Not much in the way of doping news in regards to this year’s Tour de France. Good thing, too. Not sure that it will stay that way until the end of the race, on July 26th when the peloton powers around the Champs-Élysées for the Grande Boucle’s grand finale, though. But one can hope for a scandal-free Tour.
Tom Boonen got a pleasant surprise on the eve of the Tour, when an arbitration panel ruled that he should be allowed to race. The Tour’s organizers were gracious in welcoming Boonen to the race, saying:
“The management of the Tour de France believes that, considering the great champion that Tom Boonen is, he will relish the opportunity that has been given to him and that he will have an exemplary attitude during the event.”
At the same time, Boonen sounded relieved:
“Obviously, I’m happy,” Boonen said at a news conference. “I didn’t have much time to think about the race, but I’ll try to give my best.”
So far, Tommeke hasn’t made much noise in the sprint finishes. It’s been Mark Cavendish, the Manx sprinting sensation, who’s torn up the tarmac on the two sprints to the line so far. But the Belgian superstar will get a few more chances to try and claim the green jersey off Cavendish’s back by the time the race ends in just under three weeks’ time. One has to wonder whether the uncertainty surrounding his participation might have messed with his training and preparation. We’ll see.
One of the biggest question marks in the hype leading up to the race’s start has been who the team leader for Team Astana would be. With two former Tour champions in Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong, there’s been a whole bunch of speculation as to who is really calling the shots out on the road.
Yesterday’s third stage saw Lance Armstrong perfectly positioned to latch onto the Team Columbia train as the whole team, along with about 18 other riders, gapped the main peloton and rolled into the finish a good ways ahead of the yellow jersey and all of the main contenders, save Armstrong, himself. By being close to the front, he was able to see the move happen and respond quickly enough to be a part of it. Pretty much right place, right time.
In today’s team time trial, Cancellara was able to hold onto the yellow jersey by a whisker-thin margin. Meanwhile, Armstrong is sitting in second place overall, and Contador is within striking distance in third place. Several other Astana riders, like Andreas Klöden (4th), Levi Leipheimer (5th), and Haimar Zubeldia (7th) are also firmly ensconced in the top 10 places of the general classification.
At least one writer thinks that the Tour is all over for all but the members of Team Astana. With something like 17 more stages to go, that conclusion is a bit premature. While all of the other major contenders are sitting a minute or more behind Astana’s fearsome foursome, there is a whole lot more racing to do. And bike racing, as anyone who’s ever participated in the sport or who’s followed it for a while knows, can be very humbling. Even at the top level, all it takes is one really bad day to drop out of contention. Or one really good day to become the race’s leader.
The real separation of the possible winners from the also-rans won’t happen until the Tour hits the Pyrenees at the end of the week. How well the various contenders perform during the mountain stages will play a big role in determining who’s going to stand on the podium in Paris at the end of the month. And despite what Dale Robertson said in the Houston Chronicle, it really could be any one of the major contenders. One bad day. One bad crash. One bonk. That’s all it takes to lose the Tour. And, just as those things could happen, one of the other teams might execute some unexpected tactic that would catch Team Astana unawares.
Time will tell who the 2009 Tour de France champion will be. Maybe it will be someone from Team Astana, and maybe not. One thing is certain: Over the next 17 stages there is going to be a whole lot of exciting racing as the riders make the circuit of France and its neighboring countries.
For what little it’s worth, I lost a small measure of respect for big George / the Bear from Bern, and gained some respect for Cadel Evans:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/evans-attacks-but-fails-to-gain-time
http://tour-de-france.velonews.com/article/94997/cadel-evans-attacks-again-but-can-t-seem-to-get-a-break
1. A break is not the exclusive playground of those who have lost enough time to be completely out of contention on GC.
2. Good for Evans for giving it a go. He needs to make up time somewhere. Why would he let an opportunity go by with so much time to make up and so few traditional avenues?
3. Stupid tactics on Hincapie’s part (as he described attacking Evans out of the break). He, and the others, burned too many matches to make a difference in the end. Also did the work of the teams with riders high on GC. Why?!? Stupid. Could have worked with him and made the others chase.
4. I don’t know what JB is whining about? Astana benefited from the free ride in not having to chase Evans.
Evans is in a sort of “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” position. If he plays it safe, he’ll be criticized for not taking any risks, and if he takes risks, they’ll say, “What was he thinking?”
Attacking Evans certainly appears to be a case of burning too many matches. Instead of doing that, how would things have played out if they’d actually used his strength to keep the break going? Probably not much differently, but the other riders wouldn’t have worked so hard, and would have more energy in reserve for other stages. And there’s still quite a bit of racing to go before the parade laps in Paris…
In other minor news, what is good for the goose…….
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/tankink-not-home-for-uci-doping-controllers
“Three serious errors means I would be suspended,” Tankink said. “But this is now the third mistake they have made with my whereabouts.”
“Why do I fill it in? I am furious and that is putting it mildly. I recommend two years suspension for them!”
I must say it seems a grand and generous gesture for the UCI not to take any action against Tankink for filling out his whereabouts forms correctly.
I don’t tend to pay a lot of attention to the post event comments that competitors and/or coaches make. There tends to be a lot of spin to either downplay your failures or to set up some later strategy.