How many of you are Tour de France watchers

[noitall]

I personally can't wait for football season to start, but this tour de france race keeps me occupied for a couple of weeks. I really believe this has to be the most physically demanding sport in the world. What are your thoughts?

[sinton66]

I wonder, has anybody heard whether Armstrong will compete again?

[District303aPastPlayer]

i love it!

[PhiI C]

GO LANCE GO!!

[WOSgrad]

Armstrong finished second in the opening prologue today.

He is 15 seconds ahead of Jan Ulrich, 16 seconds ahead of Tyler Hamilton, and 19 seconds ahead of Iban Mayo.

That is a pretty big margin to have after a prologue. Awww, I think that they have ticked Lance off and he is gonna make 'em pay.

[District303aPastPlayer]

Since the french designed a course that favors everyone except Lance... i think he is pretty ticked...

[WOSgrad]

Do any of you know if olm has the coverage again? Are they doing the nightly replays?

[BIG BLUE DEFENSIVE END]

Yeah, I hope that it is going to be on OLN again. I've watched it the past three years. Go Lance! :D

[Old Tiger]

Whatever makes ESPN is what i see from it. :D

[Gobbla2001]

Lance had a bad start last year and still won it...

This looks like a good start for lance...

He wins it......... again...

[Buffalo]

some

[BIG19]

Yes, the tour is very demanding and is fun to watch. I feel Lance will once again dominate once they make it to the hills. GO LANCE!

[PhiI C]

What happened today (Tuesday)?

[kaorder1999]

yeah...all i see is what they show on sportscenter

[WOSgrad]

Originally posted by PhiI C
What happened today (Tuesday)?

In Stage 2, there was really nothing that happened, Lance and his competitors finshed safely in the peleton. He is in third about 18 seconds behind the current leader who will fade once they get to the mountains sometime next week.

[BIG BLUE DEFENSIVE END]

Lance usually lags behind at the beginning of the Tour, but once they hit the mountains....he takes the lead and never looks back.

[PhiI C]

Thanks for the update WO!

[kaorder1999]

Originally posted by BIG BLUE DEFENSIVE END
Lance usually lags behind at the beginning of the Tour, but once they hit the mountains....he takes the lead and never looks back.
yeah...from the reports i hear he is very strong in the mountain stages

[pakrat]

I'll bet if it was a French guy who had a chance to win it for a record 6th time, the course would have been designed to help him. Poor Lance! He is receiving the butt end of all the French
snubbing of America. :mad:

[BIG19]

Originally posted by pakrat
I'll bet if it was a French guy who had a chance to win it for a record 6th time, the course would have been designed to help him. Poor Lance! He is receiving the butt end of all the French
snubbing of America. :mad:

What do you mean by this? The hills are always at the end of the Tour. This is the part that Lance is strongest at. Why do you think he trains where he does? As long as he is not taken out with a wreck, I don't see anyone really challenging him this year.

[BIG19]

Lance is currently 4th overall after 2 stages.

[Phil C]

Lance is now in first place! GO LANCE GO!

[turbostud]

Lance and US Postal dominated the Team Time Trial today but the French once again have gone out of there way to give Armstrong a disadvantage. They won the stage by over a minute which normally would put that same amount of time into his rivals. But the French changed the rules this year for the Team Time Trial and made it to where second place would only lose 20 seconds, third place would lose 30 seconds and fourth place would lose 40 seconds and so on. So instead of losing over a minute in the stage, his closest rivals only lost 20,30, and 40 seconds.

[WOSgrad]

As a result of the time trial, the top ten closely resembles the US Postal Roster. Lance has the yellow jersey. George Hincapie and Floyd Landis, a couple of fellow Americans, are in second and third. respectively. The team also occupies the 4th, 5th and 7th spots.

Of the rivals from other teams: Tyler Hamilton is 36 seconds behind; Jan Ullrich is 55 seconds behind; Ivan Basso is 1:17 behind and Roberto Heras is 1:45 behind.

The margins would be much higher if it wasn't for the bs rule that turbostud talked about. He would have about 1:30 lead over all of the rival cyclists.

[noitall]

Originally posted by turbostud
Lance and US Postal dominated the Team Time Trial today but the French once again have gone out of there way to give Armstrong a disadvantage. They won the stage by over a minute which normally would put that same amount of time into his rivals. But the French changed the rules this year for the Team Time Trial and made it to where second place would only lose 20 seconds, third place would lose 30 seconds and fourth place would lose 40 seconds and so on. So instead of losing over a minute in the stage, his closest rivals only lost 20,30, and 40 seconds.

Yes this is a bias rule put in place only to unseat Lance. Barring a spill or some other disaster Lance appears to be stronger than ever this year. I'm really pulling for him.

[Phil C]

Any news today? I didn't get to watch much on tv during lunch but it seems like with the weather that Lance may be just playing it safe and keeping close till his strong portion comes up. GO LANCE GO!

[BIG BLUE DEFENSIVE END]

Whatever happened to Yoshiba Beloki? He was Lance's biggest competitor last year until he was forced to withdraw after being in a serious wreck in one of the races.

[3afan]

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/news/story?id=1836135


Thursday, July 8, 2004

Associated Press

CHARTRES, France -- Lance Armstrong lost his overall lead in the Tour de France to Thomas Voeckler on Thursday, an honor the five-time champion willingly conceded -- for now.

Withstanding rain-doused roads and high wind, Australia's Stuart O'Grady of Cofidis won the Tour's fifth stage with a sprint finish ahead of Voeckler and three other riders who broke early from the main pack and held on.

O'Grady thrust his arms in the air after winning a Tour de France stage for the second time in his career. Denmark's Jakob Piil was second and France's Sandy Casar was third. Voeckler, the French champion, was fourth.

At one point, the five-rider group built a lead as large as 17 minutes ahead of the pack on the 124.6-mile stage from Amiens to Chartres.

The breakaway riders clocked 5 hours, 5 minutes and 58 seconds; Armstrong and the pack finished 12 minutes, 33 seconds later.

Armstrong, who was 24th in the stage, fell to sixth overall -- 9 minutes and 35 seconds off Voeckler's pace.

The U.S. Postal Service team tried to include George Hincapie in the break, but Jan Ullrich's T-Mobile team kept reeling them back in.

"We tried, but T-Mobile kept chasing down George and the guys we put in the break," Armstrong said.

Asked if any of the five riders could threaten his try for the overall crown, Armstrong said, "I don't know."

Voeckler chuckled when asked what his lead over Armstrong meant.

"Oh, I don't think he's worried about me," the 25-year-old Frenchman said.

Voeckler, riding for Brioches La Boulangere, epitomized how fickle the Tour can be from one day to the next. He entered the stage three minutes behind Armstrong in 59th place.

Mishaps -- tire punctures, derailed chains and spills on rain-soaked roads -- marred much of the course through bucolic wheat fields and rolling hills northwest of Paris.

Armstrong, seeking a record sixth straight Tour victory, captured the overall leader's yellow jersey a day earlier, thanks in part to a first-place performance in the team time trial by his U.S. Postal Service squad.

But controlling the race lead so early brings pressures along with honors -- and Armstrong's coach said the 32-year-old Texan was willing to give up the yellow jersey temporarily and focus on bigger threats.

"We can't kill the team for a breakaway by five people who aren't a threat in the overall classification," Postal sporting director Johan Bruyneel said. "I'm comfortable with the situation."

Four of Armstrong's U.S. Postal teammates crashed about halfway through the course. Jose Luis Rubiera was treated by a race doctor, who swabbed down his leg from a car as the rider hung on to the vehicle's window.

Australian sprint specialist Bradley McGee, who complained of hip problems from the start of the race, dropped out Thursday.

[turbostud]

BBDE, Beloki is still injured. I think in addition to a broken leg and finger in that crash, I think he also broke his pelvis. Could be a while before he comes back, if at all. He has also been having contractual problems. Look for him in the Vuelta a Espana this September on OLN. By the way his name is spelled Joseba.

[Da Mules]

I gotta admire anybody who can sit their butt on a bicycle for two solid weeks. But Lance's toughness transcends bicycling merely as a sport... to come back from cancer and chemo like that.. the dude is an All-American in everything.:clap: :clap: :clap: