Today's 199k stage runs from Troyes to Nancy and
has four category 4
climbs in it, which none of the main riders will
have any problem with.
It will also end with a massive sprint to the
finish. It's raining
slightly with temps around 70 degrees.
The climbs range:
4th Category - the lowest category, climbs of
200-500 feet(70-150m).
3rd Category - climbs of 500-1600 feet(150-500m).
2nd Category - climbs of 1600-2700 ft.(500-800m)
1st Category - climbs of 2700-5000ft(800-1500m)
Hors Category - the hardest, climbs of 5000ft+(1500m+)
The inclines of each are also steeper than the
last.
5:30am - Massive explosions rock London. I have
friends that work
there, so I'm waiting to hear from them.
5:50am - There is a five man breakaway that at
one point was 8'30"
ahead, but at the 90k mark they've been reeled
in to 7min. If the race
was stopped now, Lance would give up the yellow
jersey and be behind by
about 3 min - which is nothing for him in the
mountains.
All the commentators are saying Lance wants to
give up the yellow
jersey for a few stages then get it back in the
mountains, and they're
probably right. It's easier to let someone else
get tired out trying to
defend it, then pound them in the mountain stages
which Lance eats for
breakfast. However, there are so many teams this
year with powerful
sprinters that I have a feeling he'll end up
staying in it. But it's
The Tour, and anything can happen.
6:00am - Breakaway is down to 6'30". The sprinters
are having none of
this breakaway stuff. Though over 6' is still
quite a distance.
6:15am - The peleton is flying, the gap is down
to 5'35". Rain, rain,
rain. Not hard, but very wet. There has also
been another rider,
Claudio Corioni (ITA) from Team Fassa Bortolo
withdraw from the race,
leaving 187.
6:52am - Gap is 3'59".
7:15am - Gap is now 2'15" at 27k to go. It's wet,
and the finish is
going to be chaos.
7:30am - Gap is 1'01" at 15k. The breakaway has
splintered on the last
climb, as have many on the main peleton. Too
many climbs with a very
fast pace to catch the breakaway and many riders
have just hit their
limits. Lance looks awesome in the front of the
peleton.
7:50am - AHMAHGAWD! Inside the 1k mark on a hard
right turn, there is a
MASSIVE CRASH! ABSOLUTE CARNAGE! Disembodied
heads, severed limbs
everywhere! A virtual bloodbath! Just kidding,
but the operative word is "just".
Imagine 187 riders coming around a sharp right
turn at 60k per hour. Christophe Mengin
(FRA-FDJ) who had made the initial attack and
had been the only one to hang on to the
lead after the breakaway splintered on the last
climb, hit a wet patch on the turn and slid on
his side right into the barriers.
Alexandre Vinokourov (T-Mobile) who had been chasing
him within the last 3k,
narrowly missed him as he fell, after that,
everyone who hit the spot, which seemed
like a white pedestrian cross-zone paint patch,
went flying. Bikes and men piling up
into the barriers and onto each other. Those
behind who hit their breaks also went flying.
It was HUGE.
Lance, Jan Ullrich, and Hincapie all missed the
carnage thankfully. Because this all
happened inside the 1k mark, they should all
get the same time. Lorenzo Bernucci (ITA-FAS),
seemed to be shocked to win the stage. Vinokourov
was 2nd, and the sprinters were nowhere
in sight having all gone down in the pile up.
I can't even fathom the dollar damage to the machines
involved, let alone the injuries sustained. There
will be a lot of pain in the race tomorrow.
Robbie McEwen said that it was a "waste of a
day" since winning the sprints is how he earns his money.
Lance stays in yellow, 53" in front of Vinokourov
who got a time bonus for crossing 2nd today
- though they're saying that might change because
of the crash. They also keep talking about a
new 3k rule, which to my understanding is like
the 1k rule (any crash inside 1k - everyone
gets the same time) so who knows. Tom Boonen
keeps the green, since the guys in the
breakaway are no where near the points he has
even though they grabbed the sprint points today.
King of the Mountains goes to Karsten Kroon of
Rabobank.
Tomorrow is mostly flat with one category 3 climb,
but ends in Germany
and most likely in more rainy conditions.
Still no word from the UK.