Tour de France Cycling News for July 12, 2005
Edited by John Stevenson
Rest day wrap: Time to get it on!
By Les Clarke
Lance Armstrong (Discovery Channel)
Photo ©: Sirotti
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Nine stages down, and the 92nd edition of the Tour de France is beginning
to look like a real race, a la 2003. All the pre-race contenders - Armstrong,
Ullrich, Basso and Vinokourov - are looking comfortable near the top of
the standings, albeit with a few hiccups along the way. As expected, the
shift to higher ground has begun to sort out the contenders from the pretenders,
and tomorrow should really see the race for yellow begin.
The high pace of the race so far appears to be taking its toll on the
field, with 175 of the original 189 riders remaining, and as the field
hits the Alps for stage 10 it's only going to get harder. There have been
successful breakaways and drama in the sprints over the past nine days,
with Robbie McEwen's relegation in stage 3 handing the initiative in the
points competition to Tom Boonen, and Michael Rasmussen's solo break for
most of yesterday's stage creating some real interest in the race for
the polka dots.
After a dominant opening from Lance Armstrong that had many observers
writing off the Tour for the overall prize, the fight for the yellow jersey
has been fired up with solo breaks and a hint of weakness from Discovery
Channel on stage 8. None of Armstrong's real challengers are more than
two minutes away from the Texan.
Click here for
the full round-up of the Tour so far.
Discovering Johan
Johan Bruyneel
Photo ©: Luc Claessen
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On the first rest day in Grenoble, just hours away before the first real
mountain stage of the 2005 Tour de France, Discovery's master tactician
Johan Bruyneel sat down to a press meeting that was understandably packed
to the rafters. The man behind the wheel of six successful Tours de France
talked about the week so far, what's driving Lance, the maillot jaune,
Lance's legacy and the rest of the contenders. Anthony Tan was
there for Cyclingnews.
Q: Johan, it seems like Lance has a different mindset in this
year's Tour. He seems a little more relaxed - has his mindset changed
in this year's Tour after making a record sixth win, and is it affecting
his racing at all?
Johan Bruyneel: He's definitely relaxed, but that doesn't mean
he's less focused or less motivated. I think the only pressure he has
in this year's Tour is the pressure is puts on himself. Last year, nobody
had been able to win six and all the big ones had failed, so there was
a lot of pressure; this year, it was himself who wanted to be here and
when he decided to be here, he didn't come to be second. But I can feel
he's more relaxed.
Q: What are the things that motivated him this year that he didn't
have in the past?
JB: Well, I think the biggest motivation is that he
wants to win and that he's a champion and doesn't want to lose. I think
all the champions are like that, and it's certainly the case this year.
I repeat that the fact that he decided to do another Tour is his biggest
motivation; once he took that decision, he completely changed his mind
and his focus and really started training very seriously.
Click
here for the full story.
Jan the cat falls on his feet
Jan Ullrich has had a tough Tour
so far
Photo ©: Luc Claessen
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Banged around by a couple of crashes, Jan Ullrich has not shown as a
real threat in this Tour de France - yet. Described by Lance Armstrong
as the rider who motivates him to get up in the morning, Ullrich and his
T-Mobile team spoke to the press on the Tour rest day about his injuries,
his rivals and the coming mountain showdown on the road to Courchevel.
Hedwig Kröner was there for Cyclingnews.
When T-Mobile hosted its pre-mountain Tour de France press conference
this afternoon in Voreppe, just North of Lyon, the eagerly awaited Jan
Ullrich appeared relaxed, but focused. Although the marks of his crash
yesterday showed on his face (a bruise on his forehead, and another one
just on the side of his right eye), Ullrich was in good spirits when the
journalist's questions started, the first one obviously concerning his
health. The team doctor Lothar Heinrich explained why he decided to take
Ullrich to the hospital for some x-rays this morning.
"It has to be said that Jan's crash was bad yesterday," Heinrich said.
"First, one couldn't see a lot of injuries, but once we removed his jersey
the injuries were more serious than we expected. You can see the bruises
on his head, and it's the same on his body, so we decided to got to a
private clinic here in Grenoble this morning to see if he has any broken
bones, especially ribs. But we could establish that there are no broken
bones. What he does have are severe contusions to his ribs. This can be
a handicap especially at maximal performance, when the breathing is very
deep, and at night. Fortunately, Jan slept well last night and now, and
we hope that his pain will be the least possible tomorrow. During training,
he felt all right, and everything else we will see tomorrow."
Click
here for the full story
Basso looks to Pyrenees
Ivan Basso
Photo ©: Luc Claessen
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At CSC's rest day press conference, the team that currently holds the
yellow jersey discussed its plans for the next two weeks as the race hits
the mountains and designated general classification rider Ivan Basso is
expected to challenge.
Basso, who finished third in last year's Tour de France, was the only
rider who could stay with Lance Armstrong in the mountains in 2004. But
while everyone else is looking forward to today's first severe mountain
stage, Basso thinks the crucial climbs this year will not come until the
Tour hits the Pyrenees.
"Everybody sees the next two days as decisive but I think that the Pyrenees
will decide the winner," said Basso. "In the Pyrenees, you have two finishes
at the top after several climbs. That's going to be really tough especially
after the stages here [in the Alps]."
After leading the Giro d'Italia earlier this year, Basso is a favourite
to threaten Lance Armstrong in this Tour, but he says his immediate ambitions
are more modest> "I would love to snatch another win there as I climbed
on the podium [in La Mongie] in the Pyrenees. It was a great moment."
But the results in the mountains will depend on how Basso's form compares
to his rivals and he admits there's no way of being sure yet. "I'm feeling
pretty good physically," he said. "But what I don't know is what shape
my opponents are in ... as we didn't have any real chance to test ourselves
last week. At least tomorrow will be the real test we are all looking
for."
Bjarne Riis
Photo ©: Luc Claessen
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Basso's team manager Bjarne Riis, the 1996 Tour de France champion, agreed.
"Tomorrow, we will know," he said. "We will know who is strong enough
and who is not."
Riis hinted at the team's strategy over the next two week. If Riis has
his way, we are in for fireworks in the mountains. "If you want to beat
Lance, if you want to win this Tour, you have to attack, not just follow,"
he said.
However, it doesn't look like CSC will defend the yellow jersey at all
costs. The team's ebullient German rider jens Voigt currently holds the
race lead but admits he's no climber. The plan is to hand over the jersey
to a team-mate, but Voigt said the team does not feel pressured to hang
on to it.
"Armstrong is the one who is here to win the Tour," he said. "He has
to take responsibilities in the race. The pressure is on his shoulders
not on ours.
"He gave the jersey away yesterday (Sunday) but we are not going to do
his job."
Julich plays role model
Bobby Julich (CSC)
Photo ©: Luc Claessen
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One CSC rider who is enjoying his own job is Bobby Julich. The American,
who was third in the Tour in 1998, has found a new lease of life at CSC,
winning the Paris-Nice stage race earlier this year. He is also enjoying
acting as a mentor to the team's younger riders dave Zabriskie and Ivan
Basso.
"Ivan is one of the main reasons why I'm in the team. I see a lot of
me in him," said Julich. "Like me, he was 26 when he made it on the podium
[in 2004] and he has had to face the same pressure. He often comes to
me to ask questions. He has a lot of confidence in me and it's a huge
compliment."
Julich put immense pressure on himself to perform after that Tour podium
spot, but didn't perform at the very highest level again until he joined
CSC in 2004. It was that or quit cycling, and he feels the chance to nurture
a talent like Basso made the decision worthwhile.
"I think he learnt a lot by seeing me race, especially in time trials,"
said Julich. "In the Tour of the Basque Country, he followed my time trial
in the car and it helped him see how I was taking curves, how I was using
the course."
Although his 19-second advantage over Basso on general classification
makes him an obvious candidate to take the yellow jersey if Voigt relinquishes
it today, Julich has no illusions that he is a candidate for overall victory.
"Honestly, with Ivan Basso, we have a much better chance for the overall
standings," he said. "Of course I have personal goals. I'd like to win
a stage, and especially the last time trial in St Etienne on the penultimate
day."
Cadel Evans "right on track"
By Tim Maloney, European Editor
Cadel Evans (Davitamon-Lotto)
Photo ©: Jon Devich
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Currently sitting 25th on general classification, Davitamon-Lotto's Cadel
Evans is quietly confident that he can move up the ladder in this year's
Tour de France. Evans looked like a future grand tour contender when he
wore the leader jersey at the 2002 Giro d'Italia for Mapei, but was plagued
by injury after accepting a lucrative contract with T-Mobile. Even after
he'd apparently proven himself by winning the Tour of Austria in 2004
he was left off T-Mobile's Tour de France team.
Finally riding his first Tour, the former mountain bike World Cup champion
remains cautiously optimistic. On the first rest day in Grenoble, we asked
Evans about the action on the Col de Schlucht Saturday, where his former
T-Mobile teammates put pressure on then race leader Armstrong. "Well I
saw Kloden strong, Vinokourov good, Armstrong exposed," said Evans. "The
attacks from Vino were pretty much what I was expecting, but the big surprise
was Armstrong on his own. His team has to come up to another level if
they want to keep protecting him. T-Mobile are going to be on the attack
now... but sometimes (Discovery) like to play mind games as well as physical
games. They're strong and smart. Maybe they're saving themselves."
As for Evans himself, it's been a long road to finally get to the Tour
de France. Evans is one of four former former fat tire specialists (along
with Michael Rasmussen, Dario Cioni and Floyd Landis) who hope to shine
in this years Tour de France. "So far, it's on track for me, but the hardest
days are yet to come. It's early days yet, but day by day, so far it's
gone good. I'm happy until this point."
Dave Z On The Mend
By Tim Maloney, European Editor
Dave
Zabriskie
shortly before packing it in during stage 9
Photo ©: Jon Devich
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After a storybook start to this year's Tour de France, Dave Zabriskie's
race had an ignominious end Sunday, as the CSC rider was forced to abandon.
After his terrible head over heels crash in the final 1300m of Stage 4's
team time trial, Zabriskie gamely tried to hang in there as long as possible
at Le Tour, but his injuries, particularly his badly bruised ribs, and
the high speed, compounded by digestive troubles likely brought on by
the terrible stress on the American's body brought his Tour campaign to
an end.
On Satuday's Stage 8, Zabriskie was off the back as soon as the attacks
started and ended up riding with Brazilian sprinter Luciano Pagliarini
all day until the final climb where the Liquigas rider dropped him.
We caught up with Zabriskie after CSC's media conference Monday in Grenoble.
Despite his abandon, his girlfriend Randi had just come to France from
Berkeley, California to be with her guy. Always ready with his unique
sense of humor, Zabriskie took a few minutes to chat with Cyclingnews.
"My Tour came to a sudden stop," joked Zabriskie about his abandon. "I'm
going to take a few days to rest up and get over my injuries and for the
excitement to disappear. I'm glad about the experiences I've had at the
Tour, but I'm sorry I can't be here to help the team. But the experience
at the Tour de France will open up more opportunities for me. It's good
for me that Randi is here; otherwise I might pull the blinds and get really
depressed."
When we asked Dave what was next for him in 2005, he turned serious and
explained, "mostly I want to rest up and recover and once the Tour is
over, [CSC team boss] Bjarne Riis and I will discuss my program for the
rest of the season."
Zabriskie will return to his European base in Girona, Spain today. After
riding the Giro d'Italia and a third of the Tour de France, the American
time trialing whiz may ride the Vuelta a España and will certainly be
a candidate for a rainbow jersey in this year's World Elite Time Trial
Championship in Madrid, Spain.
Spartacus Ready For Battle
By Tim Maloney European Editor
Fabian Cancellara (Fassa Bortolo)
Photo ©: Sirotti
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Fabian Cancellara (Fassa Bortolo) was disappointed for a while with his
Stage 1 time trial performance, as the Swiss TT champ had hoped for another
maillot jaune like the one he won in last year's Tour de France
prologue in Liege. "This race has been too fast! Unbelieveably fast,"
said Cancellara. "From the first kilometer, the race pace is really fast.
Up until now, we're ridden at such a fast average speed! Now the mountains
are coming but I hope it doesn't keep going as fast and aggressive as
it has in the first week. Saturday and Sunday weren't that good for me.
My strategy for the Alps is to just stay in the grupetto until the flat
stages when I can go on the attack. Then I'll be in the front looking
to get in the right break."
Nicknamed Spartacus by his Fassa Bortolo teammates for his resemblance
to a youthful Kirk Douglas, Cancellara is seen by many in cycling as a
major player in the classics and is being courted by many ProTour teams
for 2006, including Discovery Channel.
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