Contador and this years TdF.

[MichaelB]

And yet another crash and bike change. A conmbination of not riding well/tired/karma ?

Still hasn't gained time on mayone ...

[brentono]

Stop mumbling gumby, there's a lot of "karma" floating around many riders,
this year, and certainly nothing to be making fun of, it's a bit sad really,
and many will be out for quite while, Vinokourov may not come back?
Take a chill-pill, may fix that stutter.

[sogood]

And yet another crash and bike change. A conmbination of not riding well/tired/karma ?

Yep, it's not going well for him this year. It'll be interesting to see how much time he can claw back on the high mountains, if any. I remain curious just how much form Andy Schleck has been hiding since ToC.

[RICHARDH]

So how's he going to go tonight, has the knee thing been a clever rouse to lull everyone into a false sense of security? What is for sure is if he loses' time tonight then i think we can say for sure that his in serious trouble and look to Cadel and Schleck as the two clear favourites.

[brentono]

Let the games begin.

[heay]

Let the games begin.

And he failed.....

[MichaelB]

Let the games begin.

And he failed.....

And how Didn't look good at all coming across the line ...

[brentono]

Let the games begin.

And he failed.....

And how Didn't look good at all coming across the line ...

gumby's can show only emotion.

In the words of the Carpenters... "We've Only Just Begun"

[heay]

quote]



In the words of the Carpenters... "We've Only Just Begun"
[/quote]

He struggled last night, he did not attack only covered and than it was not very quickly. He is not the same rider we have seen in the past tours and I think his is having a hard time on this one due to the bad luck but also the spectators are giving it to him which will not helps his confidence.

I will say it out now, AC will not win this tour and will be lucky if he is on the podium.

[toolonglegs]

I will put it out there that he may well abandon...dodgy steak or not he has had a tough year racing / other things ... and hasn't got the support of last year, you can have all your mates around you but they don't match the Saxobank of last year.
He is an attacking rider...and if he doesn't attack,gets dropped even by a little bit what does that say.Maybe a bad day,maybe not...but then one killer attack on the Galibier etc and he could still walk away with this years tour.
Anyway I will be in Spain if he wins....that should give me a different perspective.

Who are the Carpenters?...dodgy bricklayers .

[herzog]

He will need the whole jar of "Chinese swimming pills" to win it from here.

[sogood]

The Spanish steaks aren't arriving till the 2nd rest day. So there's still hope. But there'll be no more excuses for not keeping the receipt this time.

[toolonglegs]

Haha..since that last post...what 2 hours ago?...turns out I won't be in Spain for the finish...I will be following the tour from this Sunday to next in Paris.
Now how do I organize to get the family to Malaga and a house move on Monday .

[Chuck]

turns out I won't be in Spain for the finish...I will be following the tour from this Sunday to next in Paris.

Poor bugger

[toolonglegs]

turns out I won't be in Spain for the finish...I will be following the tour from this Sunday to next in Paris.

Poor bugger

I know...work!...what's that!.

[Christine Tham]

Pretty appropriate lyrics, I think:

We've only just begun to live
White lace and promises
A kiss for luck and we're on our way
We've only begun

Before the risin' sun, we fly
So many roads to choose
We'll start out walkin' and learn to run
And yes, we've just begun

Sharing horizons that are new to us
Watching the signs along the way
Talkin' it over, just the two of us
Workin' together day to day, together

Let's see who will "work together" by the end of the tour.

[chill]

count him out at your own risk...

[Chuck]

count him out at your own risk...

Good call chill, he's looking better and better and can seriously TT.

[CommuRider]

Contador looked fresh and such a threat last night. Managed to pull back Cadel too. Was expecting 5-7 secs and in the end was only 3.

[tomness]

He had Sanchez working with him to pull Cadel back though.

[MichaelB]

Contador looked fresh and such a threat last night. Managed to pull back Cadel too. Was expecting 5-7 secs and in the end was only 3.

The fact that there was a gap is the telling one. Mind you, he also looked a lot stronger than the Schlecks and other GC contenders.

The fact that Cadel stayed off the front is also a good sign for the TT IMHO.

It should also not be forgotten that Cadel has ridden the TT course already, whilst many of the other GC contenders haven't. That's also gotta count a bit in his favour.

Thurs & Friday are gonna be late nights...

[stylo]

last night was a late night ..

glad i didnt fall asleep as the last 15 minutes was the best of the tdf i've seen so far !

[CommuRider]

It should also not be forgotten that Cadel has riddent the TT course already, whilst many of the other GC contenders haven't. That's also gotta count a bit in his favour.

I hope you're right. Can't help but think Contador is some sort of vampire bat ready to swoop and suck the blood out of the other competitors incl Cadel.

The wet roads were making things tense, just one small slip and a crash - surprised that the peloton survived intact with no big incident.

[r2160]

While I have only seen the highlights of last night, I thought that Cadel looked strong and seemed to have everybody's measure, including contador!

cheers
Glenn

[Christine Tham]