"Velo News compiles a Tour De France guide every year. In this year issue, Five time Tour winner Bernard Hinault gives a comment on a rider from each team. some comments are complimentary, others a little critical. To no one's surprise, he picks Lance as the favorite.
Here is his (a month old) comment on Jan Ullrich:
""Last year, unitl Vinokourov's accident ['04 Tour de Suisse], I thought that T-Mobile would win the Tour.
This year? With the only conditions being that they are spared misforture and, above all, that they learn how to race! When I think about the blunders of the Ullrich-Kloden duo! I mean, really; LeMond and I knew how to get along better.""
:)
note to Don M: somehow, the html editor is chopping off the last character, e.g. see if the zero is missing: 123456789"
The Badger Bites Der Kaiser
"...the question is, who's the next tour star?
ps, chris...please close your ""bold"" tag...thanks! :)
don"
Lance now has (in his career) 72 days as the leader of the TDF. Hinault had/has 78 days in the Maillot Jaune.
How much more bonhomme will the Badger be able to display on the side of the podium as Lance collects more yellow jerseys?
-------------------------------------
N. B.
This Velo News TDF guide is more than a month old. Not only did it talk about the Dauphine-Libere & Tour de Suisse in the future tense, it did not have the conclusion of the Giro, including Basso's 40 minutes collapse in the Dolomites. The issue was enthusiastic about the participation of Damiano Cunego and Eric Zabel, both left off their respective teams for the TDF.
Cunego was left off due to the fact he has mononucleosis. Zabel was left off so that T-Mobile could heavily concentrate on the overall classification.
With Stage 14 & 15 looming, we will see how well T-Mobile attacks the GC contenders. Right now, nobody on the podium is Pink
T-Mobile has a strategy? Really? Like what, attacking each other on the climbs? LMAO, what a bunch of wasted talents.
Always complaining. It's too hot. It's too steep. Always something. Did Eddy compain? Am I the only one who notices a pattern? Discovery rests on the first hard climb...the team sits in while Lance plays with the big boys. Then on the second climb, the team beats up on the peloton. Seems like they've got this all planned.
Today was a rest day for Discovery. Tomorrow Lance wants to win a stage, wanna bet?
saturday july 16 spoiler -
- imagine vino's freak head when he broke away, looked back and saw 2 pink jerseys leading a chase against him.
yes, what a waste of talent. i hope vino jumps teams next season. riders go to t-mob and waste away. they go to csc and flourish. hmmmm ... maybe disco for vino?
jan is forever second and never attacks - has der kaiser been thinking too often of those wonderful winter-time strudels and black forest cakes?
anyway, it's seems to be a race for 2nd and 3rd.
Maybe T-Mobile feels they can get more press coverage if they compete against each other than if they compete for the yellow jersey.
There was an article in the business section of the paper recently about T-Mobile USA pulling out of the usa wireless market because they weren't making any money. Maybe T-Mobile believes they cannot compete with americans :)
*ducking for cover*
...i'll buy a T-Mobile phone. Wait. I already have a T-Mobile phone. I'll take one of those yellow rubberband thingies.
Mac
"During last night's Stage 14 evening broadcast, they had some ""history of the tour"" segment that featured Stage 13 of the 2003 tour.
They showed a few shots of Jan on that stage and others. If you look at those photos, he was cut and firm. In this tour, his face is much puffier. I say that Strudel Boy is packing 2-3 more kilos than his 2003 performance.
And I wouldn't consider the celeste color slenderizing (celeste = team Bianchi jersey color)"
