TDF Spoiler - Umm, jobob?

[snapdragen]

You weren't wearing a Phonak hat today were you? :D :eek:

Floyd! Ya broke me heart boy!

[maillotpois]

Super sad day!!! I mean, I am always happy for people like Sastre, who's sort of an unsung hero, but for the Floyd to just lose it like that was so sad. And I half hoped that Levi would brighten our spirits by doing something more special than what he did.

Just sad.

So who's going to win??

[Jones]

Floyd broke my heart, too. It is a good thing they gave him that pretty yellow bike the first day in yellow instead of the run into Paris.

I don't know whom to root for anymore: George, cracked days ago, Levi, just showed up, and Floyd well Floyd's day was a disaster.
Jones

[maillotpois]

From Pez:


Looking closer at the TT results from Stage 7, we see that Sastre and Pereiro aren't quite as piss poor as previously thought:

Pereiro (23rd) lost only 1:40 to Landis in the TT. Sastre? He rode a respectable time and finishing only 1:10 adrift of Landis. Menchov, Kloeden, and Evans were all within six seconds of each other, less than 50 seconds behind Floyd. None of the contenders managed to take more than 1 minute out of Pereiro.

[SadieKate]

You saying the "jobob kiss of death" was at work?

[dobielover1]

I'm not a huge Floyd fan, but I was almost in tears watching him fall apart. I started to get nervous when he was hanging at the end of the group, but I never dreamed he would lose so much time.

[Geonz]

Yea, I was kinda glad I could only get the printed commentary on the computer screen. I snorted, though, when the audio feed had those guys saying that he'd been "bluffing" the previous days ... yea, bluff for how many hundred miles????

[betagirl]

Basso is my man, but since he was out I was reluctantly rooting for Floyd. He had a great shot at it. It's always hard to see someone implode like that. He was growing on me too, with the interviews I'd read and such. I'm always a fan of a smart *** :D

This has been a great Tour.

[Aggie_Ama]

I haven't watched but I read the news. Ugh first George broke my heart in the Pyrennes, now Floyd. Actually this can go back to the TT by Levi. Who knows what will happen tomorrow? This tour has been crazy!

[jobob]

Nope, I'm not rooting for anyone right now, I'm trying to keep the KoD safely under wraps and not be held responsible for anyone else's demise.

My CSC cap is still laying on the floor in the corner of the living room*gathering dust bunnies, where I flung it right after I watched Bobby crash.

*which is probably why Jens, Frank and Carlos are doing so well. :cool:

Don't own a Phonak cap.

[Kalidurga]

You have to give Floyd a lot of credit in the aftermath of today's performance. He doesn't make any excuses or lay any blame on anyone else:

Bicycling.com: Collapse in Yellow (http://www.bicycling.com/tourdefrance/article/0,6802,s1-7-123-14940-1-0-0-0-1681,00.html)

Bicycling.com: Perspective (http://www.bicycling.com/tourdefrance/article/0,6802,s1-7-123-14942-1-0-0-0-1542,00.html)

He really does seem to have his head together. No matter how this Tour ends, Floyd is an athlete to admire.

[margo49]

Sorry to break up the sniffle-fest...
Rasmussen rode brilliantly . Led virtually the whole way and a large part all by himself on his ownsome.
Both those things are what the Tour is all about.
Great Tour all round

[Kalidurga]

To feed the Floyd sniffle-fest and give Rasmussen his due (it definitely was an amazing, powerful ride), Velonews has good video interviews with both riders:

Velonews.com: Latest Video (http://www.velonews.com/news/fea/10206.0.html)

[snapdragen]

And from Cyclingnews:

Floyd Interview (http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2006/tour06/?id=/riders/2006/interviews/floyd_landis_tdf306)

Makes me like him even more.:)

[Kano]

Okay, so, this is my third day watching this stuff ever -- got the channel in my hotel room. Get to see tomorrow morning, then go home. I'll miss seeing it, but...

This shirt stuff has me confused. Rasmussen wins, gets a polka dot shirt?
Other guy didnt' win, gets yellow shirt. Sounds to me like yellow shirt is the big deal? I thought it was for the guy who wins each day?

So, what's up with polka dots? What's the deal with yellow? Any other colors we newbies should be knowing about?

And, Landis had all kinds of yellow stuff to go with his shirt today (dunno what he had the other days, only figured out who he was today) Does he change bike colors tomorrow?

Gotta say -- I like the guy: he made it to the finish like I make it to the top of a hill. It wasn't pretty, but he made it! (this particular ride, I'm thinking I wouldn't have made it, or maybe I'd still be working my way through it about two days from now, y'know?)

I wonder if there are any other "losers" out there to like a lot -- more guys who get there like I do!

Karen in Boise

[Aggie_Ama]

Karen- The jerseys each have significance and it is confusing your first year to figure those out! I hope the following run down helps, I am trying to explain it after waking in the night feeling ill. :(


Yellow- The overall race leader. Also refered to as the Maillot Jaune (I think I got the spelling right). So yes, this is the one to get.

Polka Dots- King of the Mountains. The get points for being the first (second, third...) over certain mountains/hills. For some guys this is the jersey they want because they are not riding for the GC (general classification).

Green- Sprinter jersey. You probably haven't seen much of this one lately. They get points for designated sprints like the mountains. The guys who pride themselves on being sprinters (Robbie McEwen, Thor Hurshovd, Tom Boonen) want this jersey.

White- Best Young Rider. I think they have to be 25 or younger to qualify for this award. I guess it is close to rookie of the year, but based off age and not how many times they ride.

And not to confuse you more, but some have special jerseys based on other awards. If they are the National Champion of their home country, they might have a jersey to signify that. Tom Boonen (who left the race a couple days ago) is the World Champion and has a white jersey with rainbow stripes to show that, even though his team jersey is blue and white.

Now the yellow helmet/bike/shorts etc... This is up to the individual. Some guys go all out and have the special items to match their jersey. Last year the King of Mountains had a Polka Dot bike at the end of the race. In years past, Lance has gone all out on his ride through the streets of Paris. Floyd Landis will not be on the yellow bike tomorrow.

Each rider has many bikes from their team to ride. You have probably seen the cars loaded with bikes during the race. They sometimes switch bikes due to mechanical problems or other reasons, so they are not always riding the same bike.

Final part of this long post... It is okay to find a slow guy and like him! They even give an award to the last place guy in Paris. I am not sure they want this, but the give a red lantern. Sadly, the last place guys can still kick my butt on any given day. They seem slow, but they are definitely pro cyclists.

[mimitabby]

Thanks Amanda for the explanation.
But i don't think it's sad that the "slow guys" are faster than us! we're not competing in the T d F!

[jobob]

From the tour day schmalz stage 17 report (spoilers within):
http://www.nyvelocity.com/content.php?id=909



Floyd interview from yesterday:
Q:What do you do to deal with this at this point?
FL: Er... I don't know... drink some beers! (laughs) That's what I'm thinking about now!

Excuse me now while I wipe a tear from my eye.

Did anyone not like Floyd after his post race interview yesterday? He was smiling! He was upset but it didn’t crack him, just great. I’m going to have to start stalking him, I think.

[Eden]

Final part of this long post... It is okay to find a slow guy and like him! They even give an award to the last place guy in Paris. I am not sure they want this, but the give a red lantern. Sadly, the last place guys can still kick my butt on any given day. They seem slow, but they are definitely pro cyclists.

Ah - any honor is still an honor - last year the two guys in hot contention for the lantern rouge duked it out in Paris to see who could drop back the furthest on the Champs Elysee.... really! One guy finally gave in and allowed the dubious honor to go to the other man.

but seriously - just to named to a tour team is proof that you have made the top echelons of pro cycling and to finish the tour, even in last place is a huge accomplishment.

[snapdragen]

And don't forget Most Combative rider. They get a red number. Personally, I think a bright red jersey would be cool.:cool: