Lance Armstrong to return to cycling in Australia’s Tour Down Under
September 24, 2008
In good news for Australian cycling fans, Lance Armstrong will get back into professional cycling as he take his place in the Tour Down Under. The race takes place in South Australia and will run from January 20-25, 2009.
Armstrong recently announced he would make a comeback to cycling with the aim of winning his eighth Tour de France. He is also cycling once again to promote the fight against cancer worldwide.
Armstrong is himself a cancer survivor having overcome testicular cancer in the 90’s before going on to win his first of seven Tour de France titles in 1999.
The inclusion of Armstrong in the Tour Down Under is a huge boost for Australian cycling. Armstrong does have plenty of star appeal and his participation is great news.
Sastre draws inspiration from yellow jersey
July 27, 2008
In the time trial stage 20 of the tour de France it was Carlos Sastre who rode an inspired race to keep his challengers at bay. In the 53km time trial many expected Cadel Evans to chase him down.
It did not turn out this way as Sastre rode the time trial of his life to keep a lead of just over one minute going into the final stage. Evans was seventh in the stage and this was not good enough to grab the yellow jersey.
Unless there is some accident that claims Sastre on the final day it appears that the tour victory is his. There is an unwritten rule that prevents riders from challenging the yellow jersey on the 143km ride into Paris.
In stage 20 it was Stefan Schumacher who won the time trial as he powered home in 1 hour 3 minutes and 50 seconds.
Time trial to decide le Tour de France?
July 26, 2008
Since Carlos Sastre grabbed yellow at the summit of L’Alpe-d’Huez we have witnessed two flat stages that as expected did not see any changes in the top places in the tour.
The real action is likely to place in stage 20 on Saturday. The riders will participate in a 53km time trial that takes them from Cérilly to Saint-Amand-Montrond leaving the start at regular intervals. The stage is quite flat and is not very technical.
The key to the stage is just how much juice do the riders have left in the tank after battling it through the French Alps. In a one off time trial of this length Cadel Evans is always expected to be able to take around two minutes from Sastre.
Going into stage 20 Evans needs to make up 1 minute 34 seconds to be wearing yellow at the end of the stage, providing Denis Menchov does not better him. Frank Schleck and Bernhard Kohl are not expected to figure in proceedings during the time trial. This makes the tour a race between three riders. Sastre, Evans and Menchov.
Can Sastre use the inspiration of wearing the yellow jersey to keep him ahead of the chasing Evans and Menchov? All will be revealed on Saturday 26 July as the riders take to the roads of France.
There is some talk that if after the time trial there is a slim margin to one of the riders the final stage into Paris may be a competitive stage. In more recent years it has been more a procession stage where the riders just cruise into the French capital and no effort is made to change the placings.
Can Evans peg pack Sastre to win le Tour de France?
July 24, 2008
The Tour de France riders have completed the tough stage 17 mountain stage which took in the famous L’Alpe-d’Huez. The ride went from Embrun to L’Alpe-d’Huez. The stage included three sizable climbs which tested the legs of the riders and sorted the men from the boys.
Team CSC helped their rider Carlos Sastre take the stage win and with that the yellow jersey. The Spaniard now holds a 1 minute 24 second lead over his teammate, Frank Schleck. Bernhard Kohl is nine seconds further back. The pre-race favorite in many eyes, Cadel Evans is just one second behind Kohl and 1 minute 34 behind Sastre.
In stage 17 Sastre got his break going up the final climb to the summit of L’Alpe-d’Huez. Evans without the help of his team was not strong enough to accept the challenge of Sastre. Evans did at least battle to the line the best he could to not let Sastre take too much of a lead.
Stage 18 sees a return to the flatter terrain and should see a more predictable stage. The riders will travel from Bourg-d’Oisans to Saint Etienne in this 196.5km stage.
CSC who appear to be the team in control of the race will be working today to consolidate the lead Sastre has established. They know that Evans has the potential to chase him down in the time trial and re-claim the yellow jersey. Will this happen? The talk at work was that Sastre knowing he is close to victory will put in a do or die effort in the time trial and that Evans may only make up 30-40 seconds on the leader.
It will be an exciting few days as the tour makes its way to the French capital this weekend. As an Aussie I will be cheering for Evans as he attempts to become the first ever Australian to win the le Tour de France.
The tour concludes with stage 21 from Etampes - Paris on Sunday 27 July. In recent times whoever is wearing the yellow jersey going into this stage is not challenged and they just cruise into Paris and get to bask in the glory.
Cadel Evans claims Tour de France yellow jersey
July 15, 2008
A day after almost crashing out of the Tour de France, Australia’s Cadel Evans has achieved his dream to wear the leaders jersey in the Tour de France.
During stage 9 of the Tour Evans had a nasty tumble over the handlebars of his bike. A team mate said a bag got blown onto the course and went into the spokes of the front wheel on Evans’ bike. There was talk that the favourite to win the tour may have broken a collarbone. Luckily this did not turn out to be true and Evans fought back and completed the stage still six seconds behind the leader.
Stage 10 saw the riders go from Pau to Hautacam Argeles Gazost. This was another testing ride through the Pyrenees. Evans knew he had to attack in the mountains to achieve his dream of wearing the yellow jersey. That is what he did. He did not keep with the leaders of the stage however he completed the stage around two minutes behind the stage winner Leonardo Piepoli riding for team Saunier Duval - Scott.
Denis Menchov also went after the leaders jersey however Evans was able to pip him by 1 second to take the lead. The Australian now knows he has some work to do to keep the Tour de France leaders jersey when the tour ends in Paris on July 27.
It is a rest day on Tuesday for the riders. This will help Evans recover from the bumps he picked up in the stage 9 crash.
Stage 11 will see the riders once again battle the mountains as they ride from Lannemezan to Foix.
Drugs making headlines in Tour de France
July 13, 2008
The organisers of the 2008 Tour de France were hoping that the days of drug scandals were behind them. That was probably too much to ask for.
Spanish cyclist Manuel Beltran has made the headlines for all the wrong reasons as he was booted from the race after a positive A sample. The sample found traces of the blood booster erythopoietin (EPO).
Beltran who is 37 was riding for the Liquigas team in the Tour. In past tours he has been the teammate of Lance Armstrong and rode along side the American with the Discovery team in 2003, 2004 and 2005.
Tour de France president Patrice Clerc said the drug finding shows that the current testing system is effective. “There is one less cheat at the Tour de France, it doesn’t necessarily mean ther are others,” he said Friday.
Let’s hope Beltran is the only one who had decided to try to cheat the system.
Meanwhile back in the race, after stage 8 from Figeac to Toulouse Kim Kirchen continues to wear the leaders yellow jersey. Australia’s Cadel Evans is just six seconds behind.
The first real test of the credentials of the want to be champions takes place in stage 9 as the tour moves into the Pyrenees. The 224km stage will take the riders from Toulouse to Bagneres-de-Bigorre.
The Tour de France riders will have two category one climbs to overcome. Category one is the most difficult in the climbing ratings. The first is the climb at Col de Peyresourde which is 1569m, the second is Col d’Aspin which is 1489m.
After this stage we could see some big changes at the top of the race standings.
For further coverage including video the SBS Australia Tour de France site is a must see.
Tour de France from an Australian perspective
July 9, 2008
The 2008 Tour de France is just entering day 5. This year for the first time an Australian is favorite to win. Second place getter from the 2007 race Cadel Evans is that man.
For me the Tour de France first hit my radar in the early 80’s. This was when Philip Anderson made a name for himself as a top rider in the world famous Tour de France. Back in 1981 he became the first non-European cyclist to wear the famous yellow jersey. The next year he went on to pull it on for 9 days.
Anderson went on to ride 13 times in the Tour de France. His best results were fifth in 1982 and again in 1985.
Ever since I have marvelled at the exploits of the riders that take on the tour. I can appreciated just what they go through having been a rider that would go for 100k rides on the weekend.
Since the early 80’s my most memorable tour moments were the amazing ride by Greg LeMond in the 1989 Tour de France where he came from 50 seconds down on the last day to overhaul Laurent Fignon in a time trial.
Then of course there was the domination of Lance Armstrong as he won 7 titles from 1999-2005. Last year was memorable for all the wrong reasons with the drug related dramas.
Now as the 2008 Tour winds its way through France I am watching each day with interest to see how the aussie called Cadel ends up going.
Can Cadel Evans win the Tour de France in 2008?
