BiciRace.com

• News
• Races
• Photos
• Interviews
• Inside Scoop
• Gear & Gadgets

6 July 2005

7 July News ...

Zabriskie Battles On After Tumble

Team CSC took David Zabriskie straight to the local hospital after the finish of stage 4 of the 92 Tour de France. Zabriskie, who took a tumble in the closing kilometer of Tuesday's TT, is said to be without broken bones. This is great news for the team, who rely on the former GC leader's strength.

The crash was a terrible blow to Team CSC's stage victory chances. Team man, Bjarne Riis had this to say, "We were extremely unlucky and of course we lost everything in that crash. With three kilometers to go we had six seconds on Discovery Channel, so it's obviously a hard blow to lose both the jersey and the stage win like this. On the other hand, it's in tough situations like these we have to stick together as a team and show people what we're made of." Bjarne, and Team CSC, are made of stone and the crashed will perhaps even make them stronger. Read what the Dust Devil had to say: Every Cloud Has A Silver Lining.

The team managed a strong second place and also won the hearts of the tifosi with their fight. It was fortunate that Zabriskie did not take out any other riders. Ivan Basso explains, "When David crashed, it was a miracle that Julich and I managed to escape. If his bike would have went the other way, stopping in the middle of the street, then we would have ended on the ground too." Basso did not see what happened to his amico americano ... "I don't know why he went down, I believe that maybe his front wheel went. [The riders] in front had to wait and this cost us dear."

It was a tough ending to Zabriskie's time in yellow. All of the tifosi lining the final kilometers of the day's course were quite in shock when the former GC leader made his way to the line, alone. Basso continued, I am sorry for Zabriskie, who had the maillot jaune. He was the fundamental man in front of me." But the Italian hopes to soon be in yellow, "My Tour starts at the end of this week. Now I wait for the mountains, from Courchevel that will be the occasion for me to attack. I am always convinced of my possibilities..."

One Man's Pain is Another Man's Glory (for the 67th time)

The Discovery Channel team smashed all previous team time trial records yesterday in stage 4 of the Tour de France. By edging out Team CSC, the team put Lance Armstrong in the maillot jaune. For the Disco cowboy it was his 67th yellow jersey. Not a bad run for the cowboy, and he hopes to add more to this tally.

Post stage Armstrong commented on his team: "I am content, and for many reasons. The first is the victory, the second is the maillot jaune, the third is the after two second spots we are finally awarded with a victory to the squad and to those who have invested money for three years." For Armstrong there is a long way to go to Paris, and a possible 7th Tour de France victory. It will be hard for him to voluntarily give up the leader's jersey, because behind him in the GC are other Disco riders. "We will think about keeping the yellow jersey, perhaps holding on because we occupy many of the top placings of the GC." (The Inside Scoop is that Jens Voigt (Team CSC) will turn himself inside out for yellow. The race heads into Germany soon and this would be the icing on Voigt's cake.)

Armstrong was key is encouraging his team, who lacked Eki and Landis from last year. "Before we departed we were a little bit nervous, and I said 'come on guys, let's go watch some TV in the bus.'" But the Texan's heart went out to his Russian buddy. "We miss [Eki], this win is dedicated to to him. ... But with respect to last year, Yaroslav Popovych has substituted for Eki and Savoldelli has taken the spot for Floyd Landis." Earlier this year Eki took a tumble when he was training with Lance in Texas.

Il Falco Flies with The Disco Cowboy

Paolo Savoldelli, winner of this year's Giro d'Italia, was impressed with the Clockwork Disco. Il Falco had some observations post-stage, "Armstrong had to be behind Hincapie, I was behind Popovych. It was not a super hard TT. The first part was flat and straight. ... We knew were were on time with the team of Ullrich and Vinokourov, then we knew that Basso and his riders were going a little better." The 2005 Giro winner was happy that he fit into the Clockwork Disco, "... I never missed a rotation, sometimes I went long, and I pulled also in the end."

T-Mobile Finished Third and Ullrich has Hope

Everybody gave it their best. It was an harmonious and disciplined team performance," said Jan Ullrich after the T-Mobile ride in stage 4. It was a team test that offered much to lose and little to gain. The team did not lose, finishing a strong 3rd, and thus kept Ulle in with the favorites for the overall battle. Ulle continued, "Finally, a day that gives us hope. Okay, we didn't come first, but we've beaten some of the big favorites for the team time trial. ... I'm heading now into the last few days before the mountains full of confidence and believing strongly in my chances." BiciRace.com hopes to see the German smash the legs of his competitors.

Liberty Keeps Heat On with Fourth Place

Manolo Saiz, Liberty Seguros-Würth mastermind, was happy with the team's fourth place. The team finished with 8 of its 9 riders, Marcos Serrano finished a little behind. Saiz commented, "We did a good time trial, it was very long and very different for us, we ran the risk of the climbers being pushed too hard at the beginning and just making it to the finish, but we had no other choice. In the end they all did a great race and I am very happy with my men."

Running the team TT along the Loire valley produced record times. There were strong winds from the west, Saiz added, "With a tailwind, the differences are smaller, however there were some. I think we did an extraordinary race, because we were not the favorites and we managed to ensure that Roberto Heras came out of the stage in a good position. Now the objective is to maintain it until the mountains."

Tour Jersey Breakdown

Yellow Jersey: There were big changes in the overall classification today. Armstrong and company hammered the opposition in the TTT giving LA the prized maillot jaune. This marks his 67th maillot jaune over his career. Because of Zabriskie's crash with 1.5k to go, he's the big loser of the day. George Hincapie sits in second place 0.55 seconds back. Rounding out the podium is Jens Voigt (CSC) at 1'04". Armstrong could conceivably defend the maillot jaune until the end since he won't want to let any of the current top 10 riders get any closer to him.

Polka Dot (climber's jersey): This classification stays the same as yesterday. Erik Dekker (Rabobank) still has the lead with 6 points. Slotting in behind him are Thomas Voeckler (Bouygues Telecom) with 5 points and Rubens Bertogliati (Saunier Duval) with 4 respectively. Dekker only has the jersey by virtue of taking a climbing prime. He's just warming it for one of the "real" climbers that will take it when the big mountains begin. Mark my words.

Green Jersey (sprinter's jersey): After his two storming back to back stage victories, Tom Boonen (Quick Step) has 70 points. In second is Stuart O'Grady (Cofidis) with 49. Peter Wrolich (Gerolsteiner) sits in third with 49. With fast-man McEwen yet to take a victory it looks good for Boonen so far. There are many stages to go though, and Boonen has to haul his massive 6'4" frame over the Alps and Pyrenees before he can claim the jersey as his own.

White Jersey (best young rider): Due to Discovery's stellar ride in the TTT, Yaroslav Popovych has laid claim to the white jersey. Fabian Cancellara was clad in white prior to today's stage, but his team's lackluster TTT performance was enough for the big Swiss to lose the jersey. Rounding out second and third are teammates, Luis León Sánchez and Allan Davis (Liberty Seguros-Würth).
If you need to know more about the classifications, then read here: Tour de France Classifications
- Paco

Erik Dekker Is Seeing Red

If you have been paying close attention to your TV set you might have noticed that out of all the riders one has red numbers instead of white pinned to the back of his jersey. Is he just a non-conformist and likes being different? Not hardly. The red numbers signify the "Most Combative Rider". Unlike the other competitions within the race, there is no special jersey, just different colored race numbers. There is no special point accrual system either. The press simply votes on who they believe is the most aggressive rider. It is a rather subjective assessment, but usually pretty accurate.

Erik Dekker (Rabobank) has this distinction right now. He's no stranger to it either having worn the coveted red numbers in the past. It takes a never say die attitude and the ability to withstand copious amounts of pain surging through your legs to be worthy of this. German hard-man, Jens Voigt, and retired French escape artist, Jackie Durand have both worn red in the past.
- Paco

L'Equipe Recounts Armstrong Events

The French newspaper L'Equipe is running a series of recounts of Armstrong's career. Cyrille Guimard had this to say: "My first memory of Lance was in January 1997, a few months after we signed him to Cofidis. It was the first time since his cancer treatment that he had come to France, at that time for a training camp in Lille. He was still going through chemotherapy, which shocked us all because he had no hair, or eyebrows and his head was scarred by his operations. ... The most amazing thing was to see him get onto his bike the next morning, and ride 70K with his teammates in training ... And it was cold, only two or three degrees."

92nd Tour de France:
Startlist, Classifications, Tour Challengers, Discovery Channel Profile
Key Stages, Key Stage Descriptions, Stages and Maps, Overall Map
Photos, Dust Devil's Daily Wrap

5 July News ...