Oh, I dunno. I know a female triathelete who doesn't stop either :eek: Just stands and pees......I never did ask how often she buys new saddles. :DQuote:
Originally Posted by spazzdog
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Oh, I dunno. I know a female triathelete who doesn't stop either :eek: Just stands and pees......I never did ask how often she buys new saddles. :DQuote:
Originally Posted by spazzdog
[QUOTE]As a former "dresser" of drag queens, I learned more than any woman should about when to hold 'em or when to fold 'em.
Gollygee, Spazz, I can't wait to see the rest of your resume!
Nah! Most of it is boring corporate crap. That one was from my younger days.
I learned to pee "properly" pre-race (running) while attending a women's running camp in the rockies back in '96. It won't work with cycling shorts.
And now, back to the TdF...
Stg 16 looks interesting... scary climb about midway (HC) preceded by a Cat 1. Any bets grrls???
I'm liking Rasmussen to hang with Basso and Armstrong... Ullrich will get left behind again. Vinokourov will break and fall back, break and fall back, but not work for his team.
I expect a breakaway from a big bunch low on the GC... Wonder if Hincapie will cover it again.
spazz
OK, now that first place is pretty much locked up :D anyone care to make any guesses, educated or otherwise, for second and third?
I dare not comment further lest I once again unleash the power of the Kiss of Death ...
I think Basso has a pretty solid hold on 2nd place. The battle for 3rd should be interesting. I think it will come down to the ITT on Sat. Rasmussen is not known to be the best at the ITT but the chance for a spot on the podium could provide some extra motivation. Ullrich is a pretty strong time trialer and does not want to miss the podium for the 2nd year in a row. My money is on Ullrich. Of course, I'm biased... he's one of my favorite riders.
Hopefully, I haven't unleashed the Kiss of Death on Jan by saying that. I don't think I have jobob's powers but you never know...
Yeah, I think Rassmussen came in dead last in the first ITT. I think that Jan will probably take 3rd.
rasmussen is doing his dangdest to not lose any more time prior to that time trial.. and Jan keeps attacking him to put the hurt on... he may be able to attack him better in the flats, but Rasmussen wants to podium BAD!
I think that final ITT is gonna be veeeery exciting... as long as it's dry and safe, I think Rasmussen is gonna have the hardest ride of his life if he wants to keep 3rd... and I think Jan will be pushing equally as hard... should be FUN to see!!!
According to letour.fr, Rasmussen was 174th in the first ITT. He was 2 minutes, 6 seconds behind Jan. That was on a very flat 19km ITT. The final ITT is 55.5km, and has more climbing.Quote:
Originally Posted by slinkedog
I don't think Rasmussen gave it his "all" on the first ITT. His goal at that point in the race was the polka dot jersey. I think he's probably as surprised as anybody that he's 3rd in the GC.
I think Jan will have his way with Mickael on stage 20. Jan is a very good time trialer. But if the GC standings don't change over the next few stages, that will be one exciting fight for the podium. I wonder if at the beginning of the Tour Jan would have any inclination that he would be racing against Mickael Rasmussen in stage 20...
Yes, Rasmussen was 2:06 behind Ullrich... but now Ullrich is 2:49 behind Rasmussen. The TT course is shorter and if Rasmussen really pulls a corker, he might still stay ahead of Ullrich.
All the other top ten are even further down... so Ras, if he's a very good boy, may have his day.
Looking at the GC after stage 17:
1 Lance Armstrong (USA) Discovery Channel 72.55.50
2 Ivan Basso (Ita) Team CSC +2.46
3 Michael Rasmussen (Den) Rabobank +3.09
4 Jan Ullrich (Ger) T-Mobile Team +5.58
5 Francisco Mancebo (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne +6.31
6 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Gerolsteiner +7.35
7 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) T-Mobile Team +9.38
8 Cadel Evans (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto +9.49
9 Floyd Landis (USA) Phonak Hearing Systems +9.53
10 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Credit Agricole +12.07
I'm going to go out on a limb here and predict that Rasmussen is going to give it his all but it won't be enough to even maintain top 5 - like AG said, he's definitely not a time trialer, he lost over 2 minutes to Ullrich over only 19k, and now we're dealing with over 55k in the final ITT. Maybe the adrenaline will carry Ras through, but I suspect that might go the wrong way for him and he could just as easily crack over that distance if he really tries to gun it.
In stage 1, Mancebo finished 1:23 behind Ullrich and 1:18 behind a certain American sporting a pale watery blue team kit. Mancebo will likely be gunning like mad to maintain his top 5 position, and I predict he will, barely.
Being veerrry careful not to wake the evil K of D genie, I predict the final outcome, numbering according to the placements from stage 17 above, to be:
1.
2.
4.
6.
5. [maybe 6. and 5. switched] Edit - nope, in for a penny, in for a pound. I'll stick with this order
3.
In the first ITT (19k)Quote:
Originally Posted by jobob
Lance beat Basso by 1:22
Lance beat Rasmussen by 3:12
Ivan beat Rasmussen by 1:50
In stage 20 (55K), They start 3 minutes apart.
Will Ivan pass Rasmussen?
I wonder if Lance has a chance close a 6 minute gap...
wait a minute, I missed the potty break, what happened :confused: :p
I'd say, yes . Not to take anything away from Rasmussen, mind you, it's just that TT is such a specialized discipline - Basso (and all the other good/great time trialists) had to put a lot of training time into it. Not to mention odds are Rassumussen might not have a top-of-the-line uber TT bike - unless Colnago dug one up for him in the last few days.Quote:
Originally Posted by Adventure Girl
Since, presumably, it's the very last TT Lance will ever do as a pro, I daresay we might be in for something special. :)Quote:
I wonder if Lance has a chance close a 6 minute gap...
Ok. I admit that I'm a geek. So in my geekly ways, I did a little projecting. I projected the ITT times of Stage 20 based on Stage 1 times (Stage 1 time divided by 19K, multiplied by 55.5K). I took these times and combined them with stage 19 times to project placement of the top 10 after stage 20.
Current position:
- Lance
- Basso
- Rasmussen
- Ullrich
- Mancebo
- Leipheimer
- Evans
- Vinokourov
- Landis
- Pereiro Sio
Position after projected time on ITT:
- Lance
- Basso (at 6' 57")
- Ullrich (at 9' 16")
- Leipheimer (at 11' 45")
- Vinokourov (at 12' 45")
- Rasmussen (at 13' 12")
- Landis (at 13' 43")
- Mancebo (at 14' 29")
- Evans (at 14' 44")
- Pereiro Sio (at 18' 47")
Useless information... :rolleyes:
But think what it tells us about your personality! :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Adventure Girl
Said from one geek to another, :p
SK