Tuesday, July 12, 2005

 

Stage 10: Alpine Attrition

THE "DISCO BOYS" ARE BACK. Well, the first major stage in the Alps--with two major Cat 1 climbs--literally blew up the peloton. Doubts about Discovery Channel's ability should be squelched; the team worked together to set a torid pace on the climb up to Courchevel's mountain-top finish. The "Disco Boys'" (is that a new Liggettism, i.e., a coined phrase or turn of words by OLN-TV announcer Phil Liggett?) pace left suffering and heart-broken contenders in their wake as they charged up the mountain.

LIKE A MACHINE. Each Discovery Channel team member took a turn at leading the peloton and, when spent, peeled off to let another team member take a turn at the lead. Finally, Yaroslav Popovych peeled off, launching his captain toward the peak. Lance Armstrong led three unshakable hangers-on into Corchevel--Mickael Rasmussen, Alejandro Valverde, and Francisco Mancebo. Valverde was the only one who could match Lance today; the Spaniard nosed ahead of the American at the line for the stage win.

KING OF THE HILL. Armstrong left no doubt today who is king of the hill. At times it seemed he was toying with his rivals. In the end, none were able to stay with him. The main contenders for the Tour de France championship could only try to limit their losses. Here's where the top 25 in the General Classification stood before Stage 10 and after the stage:

B = GC position before Stage 10
A = GC position after Stage 10 (with time behind Armstrong after Stage 10)
B A
1 72 Jens Voigt (Ger) CSC -29'23"
2 4 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Credit Agricole -2'42"
3 1 Lance Armstrong (USA) Discovery Channel
4 2 Michael Rasmussen (Den) Rabobank -38"
5 16 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) T-Mobile -6'32"
6 17 Bobby Julich (USA) CSC -6'37"
7 3 Ivan Basso (Ita) Team CSC -2’40"
8 8 Jan Ullrich (Ger) T-Mobile -4’02"
9 18 Carlos Sastre (Spa) Team CSC -6'37"
10 32 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel -12'15"
11 9 Andreas Klöden (Ger) T-Mobile -4’16"
12 10 Floyd Landis (USA) Phonak Hearing Systems -4’16"
13 23 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Illes Balears -9'03"
14 14 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Discovery Channel -6'25"
15 11 Santiago Botero (Col) Phonak -5'20"
16 6 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Gerolsteiner -3’58"
17 37 Jose Azevedo (Por) Discovery Channel -13'03"
18 21 Joseba Beloki (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth -8'31"
19 28 Oscar Pereiro Sio (Spa) Phonak -10'35"
20 51 Jose Enrique Gutierrez (Spa) Phonak -19'41"
21 36 Roberto Heras (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth -12'59
22 52 Dario Frigo (Ita) Fassa Bortolo -20'32"
23 12 Jörg Jaksche (Ger) Liberty Seguros-Würth -5'33"
24 5 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Illes Balear -3’16"
25 13 Cadel Evans (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto -5'55"
27 7 Francisco Mancebo (Spain) Illes Balears -4’00"

A few notes in the wake of Stage 10:


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