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13 July 2005

14 July News ...

Valverde Strikes in the Grande Boucle

Stage 10 of the 2005 Tour de France all came down to a four-man move, battling it out for GC time and possible stage glory. The four were Armstrong, Rasmussen (Rabobank) in all polka-dot, and the Illes Balears duo of Mancebo and Valverde. It was Rasmussen to open up the attacks, but his move was quickly marked. Then it was the turn of Lance Armstrong (Discovery Channel). Alejandro Valverde was the only man who could follow the Texas tornado. As Armstrong faded in the closing meters, it was young Valverde who came past for big international win.

"Today was an extraordinary day for the squad," said Valverde post-stage. "The victory of stage, and Mancebo and I are now back in the general classification. My dream for this Tour, to win a stage, I've reached it. It is the most beautiful victory of my career, I do not attempt to express what I experience."

For the 25 year old Spaniard the victory was accumulation of teamwork. "... Paco [Mancebo] and I gave all. Then I tried a sprint, even if it seemed I did not have the strength, to discover the emotions of a win." Valverde is now in 5th at 3'16" and Paco in 7th at 4'00". Valverde still consider's himself in the service of Paco, "The future? To do my work, Mancebo stays the unquestioned leader of our squad."

The Disco captain, Armstrong, liked what he saw, "Valverde has impressed me. ... Today all we could have seen the future of bicycle racing in Valverde." Armstrong continued, "When I accelerated, and I saw him still there with Mancebo I was surprised. He is a special rider: fast, complete, strong in the climbs. He has to improve only in the TT, but I am convinced that he will soon be a be a success."

Valverde comes from Spain, born in Las Llumbreras, in Murcia on 25 April 1980. He turned pro with the famous Kelme squad in 2002. 2003 he had 9 victories, 2 in the Vuelta a España, finishing 3rd overall. In 2004 he was also successful at the Vuelta, taking a stage and 4th overall. The BiciRace.com crew wishes Valverde the best of luck.

Armstrong Kicks Out the Jams, Texas Style

After facing the press for the two days following stage 8, Armstrong and his men kicked out the jams in stage 10. It was a show of force for the mighty blue squadra. Just like in years past the team rode the majority of the stage on the front, letting the others know who was in charge. "Perfect teammates. After the stage of Col de la Schlucht all eyes were on us, they said that the first week we worked too hard, maybe too much ... we had lots of trust and were relaxed," Armstrong said post-stage.

The entire peloton was following a fast Disco beat leading to the day's final climb. Azevedo and Hincapie left it up to Popovych to put in the killer blow. And Popo delivered, looking like a warrior with dirt and blood showing from a mid-stage crash. Armstrong continued, "... They forced a huge tempo, and above all, today I had good legs".

Armstrong now has the thin-figure of Rasmussen (Rabobank) breathing down his neck, 38" back on the GC. Back in 1996 it was another Dane, Bjarne Riis, who upset the Tour-king, Miguel Indurain. Rasmussen may not have the goods to upset Armstrong, but he did impress. "Did Rasmussen surprise me? The performance the other day [stage 9], I think we were all surprised by that. It's one thing if you ride away from two guys who aren't that strong, but if you have a two-man team TT, with Voigt and Moreau behind you, and you put time into them on a head wind section of flat roads ... That's impressive, and today he was impressive," said the 6X Tour champion. Armstrong will now have his eyes on the Dane, "One thing's for sure, no more seven-minute breakaways for Michael Rasmussen. He's a damn good climber and we have to watch him now."

Ivan Basso Hangs Tough On Stage 10

Stage 10 was a bad day for many riders in the 92nd Tour de France. Many riders effectively lost the Tour, but not Ivan Basso (Team CSC). Basso is still in contention, only losing time when he was shelled from the leading four. Basso agreed, "The Tour is not finished. If there was an explosion on Courchevel then it would be different, but I am still in the game. I was separated from the group on the hard section of the climb, but then I was able to go for 8K losing only one minute."

Team DS, Riis echoed Basso, "When he was dropped, he did the only right thing. He found his own pace and kept his cool. A lot of big riders suffered today, and I'm glad we avoided that. I think we did an OK stage, although it was a pity Basso was dropped."

Basso is now in third overall at 2'40". He put time on his key rivals, Basso continued, "If you consider that I gained on Ullrich, Klöden, vino and Landis, I can be content." His rivals lost huge chunks today, while Basso held tough. "For example, I was able to take 5' from Vino and about 10' from Heras. Now I am in a situation to be able to attack, because Armstrong is far ahead. But I have to have the legs to make it. There are many climbs left, I will try."

It will be knives out again today, the riders face another tough stage today, stage 11 to Briançon. "The stages that are waiting are all tough. Not only is there Briançon, but there are hard days in the Pyrenees and in the Massif Central ... This was only the first test.

A Battered Jan Ullrich Optimistic

A battered Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile) came in with Andreas Klöden 2'15" minutes behind in stage 10. Yaroslav Popovych (Discovery Channel) helped put Ulle on the ropes. Popo upped the tempo to a point where Armstrong's rivals broke. "When Popovych pushed the pace at the end [on Courchevel], and Lance subsequently launched his attack, I was burned out and couldn't follow. "

Ullrich was feeling other pains, besides those inflicted by the Disco crew, "I felt pains in my back while breathing. That was a little handicap. Big thanks to Klödi who waited for me. The Tour is still far from over."

Vino, Alexander Vinokourov, did a little worse than his German teammate. He came trailing in at 5'18" behind the leaders. It was a let down for the tifosi, who expected Vino to explode the Tour into ashes. Vino added, "It wasn't a good day for me. I found it difficult to find my rhythm."

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

Tour Jerseys, White and Yellow Days

White Jersey (young GC rider): Alejandro Valverde (Illes Balears) swept the jersey from his long-haired Russian teammate, Vladimir Karpets. Valverde held tough with THE MAN, Lance Armstrong, enabling him to climb the young GC ladder. Popovych (Discovery Channel) moved up into second, and Karpets is in third. Expect greatness from Valverde in this Tour.

Yellow Jersey: As expected, Jens Voigt (Team CSC) lost the lead in stage 10. Voigt rode strong but he can not hang with the GC contenders on a mountain stage. It was 6X Tour de France champion, Lance Armstrong (Discovery Channel), who moved into the lead. He followed up the excellent footwork by his teammates. It will be a strong man, if any, to take the jersey from Armstrong.

Polka Dot (climber's jersey): Thin man, Michael Rasmussen, continued to impress in stage 10. He stayed with the GC contenders and even dropped a few. He was in the winning move, and now is in second on the GC thanks to his efforts. The tifosi are now pinning their hopes on a united Rabobank effort for Rasmussen. Moreau is far back in second.

Green Jersey (sprinter's jersey): Tom Boonen (Quick-Step) is still the green champion. All of the sprint points were gobbled up in stage 10 by non-sprinters. Keep it tuned here on BiciRace.com when the Tour turns flat, then we will se more sprint action.
If you need to know more about the classifications, then read here: Tour de France Classifications

12 July News ...