• From: Amsterdam
  • Registered: 2007-10-06
  • Posts: 5,249

Re: Le Tour de France, 2009

C'mon Cathy, you''re letting me down here. Ok, ok, so Tallan was  on tv, but hey, there's a Tour going on!

Nothing has changed in the top placings since my previous post. We've had a rest day and two more Cavendish sprint wins, which means he's got four stage victories already. He also got the green jersey back from Hushovd, who had it for two days.

Today's breakaway group was allowed to stay out front as the peleton decided to take it easy (again). Nikki Sorensen from Denmark, riding in his seventh Tour, was the surprising but totally deserving winner.

RIP Iron Man

Rock On and keep the Faith
  • From: Deep in the forest
  • Registered: 2007-02-11
  • Posts: 5,296

Re: Le Tour de France, 2009

Goodness G, You know guilt doesn't work on me. At about the halfway point, I would call this year's race exciting. Sorry for Levi. Not being able to race lat year, and now a broken wrist...that's the nature of the Grand Tours. I'll write more when things heat up O-O  O-O  O-O O-O   Cathy

  • From: Edgewater, FL
  • Registered: 2007-12-08
  • Posts: 5,046

Re: Le Tour de France, 2009

cathysiler wrote:

Goodness G, You know guilt doesn't work on me. At about the halfway point, I would call this year's race exciting. Sorry for Levi. Not being able to race lat year, and now a broken wrist...that's the nature of the Grand Tours. I'll write more when things heat up O-O  O-O  O-O O-O   Cathy

ooooooh  I likes dat guilt free love...wink.

MuchLove
FDOL

Rock On & Keep the FAITH
             It is
Blues From the Bottoms

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  • From: Amsterdam
  • Registered: 2007-10-06
  • Posts: 5,249

Re: Le Tour de France, 2009

Cathy and I differ on the excitement value of the Tour so far. I think it's disappointing, though today's long solo by the Australian German, Haussler, was a real tour de force and a fantastic effort in the appalling conditions.

Yet again, no changes in the overall standings, except that Hushovd took the Green jersey back off Cavendish. Tomorrow will again see a group of escapees trying to stay ahead of the peloton. We live in hope that Sunday's serious climbing will finally force other 'contenders' to try and break the Astana hegemony.

RIP Iron Man

Rock On and keep the Faith

23 Reply by Lee

  • Lee
  • Lee
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  • From: Minnesota
  • Registered: 2006-04-21
  • Posts: 2,476

Re: Le Tour de France, 2009

Well, after a two year absence from following the Tour, I watched it closely this year. I followed the Tour for many years going back to the Lemond era of the '80s, but didn't see much of the 2007 or 2008 tours. I guess Armstrong's return had a lot to do with my renewed interest. Saw the evening replay of every stage except for the first two.

It certainly wasn't the most exciting Tour I have ever seen, but it was still fun to watch. I knew Contador would be the eventual winner following his breakaway in stage 7. After that stage it was a battle for the other two spots on the podium. In the end, I think it was pretty remarkable that Armstrong was able to hang on for third. He certainly wasn't the "Lance of old", but still amazing considering his age. I was extremely impressed by runner-up Andy Schleck. I loved his aggressiveness. I think he'll be a real threat next year and for many years to come. Six stage wins for Cavendish was remarkable and he's no doubt exciting to watch, but 131st place overall and no green jersey?

It will be interesting to see what sort of team Armstrong can put together for Radio Shack and 2010. Will it be the Astana team sans Contador?

  • From: Deep in the forest
  • Registered: 2007-02-11
  • Posts: 5,296

Re: Le Tour de France, 2009

George will be here in a matter of hours, the house is a wreck, I'm on-call until 8 a.m....and yet I'm posting??? Go figure, but thread will die and I want to add my final thoughts...
I LOVED this year's tour. For the first time in many years, there were NO doping scandals. The race for each jersey was on until the end. Cavandish sprints were a thing of beauty, reminded me of Jalabert sp? in years gone by. For the first time I liked more than one team, and next year I'll have the new American Team to add to the list..(Although I think lots of teams are going to have shuffles by next year)..The Schlecks got my attention last year and it was wonderful to see Andy make Frank put in such a good ride and then place a well deserved second. Lance, what can I say!! He made me SO proud. He was a true team player. I think he could have taken second, but he served Contador well. Yep, I thought it was, once again, the BEST sporting event in the world....until next July  O-O  O-O   O-O O-OO-O         Cathy