Tour talk -- Spoiler alert

[Aquila]

Amazing stage today. Sad for Andy Schleck, but he was doing an amazing job catching up until the downhill. And he seems to have real class (from his interview after).

[Catrin]

Amazing stage today. Sad for Andy Schleck, but he was doing an amazing job catching up until the downhill. And he seems to have real class (from his interview after).

What happened? Ummm, probable too early to tell me I don't have access to Versus, but am sure there will be something online tonight when I get home...

[redrhodie]

That was so stressful! My stomach was in a knot from the point when his chain went off right until the end. Talk about bad luck. But, as much as I'm a fan of Andy, I felt a little bad for AC for the crowd's reaction. I don't think he had much choice but to race, given the place of Menchov and Sanchez.

[channlluv]

Okay, who the h-e-double-hockey-sticks is in charge of chain maintenance? Oy.

I actually did feel badly for Contador, as I'm not much of a fan of his, but I do think he only took advantage because he couldn't do anything else, not at that point in the race, even if he had realized that Andy had had a mechanical failure and hadn't just popped on the climb. If he had waited, they'd have both been passed up by that whole group of lead riders and the time splits would be even narrower. I think he did the only thing a competitive contender for the title could do.

Andy, however, made an amazing come back. Did you see him passing all those guys on the ascent like they were standing still? I wonder what Lance thought as Andy blew past him.

Roxy

[Zen]

I actually did feel badly for Contador

So did I. It was poor sportsmanship on the part of the fans to boo him. Like you said, what else could he do?

"My stomach is full of fire"
Andy will be back with a vengeance.

[BikeHN]

I partly agree channlluv, but I think if Contador would've sat up and called off the attack Sanchez & Menchov would've followed suit. It wasn't Contador's fault that Schleck's chain popped off, but I wouldn't want to be the one to take adv. of that situation. Just sit up, call it even for the day, then come out tomorrow ready to battle.

[Triskeliongirl]

Don't forget how Schleck took time on Contador in the first place on the cobbles. You didn't see Schleck wait for him then so why should Contador wait for him now? Its a bike race. S--t happens. There are crashes, mechanicals, etc. Its just part of it.

[Veronica]

What did Ullrich do when Lance hit the deck with a musette? He sat up! What did the riders do when Lance took his little sojourn across the field to avoid Beloki. They sat up!

It's not a very sporting way to take the lead. As I recall Contador rode well on the cobbles. Certainly much better than anyone expected.

Veronica

[ny biker]

I partly agree channlluv, but I think if Contador would've sat up and called off the attack Sanchez & Menchov would've followed suit. It wasn't Contador's fault that Schleck's chain popped off, but I wouldn't want to be the one to take adv. of that situation. Just sit up, call it even for the day, then come out tomorrow ready to battle.

I also think that if Contador had sat up and told Menchov and Sanchez to wait, they would have done so. I don't even think they would have had to call it even for today -- they could have waited for Schleck to catch up and then start racing again.

[redrhodie]

Gotta add--Yay to Tommy Voeckler! Awesome ride today.

[channlluv]

Oh, don't get me wrong. I'm rooting for Andy all the way. I'm just not sure Contador really had an alternative that late in the stage. And I'm not sure he actually saw the chain pop off -- he said so in a post-race interview on Versus. He may not have realized that it was a mechanical problem and not just that Andy was done on the mountain.

On the other hand, he must have realized it as he blew past Andy...

Regarding Lance serving as domestique for Levi, I, um, think you have to be able to ride in front of the GC in order to be domestique, yes? The way he's riding, I think Lance is happy to hang in the front half of the peleton.

Roxy