The Tour de France for the Rest of Us: STAGE 13

Saturday, July 21, 2007

STAGE 13 - VINO'S BACK

KAZAKH CLAWS BACK. Alexandre Vinokourov clawed his way back into contention for the Tour de France with a blistering ride on a very wet Individual Time Trial that saw some contenders lose significant times. Vinokourov's been riding with nearly 60 stitches in his elbow and leg since a crash last week. But he showed no signs of pain as he unleashed his anger on the course with a time 1 minute and 14 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. He's now in 9th place overall, 5 minutes and 10 seconds out of the lead.

EVANS INTO SECOND. Australian Cadel Evans, placing second, moved his way up to second place in the overall standings and now sits just one minute behind Michael Rasmussen. Rasmussen rode the best time trial of his life to hang on to the Yellow Jersey for a little while longer.

AMERICAN INTO FIFTH. American Levi Leipheimer improved his overall position from 9th to 5th with a solid time trial. He benefitted from poor performances by Iban Mayo, Alejandro Valverde, and Carlos Sastre. Leipheimer is now just 3 minutes and 35 seconds out of first place.

DISCOVERY CHANNEL LOOKING GOOD. American-based Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team now has riders in 3rd and 5th place in the chase for the Yellow Jersey. Alberto Contador placed 7th and Levi Leipheimer finished 9th in today's time trial while other contenders turned in slower performances. Contador is 2'31" off the lead and Leipheimer is one minute behind him. Yaroslav Popovych, Vladimir Gusev and George Hincapie also finished well today.

NEXT TWO DAYS. The Individual Time Trial shook things up among the contenders but did not displace Michael Rasmussen as the Tour leader. He survived, but his lead is reduced to one minute. The mountain stages on Sunday and Monday now loom large for all the contenders. The Pyrenees will keep things very interesting at the top, which seems to me now to be a five-man hunt (Rasmussen, Evans, Contador, Kloden, and Leipheimer) with a few wild cards like Vinokourov, Valverde, and Mayo still able to crash the party.

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Top 10 GC after Stage 18

1	Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana	88:09:48
2	Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank	0:00:08
3	Samuel Sánchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi	0:03:32
4	Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank	0:03:53
5	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto	0:05:27
6	Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank	0:06:41
7	Joaquin Rodriguez (Spa) Team Katusha	0:07:03
8	Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin - Transitions	0:09:18
9	Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas-Doimo	0:10:12
10	Christopher Horner (USA) Team Radioshack	0:10:37

TdF Lingo

ATTACK THE PELOTON - one or more cyclists launching an effort to move ahead of the peloton and try win the stage on a solo or small group effort
BONKING - running out of energy amid a critical part of a stage; a/k/a "hit the wall"
BREAKAWAY - another way to describe a successful "attack" by "escapees"
CATEGORIZED CLIMBS - mountain climbs are categorized (abbreviated "Cat") for degree of difficulty. Categories are determined by length of the climb, height to be climbed, and degree of gradient. In lay terms, a Cat 4 is hard; Cat 3 is harder; Cat 2 is more difficult; Cat 1 is most difficult; HC is means, literally, "beyond categorization," or incredibly difficult, usually a mountain at or over 5,000 feet above sea level
DOMESTIQUE - team riders who work for the advantage of the designated team leader, sacrificing their own chances to win the race or a stage
DRAFTING - multiple cyclists riding in a line, so as to have the benefit of the wind break and pacing created by the leading rider in the group
ESCAPEES - the riders who succeed in their attack on the peloton, riding ahead in a breakaway effort to win the stage apart from the peloton
FEED ZONE - a designated part of the course in which riders may eat, usually at least 50 km after the start but not less than 20 km from the end of the stage; race etiquette provides that no rider may attack or gain advantage over the peloton during a designated feed zone.
GREEN JERSEY - jersey worn by the top sprinter or points leader; in French - "maillot vert"; points awarded for designated sprints during each stage and at the finish line
LINING UP THE TRAIN - when a team gets its top rider behind the slip stream of three or four of its fastest riders, building speed and helping to springboard their top sprinter to an explosive acceleration at the finish line
MULE - a rider designated to fetch food, water and supplies for the other members of the team while riding
ON THE POINT - the leading rider of the peloton or a small group of riders; the cyclist on the point is doing hard work, taking the wind, setting the pace, while he creates a slipstream or draft for his teammates or other riders to follow in with relative ease
PELOTON - the main group of cyclists riding together
POLKA-DOT JERSEY - white with red polka-dots jersey worn by the top mountain climber; in Frenh - "maillot pois"; a/k/a "King of the Mountains"; points awarded for the first riders at the crest of any categorized peak
REEL IN / CHASE DOWN - the peloton picks up speed and begins to gradually close the time gap between "escapees" and the peloton
STAGE - a single-day course; there are 21 stages (racing days) in the Tdf
STAYING CLEAR - describes "escapees" on a "breakaway" who continue to maintain a lead over the peloton; they "stay clear" of the group
SUFFERING - suffering
TOUR DE FRANCE - a/k/a "Grand Tour," "Grand Boucle"
WHEEL SUCKER - a rider who takes advantage of your draft but does not take a turn in front of you on a breakaway or draft line
WHITE JERSEY - jersey worn by the best-placed rider no more than 25 years old
YELLOW JERSEY - jersey worn by the overall race leader, the rider with the lowest time; in French - "maillot jaune"; a/k/a "golden fleece," "Mellow Johnny"
More to come

The Tour de France for the Rest of Us

Saturday, July 21, 2007

STAGE 13 - VINO'S BACK

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Essential sites for TdF 2010

El Diablo

Yellow jersey

Polka-dot jersey

Green jersey

White jersey

Indy Bikehiker

Bicycle India 2007

Top 10 GC after Stage 18

TdF Lingo