Guest

Stage 21: Corbeil- Paris, 144 km

thewalrus

Last year's stage featured Lance drinking champagne from a glass while riding alongside the Postal car...

Despite UCI rules banning all glass beverage containers on the course!

phidauex

Could have been one of those lexan 'glasses' that look just like glass.

peace,
sam

Dolomiti

He said it was plastic.

SunSwingsLow

I think you meant 'Texan" glasses.

Iron Chef

60% chance of rain. Possible thunderstorms.

SunSwingsLow

Could have an impact on the sprinters and the Green Jersey.

55/Rad

He hasn't won a stage this year and Sunday's parade into Paris will be a formality. I contend that Saturdays Time Trial will be the last time we truly see Lance at his peak - both physically and emotionally.

Anybody willng to bet against him?

55/Rad

1955

Not a chance!

cycleprincess

I won't bet against him, but it does seem like he's just going through the motions. Wise choice for him to bid adieu to the TDF. Give someone else a chance, for a change.

1955

How can killing everyone else in the race be going through the motions??? He just makes it look easy me thinks. Like Eddy Merckx says "no gifts". Or was that Benard Hinault that told that to Lance last year.

CyLowe97

Lance always Jan is the man to beat.... at this point (i.e., after 6 going on 7 in a row TdF), it's just head games.

Though, I wouldn't put it past Jan to put in a Herculean TT effort to jump past Rasmussen onto the podium....

Hipcycler

Nope.
All LA, all the time.

Next year will be very interesting to watch without him. Who will step up?

But for now, how fitting that LA's only stage win will be the solo TT?!

snowy

It doesn't matter, the man is a machine, will always be a machine!!!

steve_wmn

It's perfectly fitting for Lance to win nothing but the ITT. Ask yourself this: How many stages have Ulrich and Basso won this year? Lance hasn't won any because he hasn't had to. His main rivals just haven't been up to the challenge.

Grasschopper

I too assume LA will win the ITT. To me the interesting race will be Ullrich and Rasmussen. I can't wait to see those two guy ride.

hi565

what she said ^

jrennie

i find it interesting LA is very quick to credit the strengths of his rival and not their weaknesses. Modesty is a sign of true virtue

ddeand 

Lance Armstong - Winless Champion

It is a pretty interesting development in terms of what he has done in the past - I'm surprised he hasn't won a stage, but I'm not disappointed. This is a unique TdF in that the best cyclist (maybe athlete) in the world is retiring after this race.

Maybe another way to look at things would be from a team standpoint. As Armstrong has matured and grown with his celebrity and his own sense of self, maybe he doesn't really need to win a stage. Sure, it would be nice, but he can win the Tour without a stage win.

What has been interesting this year is the success of the Disco team - they have accomplished things that none of the other "Lance" teams have done, and I get the impression that he is as excited about that as he might be about a stage win for himself. The other day, an announcer was asking about the lack of stage wins and the supposed weakness of the Discovery team - Lance countered that they had the overall leader, a stage winner (Hincapie), took the team time trial, and had the White Jersey (best rookie) on the team - "Not too bad," he said.

For some reason, I think this last Tour is very different for Armstrong - he really has nothing to prove, and he seems to be solidly in control of the race. Maybe that's what his aim was.

At any rate, the lack of drama on Armstrong's part has allowed for some more interesting stories to develop. And he may just get that ITT win.

Dean

collegeskier

If it rains it will have a huge effect on the sprint considering it is all cobbles, also known as ice.

Does anyone know if they have still have the rule that if it is raining the time it taken on the first lap and the next bunch are just raced to finish the race and for the sprinters?

cibai

Is there any possibility of a Jan attack in some form on Basso? Or will the sprinters teams make such a move impossible?

hi565

I dont know why, but lance is garunteed the win. But can someone explain why, thats another thing i dont understand.

sambusik

I think it's simply bad form to launch an attack on the GC leader on this stage. Nothing stopping them, but they'd probably get beyatch slapped.

Imagine Lance sipping on champagne, and CSC launching an attack ... Won't happen ...

Lance even pulled over to take a piss last year!!

Has a tour ever been decided on the last day? Or is it mostly a ceremonial stage?

CyLowe97

Not sure if a Tour has been decided on a regular stage on the last day, but the famous Lemond TT ride in '89 did gain him the Yellow Jersey over Fignon. Lemond said that on the penultimate stage that Fignon had congratulated Greg on a good tour as if it was already over.... Laurent didn't count on aero bars and missing 58 seconds on the last day.... classic case of underestimation.

As for Lance only winning the TT this year, I think he may have gotten more satisfaction that Georgie and Paolo won stages for Discovery this year than he would have gotten from taking a regular stage... just an impression, though. Lance seemed so resigned to marking Basso and the T-Mobile boys that any other breaks were just let go. Hey.... 7 overall wins ain't nothing to sneeze at...

SunSwingsLow

What a glorius day in American Cycling. In part giving birth to the domination we see today by Lance.