BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- Lance Armstrong saw it coming: tight turns, narrow roads, big crowds and nervous riders would make crashes likely in Sunday's first stage at the Tour de France.
Showing posts with label Cycling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cycling. Show all posts
July 27, 2009
Cycling: Lance Armstrong a favorite for 2010 Tour de France
Christophe Ena / Associated Press
Lance Armstrong, who finished third in the Tour de France on Sunday, is a favorite to win the race in 2010 with his new team.
Lance Armstrong, who finished third in the Tour de France on Sunday, is a favorite to win the race in 2010 with his new team.
July 19, 2009
Armstrong slams foe's tactics
BESANCON – Lance Armstrong joined a string of riders to question the racing tactics of American outfit Garmin on Saturday's 14th stage of the Tour de France.
The 199-kilometer stage ended with victory for Russian Sergei Ivanov, of Katusha, and Italian Rinaldo Nocentini, of AG2R, keeping the yellow jersey by a handful of seconds.
But ahead of three key stages in the Alps, what was going on elsewhere was arguably more exciting.
Nocentini looked set to lose his yellow jersey to George Hincapie as the American raced ahead as part of a 12-man breakaway from which Ivanov emerged alone 11km from home to go on and win.
With AG2R struggling to close the gap at the front of the chasing bunch, the French outfit were forced to call on help.
And Garmin, big rivals of Hincapie's Columbia team, seemed only too happy to oblige.
They appeared at the front of the chasing bunch with 10km to ride, allowing AG2R some respite before the French outfit went on to defend the jersey by a slim margin of five seconds.
Hincapie is now second in the overall standings, but with little chance of winning the American veteran lost out on the prestige of becoming race leader, albeit briefly, for the first time since 2006.
Having helped Armstrong to win all seven of his yellow jerseys, the former Tour de France champion was among those to hit out at Garmin's tactics.
"Sounds like there's quite a bit of confusion over this one... No one, and I mean no one, wanted George in yellow more than me," said Armstrong, whose Astana team, sitting back in the bunch, effectively allowed Hincapie to race into the virtual lead.
“Our team rode a moderate tempo to put him in the jersey by at least two minutes. AG2R said they would not defend then they started to ride.”
"Until 10km to go he was solidly in yellow until Garmin put on the gas and made sure it didn't happen."
Ahead of three days of climbing spread over the next four days -- Monday is a rest day -- Garmin's team leader Christian Vande Velde is likely to be short of allies in the Alps, where the yellow jersey is likely to be decided.
With Armstrong in fourth overall at 8secs and his teammate Alberto Contador, the 2007 champion, third at 6 Astana appear in command of the race.
Team manager Johan Bruyneel admitted that having Hincapie in the lead would have left them ideally placed. With no jersey to defend, they could save energy by simply following the wheels of Hincapie's Columbia team.
But he too was surprised that Garmin worked to make sure Hincapie went home empty handed.
"I didn't think AG2R were going to manage it because they were fading towards the end of the stage," said Bruyneel.
"Then when I saw Garmin come through I couldn't quite believe it. It seems it's gotten personal and that's a shame."
Columbia team manager Rolf Aldag said he was mystified by Garmin's decision to help prevent Hincapie's day of glory.
"It was other teams who came to the front with 10km to go to [help AG2R] chase, specifically Garmin. But that's bike racing, we have to live with it.
"I really don't know who made the call, if it was made, to chase George down. But everything comes back in life."
Source: http://sports.inquirer.net/breakingnews/breakingnews/view/20090719-216165/Armstrong-slams-foes-tactics
The 199-kilometer stage ended with victory for Russian Sergei Ivanov, of Katusha, and Italian Rinaldo Nocentini, of AG2R, keeping the yellow jersey by a handful of seconds.
But ahead of three key stages in the Alps, what was going on elsewhere was arguably more exciting.
Nocentini looked set to lose his yellow jersey to George Hincapie as the American raced ahead as part of a 12-man breakaway from which Ivanov emerged alone 11km from home to go on and win.
With AG2R struggling to close the gap at the front of the chasing bunch, the French outfit were forced to call on help.
And Garmin, big rivals of Hincapie's Columbia team, seemed only too happy to oblige.
They appeared at the front of the chasing bunch with 10km to ride, allowing AG2R some respite before the French outfit went on to defend the jersey by a slim margin of five seconds.
Hincapie is now second in the overall standings, but with little chance of winning the American veteran lost out on the prestige of becoming race leader, albeit briefly, for the first time since 2006.
Having helped Armstrong to win all seven of his yellow jerseys, the former Tour de France champion was among those to hit out at Garmin's tactics.
"Sounds like there's quite a bit of confusion over this one... No one, and I mean no one, wanted George in yellow more than me," said Armstrong, whose Astana team, sitting back in the bunch, effectively allowed Hincapie to race into the virtual lead.
“Our team rode a moderate tempo to put him in the jersey by at least two minutes. AG2R said they would not defend then they started to ride.”
"Until 10km to go he was solidly in yellow until Garmin put on the gas and made sure it didn't happen."
Ahead of three days of climbing spread over the next four days -- Monday is a rest day -- Garmin's team leader Christian Vande Velde is likely to be short of allies in the Alps, where the yellow jersey is likely to be decided.
With Armstrong in fourth overall at 8secs and his teammate Alberto Contador, the 2007 champion, third at 6 Astana appear in command of the race.
Team manager Johan Bruyneel admitted that having Hincapie in the lead would have left them ideally placed. With no jersey to defend, they could save energy by simply following the wheels of Hincapie's Columbia team.
But he too was surprised that Garmin worked to make sure Hincapie went home empty handed.
"I didn't think AG2R were going to manage it because they were fading towards the end of the stage," said Bruyneel.
"Then when I saw Garmin come through I couldn't quite believe it. It seems it's gotten personal and that's a shame."
Columbia team manager Rolf Aldag said he was mystified by Garmin's decision to help prevent Hincapie's day of glory.
"It was other teams who came to the front with 10km to go to [help AG2R] chase, specifically Garmin. But that's bike racing, we have to live with it.
"I really don't know who made the call, if it was made, to chase George down. But everything comes back in life."
Source: http://sports.inquirer.net/breakingnews/breakingnews/view/20090719-216165/Armstrong-slams-foes-tactics
July 12, 2009
Lance Armstrong still third in France
SAINT-GIRONS, France -- Seven-time champion Lance Armstrong remains in third place in the Tour de France, after Spain's Luis Leon Sanchez won the eighth stage Saturday in a sprint ahead of three other breakaway riders.
Rinaldo Nocentini of Italy earned the yellow jersey for the second straight day by finishing in a pack with Armstrong and his Astana teammate Alberto Contador. The 2007 Tour winner is six seconds back, with Armstrong eight seconds back.Armstrong went straight to the team bus after the stage and did not speak to reporters. He posted on Twitter: "St8 done. Tough but not 2 challenging. Had antidoping control AGAIN. Couldn't pee so it took forever. Sucked! Now I'm starting to wonder tho"
Teammate Levi Leipheimer is 39 seconds off the pace in fourth place overall.
Nocentini almost lost his yellow jersey when the main race favorites -- including Armstrong and Contador -- left him behind in the last of the climbs. He credited an escort from his AG2R La Mondiale teammate Stephane Goubert for helping him catch up.
"I had been dropped," said Nocentini, a 31-year-old riding in his first Tour. "To him, I say 'thank you' for helping me hang on to the yellow jersey."
Before the start, Leipheimer tweeted: "Today's stage starts off going uphill for 20 miles!! That's a rude awakening, plenty of riders will be looking to get in the breakaway."
He certainly was right.
Two-time Tour runner-up Cadel Evans, a pre-race favorite, was among those to attack on the first climb, the Envalira Pass, at the 14.6-mile mark. He and others built a lead on the pack of about 2 minutes, but the Australian was reeled in after about 39 miles.
Sanchez, who won the Paris-Nice stage race in March, led a four-person breakaway toward the finish line. He looked skyward and tapped his chest after crossing just ahead of France's Sandy Casar and Mikel Astarloza of Spain. They clocked 4 hours, 31 minutes, 50 seconds for the 110-mile trek along three big climbs from the Pyrenean principality of Andorra to Saint-Girons.
"You need to have luck," said Sanchez, who won a Tour stage last year. He dedicated the victory to his older brother, Leon, who died in a quad bike accident four years ago.
The victory for Caisse d'Epargne rider Sanchez was a boost to his team. Oscar Pereiro, the 2006 Tour champion, quit the race due to fatigue and the team's star rider, Alejandro Valverde, is not in the Tour because of an Italian doping probe.
Vladimir Efimkin, who was reeled in by Sanchez after a failed solo breakaway, finished the stage in fourth place, while the main pack trailed 1:54 behind.
"That was a really long, hard climb," said Christian Vande Velde of Garmin-Slipstream, who was 1:24 behind the yellow jersey and eighth overall.
Among the other favorites, Andy Schleck of Luxembourg is 1:49 back in ninth, defending Tour winner Carlos Sastre of Spain is 2:52 back in 16th, and Evans is 3:07 behind in 18th place.
Riders face a third and final day in the Pyrenees on Sunday, a 100-mile course from Saint-Gaudens to Tarbes via the famed Tourmalet Pass, one of the toughest climbs in pro cycling.
The three-week race ends July 26 in Paris, with the Alps, a final individual time trial and the dreaded Mont Ventoux awaiting in the last week.
Rinaldo Nocentini of Italy earned the yellow jersey for the second straight day by finishing in a pack with Armstrong and his Astana teammate Alberto Contador. The 2007 Tour winner is six seconds back, with Armstrong eight seconds back.Armstrong went straight to the team bus after the stage and did not speak to reporters. He posted on Twitter: "St8 done. Tough but not 2 challenging. Had antidoping control AGAIN. Couldn't pee so it took forever. Sucked! Now I'm starting to wonder tho"
Teammate Levi Leipheimer is 39 seconds off the pace in fourth place overall.
Nocentini almost lost his yellow jersey when the main race favorites -- including Armstrong and Contador -- left him behind in the last of the climbs. He credited an escort from his AG2R La Mondiale teammate Stephane Goubert for helping him catch up.
"I had been dropped," said Nocentini, a 31-year-old riding in his first Tour. "To him, I say 'thank you' for helping me hang on to the yellow jersey."
Before the start, Leipheimer tweeted: "Today's stage starts off going uphill for 20 miles!! That's a rude awakening, plenty of riders will be looking to get in the breakaway."
He certainly was right.
Two-time Tour runner-up Cadel Evans, a pre-race favorite, was among those to attack on the first climb, the Envalira Pass, at the 14.6-mile mark. He and others built a lead on the pack of about 2 minutes, but the Australian was reeled in after about 39 miles.
Sanchez, who won the Paris-Nice stage race in March, led a four-person breakaway toward the finish line. He looked skyward and tapped his chest after crossing just ahead of France's Sandy Casar and Mikel Astarloza of Spain. They clocked 4 hours, 31 minutes, 50 seconds for the 110-mile trek along three big climbs from the Pyrenean principality of Andorra to Saint-Girons.
"You need to have luck," said Sanchez, who won a Tour stage last year. He dedicated the victory to his older brother, Leon, who died in a quad bike accident four years ago.
The victory for Caisse d'Epargne rider Sanchez was a boost to his team. Oscar Pereiro, the 2006 Tour champion, quit the race due to fatigue and the team's star rider, Alejandro Valverde, is not in the Tour because of an Italian doping probe.
Vladimir Efimkin, who was reeled in by Sanchez after a failed solo breakaway, finished the stage in fourth place, while the main pack trailed 1:54 behind.
"That was a really long, hard climb," said Christian Vande Velde of Garmin-Slipstream, who was 1:24 behind the yellow jersey and eighth overall.
Among the other favorites, Andy Schleck of Luxembourg is 1:49 back in ninth, defending Tour winner Carlos Sastre of Spain is 2:52 back in 16th, and Evans is 3:07 behind in 18th place.
Riders face a third and final day in the Pyrenees on Sunday, a 100-mile course from Saint-Gaudens to Tarbes via the famed Tourmalet Pass, one of the toughest climbs in pro cycling.
The three-week race ends July 26 in Paris, with the Alps, a final individual time trial and the dreaded Mont Ventoux awaiting in the last week.
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