Tour de France - Day 12

Happy Bastille Day! I'll be celebrating by watching the Tour de France. If you happen to be storming any prisons, do a little storming for me.

Lance is in yellow. The stage is a hilly one, but no hard core killer climbs. Today should be a rest day for the overall category contenders. Look for a whole lot of attacking by French riders. Look for the rest of the field to mostly get out of their way and recover from two tough days of climbing.

"...Stage 12 - Briançon to Digne-les-Bains >187km

Course: This third alpine stage bypasses the area's big climbs - Izoard, Vars and Allos - and instead sticks to the valleys and foothills. The (mild) sting in the tail comes when the race reaches Digne-les-Bains, where the riders do a 40km loop, the first half up and over the narrow Cat. 2 Col du Corobin, the last half on a rolling main road back into town.

History: Digne was a regular stage town in the 1930s and '40s, but the Tour hasn't returned here since 1969 when Merckx outsprinted break companion Felice Gimondi over a course that included Vars and Allos.

Favorites: With the GC hierarchy fully established, expect those who missed the selection at Courchevel or Briançon to go on the attack.

This is the 14th of July - Bastille Day - so expect Frenchmen like Sandy Casar, Sylvain Chavanel or Thomas Voeckler to seek a stage win to celebrate their national day. Sprinters like Stuart O'Grady and Hushovd also have a chance.

http://www.velonews.com/tour2005/news/articles/8296.0.html

Links for following the race...

http://www.letour.com/

http://www.velonews.com/tour2005/

http://www.tdfblog.com/

http://www.olntv.com/        

•  First Update

  "...With 56km to go, the Lotto chase is making a bit of progress. The gap is 3:55.

  Current situation on the road:
  Sandy Casar (F) Francaise des Jeux.

  Stephan Schreck (G)T-Mobile
  Giovanni Lombardi (I) CSC
  Jose Luis Arrieta (Sp) Illes Balears
  Axel Merckx (B) Davitamon-Lotto
  Massimo Giunti (I) Fassa Bortolo
  Juan Manuel Garate (Sp) Saunier Duval
  Angel Vicioso (Sp) Liberty Seguros
  Patrice Halgand (F) Credit Agricole
  Franco Pelizotti (I) Liquigas
  David Moncoutie (F) Cofidis
  Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Cofidis
  Thor Hushovd (N) Credit Agricole.

  Lead the peloton by 3:55 p.m. with 56km remaining...."

  http://www.velonews.com/live/text/239.html

  by rebellingboxer on Thu Jul 14, 2005 at 05:58:23 AM PDT

  •  A four for mentioning Bastille Day

    by Eddie Haskell on Thu Jul 14, 2005 at 06:25:28 AM PDT

•  performance.enhancing.drugs

  lance.is.on.em,right?..i.mean...no.lactic.acid.in.his
  muscles,.a.heart.20%.larger.than.the.average.human
  and.lungs.33%.larger...sounds.fishy.to.me.
  plus,he.strikes.me.as.the.type.who.would.lie.as.long
  as.he.could.get.away.with.it.

  by mediaprisoner on Thu Jul 14, 2005 at 06:14:04 AM PDT

  •  Lance is THE most drug tested athlete the world.

    Hey mediaprisoner... could you try to type your posts in way that's really annoying to every single person who reads DKos threads. I think you're only annoying 99.3% of the people who read your posts.

    Lance was tested twice before the Tour de France, once by race officials and once by the French government. NOTHING FOUND. AGAIN. Lance Armstrong is the most drug tested athlete in the world. He's clean.

    Here's the deal. I posted this on the Tour thread yesterday....

    "I think surviving kemo is advantage for Lance.

    Endurance sports are all about an athlete's abilty to manage agony. The training at this level pretty much levels the abilities of these athletes. At this level, what seperates these athletes is mostly psychological. The athlete that can suffer through the most agony wins.

    That said, the agony an endurance athlete goes through is still nothing compared to how miserably sick kemotherapy makes a person. Anyone who gets through the other side of kemo treatments looks at anything/everything that life can throw at them after getting through the kemo as a walk in the park.

    No matter how bad Lance feels in those climbs, it's doesn't come close to how miserable he was during those cancer treatments. While everyone Lance is competing against is suffering the worst agony they have ever felt, Lance knows his ability to tolerate misery is just getting started. It's a massive psychological advantage in an endurance sport."

    http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/7/13/82521/4217

    by rebellingboxer on Thu Jul 14, 2005 at 06:23:31 AM PDT

    •  He also burns lactate for fuel

      much more efficiently than a "normal" person. It's a genetic talent that enables him to have a higher lactate threshold than most and allows him to stay at that level longer than anyone else.

      He also sleeps in a hyperbaric tent which gives him more red blood cells without drugs. It's legal. I don't know how many other riders do this. He sometimes had a chopper fly him to a mountain village to sleep, but now just uses the tent.

      He's also a smart sonofabitch who trains harder and more consistantly than anyone else in cycling and who has the best team in cycling.

      How can anyone beat this? Well, they can't.

      by CarbonFiberBoy on Thu Jul 14, 2005 at 07:44:00 AM PDT

  •  period.

    by Eddie Haskell on Thu Jul 14, 2005 at 06:33:00 AM PDT

  •  oh you guys!

    rating me down for my skepticism.  what's happened to this place?  i remember when dissent was embraced here at dailykos.  anyway, greg lemond said lance was a doper long before me.

    and for all of you, this is totally unrelated - you're warned, who say that it's up to kos who gets banned here and who gets to stay (even if they were banned for ahem recommending a diary (from what i hear, i missed that day thank god)), i happen to be a paying customer.  as a paying customer, i would be terribly offended if i were banned for recommending a controversial diary.  that seems to fly in the face of the collective values of this community.

    by mediaprisoner on Thu Jul 14, 2005 at 11:08:05 AM PDT

    •  Lance Armstrong is THE most drug-tested athlete

      What Greg Lemond thinks is irrevelevant. Greg Lemond apparently can't read lab reports. The scientific community is in complete agreement. Lance Armostrong is bothe the most drug tested athlete on the planet, and Lance has been clean in all of the drug testing.

      And I don't care how much you pay or don't pay. If you act like a jerk and litter my threads with rubbish posts, those posts are going to get rated down.

      by rebellingboxer on Thu Jul 14, 2005 at 12:03:21 PM PDT

•  It's a... French Attack! Shocking

  Frenchmen attacking on Bastile Day. Whoda thunk it?

  Moncoutie is less than 5km from the top of the Col du Corobin.

  Moncoutie currently leads a group of eight. The remnants of the escape group trail the stage leader by the following margins:
  At 25" - Merckx, Halgand, Guinti, Garate, Casar, Vicioso, Pellizotti and Arrieta.
  At 40" - O'Grady and Lombardi
  At 50" - Schrek
  At 1'00" - Hushovd.

  http://www.letour.com/2005/TDF/LIVE/us/1200/index.html

  by rebellingboxer on Thu Jul 14, 2005 at 06:30:50 AM PDT

  •  Moncoutie up :38 on break group, 7:03 on peloton

    The peloton just let the break group get away today. Moncoutie is over the top with a significant lead.

    25 km to go.

    Moncoutie leads:
    Arrieta, Merckx, Garate, Vicioso, Halgand and Casar by 38"
    Pellizotti by 50"
    Guinti by 1'35"
    Schreck, Lombardi, Hushovd and O'Grady by 2'10"

    by rebellingboxer on Thu Jul 14, 2005 at 06:43:58 AM PDT

  •  20km To Go

    The first chase group is now 20km from the finish. They are 25" behind Moncoutie. Peloton is 8:01 behind.

    by rebellingboxer on Thu Jul 14, 2005 at 06:50:50 AM PDT

•  Moncoutie Leads By 30" with 15 km to go.

  "...Moncoutie is still alone at the front of the stage. He is 30" ahead of Vicioso, Pellizotti, Garate, Halgand, Arrieta and Casar.
  The third group on the road is: Schreck, Lombardi, Hushovd, Guinti and O'Grady. They are 2'05" behind Moncoutie.
  The peloton is 7'30" behind the stage leader...."

  http://www.letour.com/2005/TDF/LIVE/us/1200/index.html

  by rebellingboxer on Thu Jul 14, 2005 at 06:55:38 AM PDT

•  10 km to go.

  "...Moncoutie is climbing with a 35-seond advantage. Merckx is driving hard, though.

  Current situation on the road:
  David Moncoutie (F) Cofidis leads a chase group composed of
  Axel Merckx (B) Davitamon-Lotto
  Jose Luis Arrieta (Sp) Illes Balears
  Sandy Casar (F) Francaise des Jeux.
  Angel Vicioso (Sp) Liberty Seguros
  Patrice Halgand (F) Credit Agricole
  Juan Manuel Garate (Sp) Saunier Duval
  Franco Pelizotti (I) Liquigas

  by 15 seconds.

  Stephan Schreck (G)T-Mobile
  Giovanni Lombardi (I) CSC
  Massimo Giunti (I) Fassa Bortolo
  Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Cofidis
  Thor Hushovd (N) Credit Agricole trail by 2:21

  The peloton 8:20 behind with 15km remaining for the leader...."

  http://www.velonews.com/live/text/239.html

  by rebellingboxer on Thu Jul 14, 2005 at 07:03:52 AM PDT

  •  3k to go

    With 3k to go, the Merckx group is narrowing the margin, but it's still 28 seconds.

    by rebellingboxer on Thu Jul 14, 2005 at 07:11:25 AM PDT

•  Moncoutie wins Bastille Day stage for France

  The French are utterly sick cycling fans, and have been suffering thorough a fairly extended drought. The French crowd is going nuts over Moncoutie winning on Bastille Day.

  by rebellingboxer on Thu Jul 14, 2005 at 07:15:42 AM PDT

•  *Additional news - Tom Boonen out of TdF *

  Didn't start the stage. 3 wrecks in 5 days blew up one of his knees. Team doctor wouldn't let him start due to the possibility of causing permanent damage to the knee.

  by rebellingboxer on Thu Jul 14, 2005 at 07:28:44 AM PDT

  •  Discovery's Manuel Beltran also out.

    "Discovery Channel's Manuel Beltran has abandoned the Tour on the road... He injured his knee in a crash suffered on the day's first climb.

    He's the first Discovery Channel/US Postal rider to drop out of the race since 2001! That's a pretty remarkable string.

    Also dropping out on the road this morning have been Nicolas Fritsch of Saunier Duval-Prodir, Robbie Hunter of Phonak, and Angelo Furlan of Domina Vacanze."

    http://www.tdfblog.com/2005/07/beltran_drops_o.html

    by rebellingboxer on Thu Jul 14, 2005 at 07:34:02 AM PDT

    •  TDC will miss Beltran

      He did a great job riding front for a long time this year.  How much will this affect Lance, I wonder?

      by Eddie Haskell on Thu Jul 14, 2005 at 09:25:44 AM PDT

      •  I'm guessing about 10 secs effect on overall time

        Losing Beltran will cost Lance about 10 seconds of overall classification lead time. That's what I'm guessing the difference between the team having 8 men as well as putting someone who isn't quite the climber Beltran is out front for the early part of the mountain stages.

        The primary factor at this point is Rasmussen is a mediocre time trialist. Rasmussen won't lose seconds to Lance in the final time trial. He'll lose minutes. The only guy I see capable of staying close to Lance now is Valverde. Lance has  3:16 on Valverde. Lance would have to wreck hard to allow Valverde to catch up.

        by rebellingboxer on Thu Jul 14, 2005 at 09:56:18 AM PDT

•  The Top 10 In Stage 12

  "...David Moncoutie raced the final 38km of the 12th stage on his own. The Cofidis rider has given France its first victory in the 2005 Tour. The top 10 is:
  

  1. David Moncoutie (France) COF - 187km in 4h20'06" (43.137km/h)
     
  2. Sandy Casar (France) FDJ at 57"
     
  3. Angel Vicioso (Spain) LSW at 57"
     
  4. Patrice Halgand (France) C.A at 57"
     
  5. Jose Luis Arrieta (Spain) IBA at 57"
     
  6. Franco Pellizotti (Italy) LIQ at 57"
     
  7. Axel Merckx (Belgium) DVL at 57"
     
  8. Juan Manuel Garate (Spain) SDV at 57"
     
  9. Thor Hushovd (Norway) C.A at 3'15"
     
  10. Stuart O'Grady (Australia) COF at 3'15"..."

  http://www.letour.com/2005/TDF/LIVE/us/1200/index.html

  by rebellingboxer on Thu Jul 14, 2005 at 07:30:57 AM PDT

  •  Vive Le France!

    Moncoutie did a great job holding off the chase group for the last 30km.  It was amazing how disorganized they were and how efficient he was riding out there for so long on his own.

    by Eddie Haskell on Thu Jul 14, 2005 at 09:23:49 AM PDT

•  Unofficial overall standings

  1      001      ARMSTRONG Lance      DSC      USA     
  2     057     RASMUSSEN Mickael     RAB     DEN     00' 38"
  3     101     MOREAU Christophe     C.A     FRA     02' 34"
  4     021     BASSO Ivan     CSC     ITA     02' 40"
  5     038     VALVERDE Alejandro     IBA     ESP     03' 16"
  6     061     BOTERO Santiago     PHO     COL     03' 48"
  7     164     LEIPHEIMER Levi     GST     USA     03' 58"
  8     031     MANCEBO Francisco     IBA     ESP     04' 00"
  9     011     ULLRICH Jan     TMO     GER     04' 02"
  10     014     KLÖDEN Andréas     TMO     GER     04' 16"
  11     066     LANDIS Floyd     PHO     USA     04' 16"
  12     019     VINOKOUROV Alexandre     TMO     KAZ     04' 47"
  13     096     JAKSCHE Jorg     LSW     GER     05' 33"
  14     044     EVANS Cadel     DVL     AUS     05' 55"
  15     007     POPOVYCH Yaroslav     DSC     UKR     06' 25"
  16     108     KASHECHKIN Andrey     C.A     KAZ     06' 32"
  17     023     JULICH Bobby     CSC     USA     06' 37"

  http://www.letour.com/2005/TDF/LIVE/us/1200/classement/ITG.html

  by rebellingboxer on Thu Jul 14, 2005 at 07:35:53 AM PDT