The Tour De France

[Andad]

Originally Posted by Lol-x

Today will basically decide the TDF. If Shleck can't get a couple of minutes advantage over Contador today then I think it's all over unless Contador has a mechanical failure in the TimeTrial (not that I would wish that, but it might be devine justice ).

Just because there isn't a rule in the rule book that says "Riders will not take advantage of fellow riders mechanical misfortunes" doesn't make Contador's conduct any more creditable than it is (and it isn't creditable at all).

There are long standing rider protocols in the peleton which for example include not attacking during a call of nature to another rider (toilet stop).

There is such a thing as a rider contumeliously taking unconscionable advantage of another rider's misfortune (due to no fault of the other rider himself). These commonly accepted protocols are so that riders are placed on their merits and not by one rider taking advantage of another person having to stop to go to the toilet or to get a mechanical mishap rectified. No doubt Contador knew of these principles. If Contador had waited for Shleck and other riders attacked, no doubt Contador would have been on the race radio to the other riders to pull up.

I hope that the race is ultimately run and won on the merits of the riders and not one grabbing an advantage due to a reason beyond another rider's control.

No doubt there are those who take great pleasure and extract advantage for themselves from exploiting a moment of weakness in another. Fortunately there aren't too many people who subscribe to this philosophy.

Hi Steve,

Can you put a hold on all the Forum members posts while I tie my shoelace.

Otherwise I can't keep up.

[Dan Pierce]

That was exciting until the very end and bitter sweet at the same time. Andy Schleck deserved to win as he lead a brutal pace up the mountain. But still no gain on Contador who will probably win GC now.
Steve, a points system would have made that a bit more interesting, I agree.
Still lots could happen so we shall see.

dP

[Skullring]

I thought yesterday was an exciting stage. Schleck and Contador are clearly high above the rest of the pack. It is amazing to see two riders who are matching each other stroke for stroke up the Tourmalet. It has been an exciting tour this year.

[boa2]

Originally Posted by Skullring

I thought yesterday was an exciting stage. Schleck and Contador are clearly high above the rest of the pack. It is amazing to see two riders who are matching each other stroke for stroke up the Tourmalet. It has been an exciting tour this year.

Exciting, for sure!

They were saying this morning that the Tour has never been so close at this point in the race. 8 seconds separate the two riders. Incredible!

Of course, Lemond beat Fignon by that margin, but they were as I recall 50 seconds apart prior to the final stage time trial.

Should be a great one tomorrow!

[Skullring]

Originally Posted by boa2

Exciting, for sure!

They were saying this morning that the Tour has never been so close at this point in the race. 8 seconds separate the two riders. Incredible!

Of course, Lemond beat Fignon by that margin, but they were as I recall 50 seconds apart prior to the final stage time trial.

Should be a great one tomorrow!

Yes Lemond was gaining 2 seconds per kilometer on Fignon in that time trial. I couldn't believe that he was able to win that one. That was a thrilling finish in Paris.

I am sure Schleck and Contador will be giving their all tomorrow in the TT. They are clearly at the top of their game.

[multimedia]

In my opinion, and I know that a lot of other people out there say the same thing, Contador won the Tour when he was able to follow Schleck in that climb on Tourmalet.

He (Contador) will for sure beat Schleck in the TT. The Saxo Bank rider came in (if my memory is not failing me here) as rider nr. 138 in the opening prologue - and history also shows there is a vast different between the 2 riders when it comes to riding fast in TT.

I'm not going to go in to the whole debate regarding waiting/not waiting for Schleck when he had mechanical problems. But do any of you guys remember how it was in the beginning of this Tour? When "they" crashed over the pave section in the Arrenberg stage. When Contador's wheel went bad, Schleck and Saxo Bank hammered on like never before in the front.

Plus Saxo Bank had a team-mate (Fabian Cancellara) neutralize an entire stage because Andy fell down. I guess it was a logical decision for them to make, but then again, they can’t keep stopping the race every time something happens to Andy.

Also, if Contador really wanted to open up a big gap between him and Schleck, he would have pushed him self up that hill in much faster pace (one could clearly see that he wasn't going 100% flat out, and was in fact looking back quite a lot to see what happened with Schleck). Also one thing to remember, neither Samuel Sanchez nor Denis Menchov (nr 3 and 4) waited for Schleck.

Sure, all this debacle is a bit delicate, but I have to agree with the 2 commentators for Swedish Eurosport (2 former pros themselves) that I really didn't see any wrong doing from Contador. At the end of the day, this is bike racing.


Cheers,
Joe

[boa2]

Anyone watching the TT? AMAZING...very tense!!! This one isn't over yet!

[mtrunner]

Originally Posted by boa2

Anyone watching the TT? AMAZING...very tense!!! This one isn't over yet!

Definitely watching!

[multimedia]

Now it's over though. Bigger and bigger gap...

Great race!

Cheers,
Joe

[multimedia]

39 seconds in the end

(Interesting to say the least, since this is exactly the same amount of time that Schleck lost to Contador when he had his mechanical mishap on stage 19...)


Cheers,
Joe

[Lol-x]

It just shows how important those 39 seconds were. Who would have thought a 3 week race would come down to 39 seconds, but how much more interesting would it have been if going into the last stage today the difference was 0 seconds or alternatively there were time bonuses to be won along the stage.

Apart from the usual break-aways and catch ups I think the last stage tonight it going to be somewhat of a procession.

[Dr. Robert]

Big year for Spain...games-wise...Nadal's done very well, Spain won soccer's World Cup, Pau Gasol was instrumental in helping Lakers win NBA c.s., now the Tour.

[Colnago]

To me the big thing to happen today could be a change of shoulders for the green points jersey....the yellow is sewn up now.......but Cav' won in Paris last year.....if Thor and AliJet are out of the top placings and Cav' repeats last year's performance he will take the green on the last day having never worn it so far.......personally I think he deserves it......it takes some amount of gumption to get over those climbs when you have a sprinters body not a mountain goat's.......he's a superstar and has a great great career ahead of him....the emotion he showed when he won his first stage this year was awesome.....that emotion is something that cannot be explained to someone who has never felt it.....

[Lol-x]

It's a big ask for Cavendish to win the Green Jersey today. Pertachi is going to be riding hard for a top placing. It would be wonderful to see Cavendish win the Green Jersey nevertheless.

[Skullring]

Congratulations to Contador. It has been a great tour this year. Contador and Schleck are still young so they should have a lot of racing ahead of them. Tomorrow will belong to the sprinters.