Category: Racing

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The Tour: Stage 1

The official results and standings from the TdF site: Stage 1.

Take-aways on Day 1:

–Fabian Cancellara is, as third-place finisher Bradley Wiggins said, the man.

–Alberto Contador, in second, is also a man. Even a man to be reckoned with, as Liggett/Sherwen would say.

–Astana placed four in the top 10: Contador, Andreas Klöden, Levi Leipheimer, and Lance Armstrong. What does that quartet have in common? They can all climb. If the team stays intact–out of crashes and away from injuries or other mishaps–it’s going to be a gang fight in the mountains.

–Unofficially, Armstrong won the battle today for the first TdF rider to tweet post-race. He was just ahead of Mick Rogers, Leipheimer, Wiggins, and Cadel Evans.

I will depart from tradition and register no complaints with the Versus coverage of the stage. Well, here’s one small thing: It always surprises me on the run-in to the time-trial finishes that the lads can’t give a more precise idea of how far out the riders are. I mean, the course is marked. And they have 180 riders to practice on. Instead, LiggWen get in a lather with their guesstimates of finishing times and you never know exactly whether the guys are 500 meters from the finish or 100.

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We’re Back

I’ve neglected this little blog–partly a symptom of neglecting something far more serious: riding. But I won’t go into all that just now. For the next three weeks, anyway, I’m back.

In just a few hours, the lads will start clicking in and another Tour will be under way. There may have been a time earlier this season when I felt I had some idea of the shape of professional cycling this year; I mean, as much an idea as I ever have. I don’t have that sense now, and I haven’t been reading the racing media. In the U.S.A.’s general media–the San Francisco Chronicle, for instance, with its story today from a Hearst reporter somewhere–the Lance Armstrong fog has set in and set in good. Meaning that if you’re following the race from North America, it’ll be hard to see around the Lance legend during the Tour, or at least until it cracks, if it does.

Personally, I find it hard to imagine he’ll win this one. Even getting onto the podium will be tough. The competition on his own team is tough, let alone what the rest of the peloton will throw at him. Still: Contador had a low moment during Paris-Nice. Leipheimer has had some wonderful rides this year, both in California and Italy. But he didn’t produce the sort of indomitable performance in the Giro that might make you think he can break Lance.

No predictions, anyway. Except for maybe a couple non-racing ones:

–Cadel Evans will sulk, throw a memorable tantrum or two, and finish out of the money. Crikey. Even the guy’s Twitter feed sounds whiney and fussy.

–The race will be rocked by news that one of the riders was caught doping. I hope it’s Cadel.

–Paul Sherwen will not announce he’s retiring the “suitcase of courage.”

–No one will “turn themselves inside out” during the prologue Saturday. Sunday, riders might start doing just that during the first long breakaway.

–Untold numbers of riders will “dance on the pedals” shortly before experiencing “a spot of bother.” Phil Liggett says you can count on it.

–Sheryl Crow will knock Lance off his bike just as he’s about to win the Mont Ventoux stage. All she wanted was to have some fun. …

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Lance and Us

Lance Armstrong is a renowned champion bicycle racer. Lance Armstrong is making a comeback this year after several years of celebrity and celebrity hangover. Lance Armstrong crashed earlier this week during a race and broke his collarbone. And now Lance Armstrong is starting his recovery training regimen. Today, and perhaps today only, Lance Armstrong’s workout routine resembles something I might recognize as human. Here it is, as reported on his Twitter stream: “Got on the spin bike for half an hour today.”

(And here’s the link to the Twitpic of Lance on said spin bike: http://twitpic.com/2jn5r.)

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Svein Tuft Watch: Tirreno-Adriatico, Stages 4 and 5

You know, I haven’t watched a minute of this race–I think at least clips are available online–and I don’t know whether it would make a difference in terms of understanding what the course has been like for Svein and the other racers. From afar, one of the strangest things about the race so far is following the progress–no, lack of progress–of Fabian Cancellara. When last we heard of him, he was winning the prologue of the Tour of California, then falling ill and dropping out the next day–the cold wet run from Davis to Santa Rosa that prompted Lance Armstrong to Twitter, “Holy hell. That was terrible.” Cancellara is still sick (and injured) and is not only last in the Tirreno-Adriatico G.C., but has added to his legend by having been overtaken by the rider who followed him out onto the course during today’s time trial. This is the Olympic and world champion time-trial champion we’re talking about here, and the 2007 champion of this very race.

But back to Tuft-world. Standingswise, Svein moved up this weekend:

Saturday

Stage 4, 171 kilometers from Foligno to Montelupone (the finish is on a wall with stretches of 20 percent plus).

Stage 4 finish: 48th, 5:04 behind stage winner Joaquim Rodriguez (Spanish, riding for Caisse d’Epargne). Svein and Garmin-Slipstream teammate Julian Dean finished together, trailing the previous group by a minute and the following group by 50 seconds.)

G.C. placing after Stage 4: 83rd, 13:48 behind leader (Rodriguez). Tuft and Dean are placed with the same time in G.C.

Sunday

Loreto Aprutino → Macerata

Stage 5, 30-kilometer time trial from Loreto Aprutino to Macerata

Stage 5 finish: 41th, 2:12 behind stage winner Andreas Kloeden (German, riding for Astana).

G.C. placing after Stage 4: 72nd, 15:29 behind leader (Kloeden).

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Svein Tuft Watch: Tirreno-Adriatico Stage 3

Well, the headline from this stage highlights one of Svein’s teammates, Tyler Farrar. He did what few casual observers would think possible nowadays: beat Team Columbia’s Mark Cavendish head to head in the closing sprint. Cavendish has not only demonstrated amazing acceleration in the final 200 meters, he is from all appearances utterly confident in his ability to beat anyone when the chips are down.

Svein’s numbers:

Stage 3, 166 kilometers from Fucecchio to Santa Croce sull’Arnoa.

Stage 3 finish: 107th, same time as stage winner Tyler Farrar.

G.C. placing after Stage 3: 127th, 8:59 behind leader Julien El Fares.

See Velonews writeup and standings  . Team Garmin-Slipstream writeup here  . Tirreno-Adriatico page at Steephill.tv.

Also of note: Garmin-Slipstream’s Julian Dean’s Tirreno-Adriatico diary at Cycling News. Reviewing Stage 1, he is brutally critical of his own performance:

I wasn’t good at all today and it was a stage where I should’ve been good. It was a final that would normally be perfect for me and I was bad. We had a 4km climb, 15km from the finish – not too unlike the finish of San Remo – and when we got to the bottom of it I couldn’t follow the second group, let alone the front group!!!

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Svein Tuft Watch: Tour of California Stage 1

By all accounts, a miserable cold, wet, windy day (what Lance Armstrong said about it, via Twitter, when it was all over: “Holy hell. That was terrible. Maybe one of the toughest days I’ve had on a bike, purely based on the conditions. I’m still freezing”). Svein Tuft finished 31st overall today, toward the front of a large group that finished about five minutes behind the stage winner, Francisco Mancebo, and four minutes behind the main chase group led by Armstrong, Leipheimer, Voigt, et al. Svein’s general classification placing after today: 24th, 5:04 off the lead.

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Svein Tuft Watch: Tour of California Prologue

Finishes ninth in an amazing field. Here are the top 10 finishers for the 3.9-kilometer course (full list at VeloNews):

1. Fabian Cancellara Team Saxo Bank in 00:04:32.91
2. Levi Leipheimer Astana in 00:04:34.11
3. David Zabriskie Garmin-Slipstream in 00:04:35.56
4. Michael Rogers Team Columbia-High Road in 00:04:35.70
5. Thor Hushovd Cervelo Test Team in 00:04:36.04
6. George Hincapie Team Columbia-High Road in 00:04:36.25
7. Tom Boonen Quick Step in 00:04:36.34
8. Mark Renshaw Team Columbia-High Road in 00:04:36.96
9. Stein Tuft Garmin-Slipstream in 00:04:37.06
10. Lance Armstrong Astana in 00:04:37.17

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Svein Tuft Watch

We’ve been a little adrift here. No peloton to ride in. No urge to get on the bike. Just guilty, guilty feelings about not being out there. But that’s changed now that Svein Tuft is in California. We hereby dedicate ourselves to following him — his progress, from afar — for at least a day or two during the Tour of California. To prepare, here are some very important Svein Tuft links. If you happen across this and want to contribute, send a note!

Canadian Rider Makes an Unorthodox Climb Toward Cycling’s Pinnacle: The New York Times article that started it all (“it” being Tuftmania).

Svein Tuft: the Wikipedia article

Svein Tuft: bio and race results from his former team, British Columbia-based Symmetrics Cycling.

Svein Tuft: racer page from his current team, Garmin-Chipotle

Svein Tuft Gets Pez’d (Pez Cycling News, August 19, 2008: focuses on Tuft’s race at the Olympic road time trial).

Svein Tuft’s journey to worlds silver: (October 13, 2008: a long Cycling News feature).

Interview: Svein Tuft (The Daily Peloton interview, December 19, 2008: includes Tuft’s racing plans for 2009, including Paris-Roubaix).

Svein interview after winning Canadian individual time trial, July 4, 2008.

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