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07-07-2007, 02:11 PM
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#1 (permalink)
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Not a Doper
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Boulder, CO
Posts: 3,204
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OFFICIAL Tour de France thread
I don't think anyone read my one about Christmas (only a few), so I'll start one here so we can yabber for the next three weeks.
Georgie looked very good today, I think he will be a force this year, and will keep Levi on the podium. Cancellara flew today. Looked really good too. DZ ran a much slower time than I thought he would, but I guess coming off the Dauphine and Giro, he's probably pretty worn out! I would be!!!
I'm excited for tomorrow!!!!
E
__________________
"It's what you've got inside that matters. The details and technological things will take you only so far. You still have to pedal the bike. Some people are always looking for the magic secret. There's no secret. Just bust your ass." -Dave Zabriskie
Don't let your meatloaf.
26.2
2008 Half Ironman Training Log
2008 Training Blog
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07-07-2007, 02:41 PM
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#2 (permalink)
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Wyoming
Posts: 2,671
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Wow. I saw DZ come across in first place then I had to take off. I get home and he's not even in the top 10! But two Disco riders are, way to go George!
__________________
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." --Benjamin Franklin, 1759
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07-07-2007, 11:41 PM
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#3 (permalink)
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Not a Doper
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Boulder, CO
Posts: 3,204
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Yeah, I love watching DZ time trial - he's so aero, and he's just a machine. I'm really surprised he didn't finish well. I hope he does well in some of the other TT's.
E
__________________
"It's what you've got inside that matters. The details and technological things will take you only so far. You still have to pedal the bike. Some people are always looking for the magic secret. There's no secret. Just bust your ass." -Dave Zabriskie
Don't let your meatloaf.
26.2
2008 Half Ironman Training Log
2008 Training Blog
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07-08-2007, 09:42 AM
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#4 (permalink)
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Wyoming
Posts: 2,671
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I KNEW IT!!! I JUST FUCKING KNEW HE WAS GOING TO DO THAT!!!
When I saw him chasing off the back with 8 miles to go, I knew what was coming. The cloak of invisibility comes off 200 meters out and everyone says at the exact same time: "Where the fuck did he come from?"
__________________
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." --Benjamin Franklin, 1759
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07-08-2007, 05:44 PM
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#5 (permalink)
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Not a Doper
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Boulder, CO
Posts: 3,204
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He's the man. I knew it too, I told my fiance that he was going to win. She bet me a buck he wouldn't. I WIN!!!
McEwen is a freaking stud.
E
__________________
"It's what you've got inside that matters. The details and technological things will take you only so far. You still have to pedal the bike. Some people are always looking for the magic secret. There's no secret. Just bust your ass." -Dave Zabriskie
Don't let your meatloaf.
26.2
2008 Half Ironman Training Log
2008 Training Blog
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07-08-2007, 06:09 PM
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#6 (permalink)
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Michigan
Posts: 506
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Robbie is very amazing. Crash? So what!
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07-08-2007, 06:18 PM
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#7 (permalink)
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Wyoming
Posts: 2,671
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This was the live feed from velonews.com, he had the same reaction I did:
Quote:
3:24 PM At the back of the field The muddle at the back of the pack included Robbie McEwen. Cavendish, too, is having some tough times. He's made three wheel changes. McEwen is chasing hard, with about 17km to go. Will he make it back in time? Will he still be able to contest the sprint? Lots of surprises on the road to Canterbury.
3:29 PM With 12km to go, McEwen is chasing hard and being paced back into the field by four teammates. He looks like he may have hurt his wrist...
3:30 PM Up front Quick Step is at the front of the field, with a big 25-rider chase group coming back on...
3:30 PM 10km to go
3:31 PM McEwen still chasing
Lampre and Quick Step are up front. They must know that a potential stage winner is off the back.
3:32 PM Gerolsteiner moving up with about 8.5km to go. McEwen is still chasing.
3:37 PM 4km to go....
McEwen is in the field but the pace is high
3:38 PM With 3km to go the Quick Step is up front...
3:38 PM Lampre Gerolsteiner are in the mix, but it's Quick Step driving hard with 2km to go.
3:39 PM Classic train With Quick Step, but now come the pro's... Milram leading out Zabel.
3:39 PM One kilometer to go
We see Freire... up there, too.
3:39 PM Quick Step and Milram are fighting it out in the final kilometer.
3:40 PM Chaaaaaaarge
3:40 PM Robbie Hunter...leading... but here comes ROBBIE McEWEN!!!!
3:41 PM It's McEwen!
Out of @#$%ing nowhere! comes Robbie McEwen. Man, that guy is good!
3:45 PM Wowie
Ya know, no matter what you think about Robbie the Rocket, - he's brash and mouthy at times, some would say - but when it comes down to pure sprinting, he's the best. He doesn't need a train. He just poaches the right wheel and then BAMMM! How cool was that?
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Cool as hell. I have no idea how he made his way all the way up through that pack, it looked pretty tight and they were just flat out flying. Absolutely no doubt now who is the fastest man on two wheels.
__________________
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." --Benjamin Franklin, 1759
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07-08-2007, 08:43 PM
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#8 (permalink)
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Power to the pedals!
Join Date: May 2003
Location: City of Broad Shoulders
Posts: 9,227
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He blew them all away from 10 places back. He is unbelievable. Someone recently said to me that Pettachi was the fastest sprinter... I said that was only when McEwen isn't in the same race. He is so much quicker than Boonen, Hushovd, and the other guys, that given a clear lane - or not - he'll take it. Those guys are more in the style of The Lion King - long locomotive charges to the line. McEwen is more like a Porsche - agile and quick acceleration.
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07-08-2007, 09:34 PM
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#9 (permalink)
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Wyoming
Posts: 2,671
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Agreed, but...
There will never be anything to compare to watching Cipo's team lead him out. Seeing the tiger stripes coming down the road at 60km a few years ago was one of the highlights of Giro and Vuelta. I still vividly remember one Vuelta stage with a slight downhill run to the finish. A&S went off the front and were driving at 42 mph with 4k to go. They all fell off one by one and Lombardi took Cipo right up to the line. Classic.
Edit: But I've never seen anything at all like McEwen's effort today. To come from off the back of the pelaton in the last few km, with at least three other teams running full bore sprints, is simply unbelievable.
__________________
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." --Benjamin Franklin, 1759
Last edited by Mark57 : 07-08-2007 at 09:58 PM.
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07-08-2007, 11:10 PM
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#10 (permalink)
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Big D
Posts: 303
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WOW!
Robbie is the man. I shall go spring myself to death tomorrow in his honor.  I can't believe he did that. Amazing.
__________________
Seeking Balance and Control.
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07-08-2007, 11:18 PM
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#11 (permalink)
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Not a Doper
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Boulder, CO
Posts: 3,204
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I was just amazed when they played the overhead shot of the finish. It looked to me like he had a gear that the others just didn't have. Now whether that gear is in his legs, or on the bike set up, he rode his bike remarkably. He's a stud.
E
__________________
"It's what you've got inside that matters. The details and technological things will take you only so far. You still have to pedal the bike. Some people are always looking for the magic secret. There's no secret. Just bust your ass." -Dave Zabriskie
Don't let your meatloaf.
26.2
2008 Half Ironman Training Log
2008 Training Blog
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07-09-2007, 08:26 AM
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#12 (permalink)
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Not a Doper
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Boulder, CO
Posts: 3,204
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VeloNews is cracking me up this year:
Quote:
3:22 PM Hee hee
Cedric Hervé (Agritubel) charged off the front in an attempt to snag the prize money at the sprint mark in Westende. A breach of protocol in a group like this, Marcel Sieberg (Milram) simply powered up to him, edged him at the line and shook his head, delivering a message of sorts, although we're not sure in which language - German, French, Flemish or whatever - was used to convey the idea that Hervé was being what the Australians would call a "wanker."
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__________________
"It's what you've got inside that matters. The details and technological things will take you only so far. You still have to pedal the bike. Some people are always looking for the magic secret. There's no secret. Just bust your ass." -Dave Zabriskie
Don't let your meatloaf.
26.2
2008 Half Ironman Training Log
2008 Training Blog
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07-09-2007, 10:13 AM
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#13 (permalink)
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Wyoming
Posts: 2,671
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uh-oh. What just happened?
__________________
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." --Benjamin Franklin, 1759
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07-09-2007, 10:16 AM
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#14 (permalink)
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Not a Doper
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Boulder, CO
Posts: 3,204
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Nice crash for the T-Mobile boys.
Quote:
5:12 PM There ya go
with 2.5km to go...
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Hahahahahahahaha!!!!
__________________
"It's what you've got inside that matters. The details and technological things will take you only so far. You still have to pedal the bike. Some people are always looking for the magic secret. There's no secret. Just bust your ass." -Dave Zabriskie
Don't let your meatloaf.
26.2
2008 Half Ironman Training Log
2008 Training Blog
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07-09-2007, 12:26 PM
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#15 (permalink)
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Wyoming
Posts: 2,671
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That was a class move by Boonen, letting Steegman take the stage.
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"If you get the chance to give a gift to a teammate, you take that chance," Boonen said. "All year he does work for me. I wasn't going to pass him on the line and rob him of his chance for glory. It's the perfect end for our team."
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__________________
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." --Benjamin Franklin, 1759
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07-09-2007, 01:12 PM
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#16 (permalink)
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dangerballin' fool
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Absurdistan
Posts: 8,970
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by emartin10
VeloNews is cracking me up this year:
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That was funny. I love it when guys get payback for violating ettiquette.
__________________
ask your doctor if getting off your ass is right for you!
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07-10-2007, 11:39 AM
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#17 (permalink)
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Wyoming
Posts: 2,671
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Wow. Just wow.
That was one of the best finishes I've ever seen. Amazing.
__________________
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." --Benjamin Franklin, 1759
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07-10-2007, 11:48 AM
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#18 (permalink)
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Power to the pedals!
Join Date: May 2003
Location: City of Broad Shoulders
Posts: 9,227
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Mark57
Wow. Just wow.
That was one of the best finishes I've ever seen. Amazing.
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Ahhh... didn't see it. Was just going to look at the summary webpages, but now I'll have to watch it.  |
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