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14 July 2006

Eisel Checks in Before Col du Tourmalet

Bernhard Eisel (Française Des Jeux) is no climber, in fact he is waiting for the Tour de France to reach Paris for his final chance at a win. When we talked with the Austrian, before stage 11 to Pla-de-Beret, he was still trying to forget the pain from years past.

"I did the Tourmalet two years ago and it is one very long climb," said Eisel. "It is a hard climb that is not good for a rider like me. I don't remember too much more of the climb. Then tomorrow [stage 12] will be a category two climb to kick off the day; very tough. Following the climb, like 20K into the stage, there are a lot of smaller climbs."

When will be the next chance for you? "My next chance won't be until Paris. I will try to hang in there and then have a go on the Champs-Élysées."

How is life off of the bike? Who are you rooming with and what are you doing in your free time? "Our team is different than most, we switch roommates from night to night. We are a young team and this is good for us. It allows us to know everyone on the team. ... I spend most of my free time reading and I watch a few films when I have a chance."

What language do you read in? "Oh, only German. I can read in other languages but I don't have the energy for it after racing all day."

Calcagni Remembers 1999

Patrick Calcagni (Liquigas) was relaxed as usual when we found him before the start of the Tour's first mountaintop finish stage. Ahead of the Swiss rider were four category one climbers and the first climb of the day, the hors catégorie Col du Tourmalet.

"I did the Tourmalet in 1999 in the Tour l'Avenir, it was really difficult and hard," recalled Calcagni.

What will be your plans for today's stage? [Stage 11] "I will try in an escape again. You might not know but yesterday I was in an early and short escape with O'Grady. We got reeled back soon, which was fine because my legs were feeling dead. If I get into an escape then it will help out Stefano [Garzelli]. It is better for him if I am up the road in a move, then he is setup for the finale."

Yes. We heard you were in the move yesterday. How did you like the Basque tifosi? "They were great," continued Calcagni. "They were handing everyone sodas over the Col de Soudet. There was also alcohol but we did not take that. Those guys are crazy and fun."

Who are you rooming with? "Stefano. We get along well and have been sharing a room everyday so far in this Tour."

The Hincapies

George Hincapie of Discovery Channel was especially happy for the start of Tour de France stage 11; his wife and daughter had come to visit him at the start line in Tarbes.

"They will be here for four days," said Hincapie after kissing his wife, a former podium girl. "It should give me an advantage; maybe make my legs go a bit faster."

How has the Tour gone so far? "Well, I am still watching all of the other favorites. Today and the rest of the mountain stages will be very tough. They are all tough. Landis is going well, but so are all the other guys."

We left Hincapie and were left with the impression of calmness, almost too calm.

Landis Impresses with Yellow

Floyd Landis formed part of an elite selection in Tour de France stage 11: finishing third on the stage and gaining enough time to move into the overall lead. Landis of Phonak formed part of the final move containing Menchov, Sastre, Evans and Leipheimer. Denis Menchov took the stage but Landis earned enough time on overnight leader Cyril Dessel to take the Maillot Jaune.

You are in yellow but you have yet to win a stage, what will it take for this to happen? "The goal is to win the Tour, so if we do it without winning a stage then that will be fine," said a very pleased Landis. "The finale worked out well for us. We told most of our guys that it was not necessary to have all of them with me in the end. Today the team could gamble a little, having some of the other teams work for us. It worked but we probably can't expect this to continue."

Il Americano now has the yellow but how long can he keep it. There are still many mountain days to come before the race end in Paris and maybe Phonak will want to relinquish the jersey for a few stages.

Will you try to keep the yellow jersey to the end, or lose it and regain near the end? "It will be difficult to control the race and keep the jersey. There are so many guys close to me on the classification. I think the team will have to form an alliance with some of the other squadras. The goal is to have the jersey in Paris... That is the best scenario."

In your press conference on the rest day you mentioned that you were motivated to make the most out of this season. Saying that because of your hip problems you wanted to take every pleasure you could get out of this Tour.

"It took me a year to adjust and that was last year," said Landis, who only just made his hip problems known three days ago. "After I got through last season and then I decided that I have to force it no matter what; getting the most out of my 2006 season. I am hoping a new hip will work and I can continue to race. I have heard good news about guys who have continued in sport after a hip replacement; so it would be possible to race again. My first goal is the quality of life and to get rid of the pain, second is the Tour."

Is it possible you are going to have problems with your hip in this Tour? "Yes, it is possible. Ordinarily with this condition, it is a slow process, so I should make it through this Tour with no problems. But I want to deal with this in the future because I am tired of the pain."

Before this Tour you were not Lance Armstrong's number one pick to win. Is this a bit of revenge? "I don't take offense to anything that Lance says about me," said Landis in a way that suggested Armstrong says lots of bad things about him. "I did not have a problem with him not selecting me as a favorite and I hope he is happy for me. I was happy for him each time he won."

Landis grew up in a Mennonite family and this contributed to his hard work ethic and desire to be different. His mom, who does not own a television for religious reasons, will make an exception and watch her son in the final week. Floyd explains: "She can watch TV but her and my dad choose not to have one in their home. I know my mom will be there watching in the final week."

Explain your childhood. "It is hard to explain it briefly... I grew up in a very religious family, with four sisters and a brother, all of whom are wonderful. And great parents. I am too high strung for that [Mennonite] lifestyle. A friend and I got interested in mountain biking when we were 15 or 16. We raced locally. That led to this... [Sitting in the Maillot Jaune] I think you get the idea."

Thanks Floyd, we do get the idea: You rock. Congratulations on taking the Maillot Jaune.

Menchov Tops a Rabobank Day

Russian Denis Menchov topped a day of wonderful work for team Rabobank. His Dutch team had already made a showing in this year's Tour de France, winning two stages with Oscar Freire, and they continued to do so on the mountain roads of stage 11.

Juan Antonio Flecha joined the day's major escape and gave the Dutch squadra reason not to work in the peloton. The other teams succeeded in bringing back the move with Flecha, prompting Michael Boogerd, Michael Rasmussen and Menchov into action. The boys dominated the finale up the slopes of the Pla-de-Beret.

"We started with the team knowing that Ag2R and T-Mobile would control the race," explained the 28 year old Russian on the Rabo tactics. "At first there were Rasmussen and Boogerd. Rasmussen asked how I was feeling and I said well. I was sure that if they worked for me I could do something for the win."

You looked fresh when you crossed the line. Was it an easy win for you? "You can say it was easy, but it was really hard. I looked good after the win because I am in good form. I hope this form continues all the way through the Tour."

"I was confident from the start of the Tour in our team," continued Menchov on the Rabo powers. "We know what we came to the Tour for and now we are here in the important stages, and ready to fight. I will watch Landis, but also Sastre and the others."

Savoldelli Crashes into Fan

After Tour de France stage 11, many of the riders descended the Pla-de-Beret to reach their team buses that were parked at the bottom. Paolo Savoldelli (Discovery Channel), normally known for his descending skills, could not avoid a fan who ran out in front of him. The fan was watching the slower riders still finishing and did not see Il Falco coming down from the other direction.

Savoldelli had blood gushing down from above his right eye and was very upset with the fan. Il Falco took off his cloth hat, holding it to his cut, and continued descending.

 

 

 

93rd Tour de France - presented by , 1 - 23 July
Main, Startlist, Classifications, Tour Favorites, Team CSC versus T-Mobile
Stages and Maps, Key Stages, Overall Map
Photos, The Dust Devil's Daily Wrap
Simoni and Saunier Duval-Prodir Updates
2005 Results

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