lilyprotector

I was really surprised that he came in ahead of Contador--very happy, but surprised. My impression is that most people thought Contador would out tt him esp since Lance has spoken of his struggles with the tt since returning. Is this what other people thought too?

Laggard

Well that's it. Armstrong will win.

fskywalker

I think it's too early to say this would have any meaning on the results since understand was a rainy event and maybe Contador did not gave his best? I hope that Armstrong wins this year but we will probably don't know until they reach the mountains.....

rogwilco

Yes, there is a thread about the prologue already.

JoelS

And it's bad form to put the results of a stage in the title. There are many who haven't watched the stage yet.

DXchulo

Maybe so, but anybody who comes here without seeing the stage first is an idiot.

5 seconds will be a drop in the bucket in Paris.

BengeBoy 

Anybody coming to BF is already an idiot.

Seeing a thread on race results with the results in the title just rubs it in.

Seriously, folks, don't put results in the title.

lilyprotector

omg, don't know what i was thinking. duh! i shouldn't have put the results in the title. is there anyway to change it? i went back in and tried to edit post but it wouldn't let me change the title. i wanted to just put armstrong/contador finishes. if anyone knows how please let me know!
my bad!

obviously 5 sec is nothing in a three-week tour. my point was just that i was surprised by the outcome nonetheless. i really thought contador was going to finish well ahead of lance. and i was surprised that lance finished so well. and happy!

Hezz

I would expect Armstrong to have an advantage over Contador in a short flat time trial like this. Armstrong probably has 15 more pounds of muscle than Contador and he should be able to generate higher wattages. For a short time trial like this he has an advantage. It is also typical for Armstrong to do well when he let's it all go. Which he can do now that it is the TDF.

daredevil

When I've yet to watch a basketball or baseball game which I frequently do on the net, I don't go to the sports page until I'm done watching. If I do accidentally, I don't blame the sports page for printing the results. Just sayin'.

colombo357

This argument makes no sense.

Higher wattage and good aerodynamics is the formula for any length of time trial, not just short ones. That's why Cancellara won today's prologue as the reigning world champ. He rode much further than 8.9K to get that rainbow jersey.

Dubbayoo

"Armstrong races Contador in Prologue" is not a spoiler. "Armstrong OUTraces Contador in Prologue" is a spoiler.

cyclezealot

Yippee.

colombo357

LA and AC's start times were separated by 3 minutes. Weather did not play a factor.

And AC never holds back, it's not his style.

DXchulo

They changed the title. I think it said "beat" earlier.

Hezz

Which is the essentially the same thing that I said. So how does my argument make no sense. Since Lance has more lean body mass than Contador he has more ability to create more wattage. So he can go faster so long as his wind resistance is not too much greater and assuming he can hold the speed. This is why he has an advantage in a short flat TT. Because it is less effected by age. I think he may not do as well as Contador in the long TT. It is a well known fact that the ability to hold high wattages for long periods declines with age.

DXchulo

In the VeloNews video interview, Sean Kelly was saying that it's harder to do a short, hard effort when you get older. I'm not sure what to believe, because I'm not old yet.

raptor3x

I think you've got this backwards. Shorter more intense efforts become harder with age, the longer efforts don't decline as fast. It would be expected that Contador would have the advantage in the shorter events.

OrionKhan

No, this is incorrect.

A long easier effort does decline slower with age. But a long TT is not that. The difference between a prologue and a long TT isn't that one is a short hard effort and the other is long easier effort. A long TT is long hard effort. The prologue is a shorter hard effort. 8.9km versus 52km. Both are intense hard efforts. AC's youth is in the longer hard TT. Its called the "race of truth" for a reason.