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Tour de France, France

Stage 19, Issoire - Le Puy-en-Velay, 153.5K

22 July

The Dust Devil's Daily Wrap
Bravo Beppe!!!

Stages and Maps, The Dust Devil's Daily Wrap

Giuseppe Guerini won today! I mentioned the other day that I had always liked Paolo Savoldelli. Well, I've always liked Guerini as well. Ever since I saw him break away with Marco Pantani in the Dolomiti stages of the 1998 Giro, his smooth pedaling motion a pleasure to watch. I have had a soft spot for this soft-spoken Italiano!

It's great when guys like Guerini grab some glory. They spend so many countless kilometers riding in the service of their leaders, sacrificing their own chances for any victories. But payback in the form of a Tour de France stage victory has to be worth the wait!

Now, let us turn our attention to the TT tomorrow.

I'm pretty certain Armstrong will be gunning hard for victory. 55K is a looooooong TT. The person who I believe will benefit the most from the long TT is Ulle, Jan Ullrich. If he has a super day, and Basso has a mediocre or bad day, it's utterly feasible the German could leapfrog both Rasmussen and Basso. Putting Ulle onto his familiar second step on the podium. And at 55K, I believe that is totally realistic. At the very least he will make mince meat out of Rasmussen. That much is almost certain. Rasmussen will have to ride out of his polka-dot skinsuit to save his podium position. But, I believe he will be no match for the blitzkrieg that Ullrich is going to administer.

And let us not forget that the race is not over until you cross the line. If Armstrong had a flat or a crash, Ivan Basso could move into #1 on the GC. It's not likely, we're talking about Armstrong here. But, it's definitely a very outside possibility.

Time will tell.
- The Dust Devil