he's to get the 6th
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